Mircea Cărtărescu wrote at a period when the terms of literature itself were being argued over.
The record lists Mircea Cărtărescu as Romanian writer.
Mircea Cărtărescu was born at Bucharest in 1956. His recorded nationality is Romania. He was educated at Faculty of Letters (Bucharest University) and Cantemir Vodă National College.
Twentieth-century writing was shaped by war, exile and translation; many of its major careers were conducted across more than one language and country.
He worked as writer, literary critic and science fiction writer.
The writing is recorded in Romanian and French.
Books outlive their reviews, and the ones that last are seldom the ones that sold best.
The honours record reads: Vilenica Prize (2011), Thomas Mann Prize (2018), Austrian State Prize for European Literature (2015) and Commander of the Order of Faithful Service.
That the work was written from Romania matters: language, censorship and the reach of a publishing industry decide which books travel and which stay local.
Mircea Cărtărescu is still writing, and the shape of the body of work is not yet settled.
Achievements
- Vilenica Prize — 2011
- Thomas Mann Prize — 2018
- Austrian State Prize for European Literature — 2015
- Commander of the Order of Faithful Service
- Order of Honour — 2024
