First published 2008
Mircea Cărtărescu moves away from his familiar role as romantic loner to become an observer of women in these collected stories. He sees women not just as aesthetic objects but as embodiments of tenderness and delicacy, often linked to memories of maternal love. In "Iryski," the narrator experiences sudden intoxication when a forgotten childhood scent triggers memories of his mother's closeness. Pink candies, round and light, given by his mother during a moment of panic, become eternal factors in a universe reconstructed through love. The author argues we love with a child's mind. Some stories use women as starting points for deeper reflections on sexuality and consciousness. In "O intymności," Cărtărescu explores how sexual intensity narrows awareness and breaks social conventions, yet something essential in true relationships survives even the most destructive symbolic exposure. Stories like "Papierowy diabeł" mark symbolic breaks with adolescence. The collection closes with the title story's answers: we love women because they are blonde and brunette, redheaded, warm and graceful, because they are women and not men, because we came from them and return to them.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-study, family-drama, slice-of-life
Setting: Romania
Period: 21st-century
176 pages · Paperback · Wydawnictwo Czarne