The novel reads with great joy, with the mind ravaged by exclamations and a barely restrained laughter.
Alessandra Iadicicco
The story takes place our days, in Bucharest.
The novel focuses on a woman’s story (Laura), who hasn’t had any sexual relations for the last 11 years. She falls in love with a man she only knows via internet. Although she doesn’t even know how he looks like, she is sure to have established a subtle bond with this character.
In parallel, a hacker (Albert) makes a software experiment; the result of it is that Laura subliminally absorbs a series of information (texts, images, Albert’s biography and so on).
Influenced by Laura’s emotions and stimulated by the „virus” created by Albert, an unseen spirit of the world turns into the little red man. Together with him, Laura enters the virtual space called alazar.
The novel is based on two main stories: Laura’s story and Albert’s story. They both contain about 24 narratives, intertwined by various and unexpected epic links.
In 2021, the novel The Little Red Man was at the center of several public readings and literary dialogues in Italy, held in diverse cultural contexts—from literary festivals to meetings with readers.
Mantua – dialogue at Panorama Internazionale, within the Mantua Literature Festival
https://doinarusti.ro/stire/2021/festivalul-de-literatura---de-la-mantova/index.html
Rome – interview with Faro di Roma, focusing on the fictional world of the novel
https://doinarusti.ro/stire/2021/interviu-la-roma/index.html
Rome – Accademia di Roma,
discussion on The Little Red Man in an academic and cultural setting
https://doinarusti.ro/stire/2021/omuletul-rosu-un-roman-contemporan-roma--nesc-reeditat-i--n-stra--ina--tate/index.html
Rome – Goethe-Institut,
discussion on the virtual world of The Little Red Man
https://doinarusti.ro/stire/2021/goethe-institut-roma/index.html
Turin – Circolo dei Lettori, meeting with Italian readers
https://doinarusti.ro/stire/2021/intalnnire-la-torino/index.html
These events brought the novel into direct dialogue with Italian audiences, highlighting its symbolic dimension and its exploration of the relationship between fiction, memory, and urban space.
Roberto Merlo, La Repubblica
http://torino.repubblica.it/cronaca/2012/05/10/news/merlo_gli_scrittori_di_romania_sono_un_universo_da_scoprire-34829461/
L’omino rosso
https://www.icr.ro/pagini/lomino-rosso-titlu-original-omuletul-rosu
The Little Red Man in Turin
https://doinarusti.ro/stire/2021/intalnire-la-torino/index.html
