Mircea Cărtărescu

Romanian writer

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

Compare with the greats

Friedrich Nietzsche vs Wolfgang PauliAndrew Wiles vs Linus PaulingSigmund Freud vs Thomas EdisonArchimedes vs Leo Tolstoy
See the IQ Rankings →All comparisons →

Child prodigies

Stephen WiltshireStephen WiltshireAutistic Savant Drawing Entire Cities from Memory — MBE from…Kokona HirakiKokona HirakiYoungest Olympic medalist in 85 years, winning park silver at…Balamurali AmbatiBalamurali AmbatiEarned his MD at seventeen and entered Guinness as the world's…Olga KorbutOlga KorbutThe 'Sparrow from Minsk' who transformed gymnastics at the 1972…
Child prodigies →

Play & come back tomorrow

Daily Genius Challenge · Guess the genius
19th-century mathematician who wrote the first algorithm for Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine.
Tap your answer ↓
Which Genius Are You? Free IQ Test