Youth Without Youth
Youth Without Youth by Mircea Eliade, published by University of Chicago Press on November 30, 2007, is a novella that explores the intersection of the natural and supernatural, myth and history, dream and science. Set in Bucharest in 1938, the narrative follows Dominic Matei, an elderly academic who, after a life-altering event, finds himself inexplicably alive and endowed with extraordinary intellectual abilities. As he navigates a world fraught with danger from the Nazis, who seek to exploit his newfound powers, he embarks on a journey through Romania, Switzerland, Malta, and India, all while grappling with the complexities of his identity.
Readers will encounter a psychological thriller that blends elements of realism, surrealism, and fantasy. The story delves into themes of memory, comprehension, and the supernatural, challenging the boundaries of literary genre. This edition, comprising 148 pages, invites readers to engage with Eliade’s intricate narrative, which reflects his fascination with the past and the mysteries of existence. Through Matei’s experiences, the novella illuminates the profound connections between intellect and the human experience, offering a thought-provoking exploration of life’s enigmas.
Official synopsis Publisher
Bucharest, 1938: while Hitler gains power in Germany, the Romanian police start arresting students they suspect of belonging to the Iron Guard. Meanwhile, a man who has spent his life studying languages, poetry, and history—a man who thought his life was over—lies in a hospital bed, inexplicably alive and miraculously healthy, trying to figure out how to conceal his identity.
At the intersection of the natural and supernatural, myth and history, dream and science, lies Mircea Eliade’s novella. Now in its first paperback edition, the psychological thriller features Dominic Matei, an elderly academic who experiences a cataclysmic event that allows him to live a new life with startling intellectual capacity. Sought by the Nazis for their medical experiments on the potentially life-prolonging power of electric shocks, Matei is helped to flee through Romania, Switzerland, Malta and India. Newly endowed with prodigious powers of memory and comprehension, he finds himself face to face with the glory and terror of the supernatural. In this surreal, philosophy-driven fantasy, Eliade tests the boundaries of literary genre as well as the reader’s imagination.
Suspenseful, witty, and poignant, Youth Without Youth illuminates Eliade’s longing for past loves and new texts, his erotic imagination, and his love of a thrilling mystery. It was adapted for the screen in 2007 as Francis Ford Coppola’s first feature film in over ten years.
“A wonderful blend of realism, surrealism, and fantasy, [Eliade’s novellas] suggest the importance of the mythic and the supernatural to finding meaning in the everyday. Highly recommended.” —Library Journal
“Youth Without Youth reads like a surreal collaboration by Jorge Luis Borges, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., and Carl Jung. Mircea Eliade left me with the rare sense that I had been entertained by a genius.”—William Allen, author of Starkweather and The Fire in the Birdbath and Other Disturbances
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