A journey to Rome marks a new international moment for The Little Red Man, Doina Ruști’s debut novel, presented within a major cultural event hosted by European institutions and literary partners.
https://doinarusti.ro/roman/omuletul-rosu/en/index.html
The occasion also brings renewed attention to one of the most insightful Italian readings of the novel, signed by Roberto Merlo, who places The Little Red Man at the intersection of virtual communication, digital fantasy, and mythic adventure.
In his study Dentro e fuori la Rete (Inside and Outside the Net), published by Neos Edizioni, Merlo describes Laura, the novel’s protagonist, as a modern Adventurer archetype, navigating two parallel realms: the dematerialized space of online communication and the hallucinatory digital world of the alazar.
According to Merlo, The Little Red Man constructs a fully coherent electronic Wonderland—populated by encrypted messages, animated objects, impossible creatures, and secret passages—where imagination acquires the density and consistency of lived reality. Laura becomes, in this vision, a kind of “telematic Alice”, fearless and lucid inside a convulsive yet meaningful virtual universe.
The Rome event confirms the novel’s lasting relevance and its early anticipation of today’s digital narratives, long before virtual identity and online mythologies became central themes of contemporary literature.
🔗 Related links:
