# In conversation about the epic novel Theodoros with Mircea Cărtărescu and Jan Willem Bos Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/de-balie-841437/in-conversation-about-the-epic-novel-theodoros-with-mircea-c-rt-rescu-and-jan-willem-bos Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/de-balie-841437/in-conversation-about-the-epic-novel-theodoros-with-mircea-c-rt-rescu-and-jan-willem-bos.md Podcast: [De Balie](https://stenobird.com/podcast/de-balie-841437) Published: 2026-04-28T04:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://rss.art19.com/episodes/2adab5da-b1e7-452a-8ddc-4405177f05d3.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0 Audio file: https://rss.art19.com/episodes/2adab5da-b1e7-452a-8ddc-4405177f05d3.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/de-balie-841437/episodes/in-conversation-about-the-epic-novel-theodoros-with-mircea-c-rt-rescu-and-jan-willem-bos Duration seconds: 5659 ## Resource Can obsession turn an impossible dream into reality? In conversation with the master of modern surrealism Mircea Cărtărescu about  Theodoros , a novel about the rise of an unlikely emperor. Theodoros is set in the nineteenth century and follows the extraordinary life of the otherwise ordinary Teodor, the son of two servants of a Romanian aristocrat. Raised on stories of Alexander the Great told by his Greek mother, he becomes obsessed with the idea that he too is destined for greatness — and everything else must give way to it. His improbable life path eventually leads him to Ethiopia, where he ascends the throne as Emperor Tewodros II.  Theodoros  is a surreal epic, written in rich, distinctive prose. About the speakers Mircea Cărtărescu  (Bucharest, 1956) is considered one of the most important voices in contemporary European literature. His novels and poetry have been widely translated and awarded, and his acclaimed novel  Solenoid  was hailed by the European press as a masterpiece. Jan Willem Bos  (1954) translated more than twenty-five novels, short-story collections, and poetry collections from Romanian. He has also published numerous articles and written several nonfiction books about Romania. Remo Verdickt  (1992) is a literary scholar and specialised in Mircea Cărtărescu’s work. He wrote several articles about him, including in  De Standaard  and  Los Angeles Review of Books . He is currently a postdoctoral researcher in literature at KU Leuven.  Programme editor: Ianthe Mosselman Moderator: Remo Verdickt In collaboration with: Roemeens Cultureel Instituut Brussel Zie het privacybeleid op https://art19.com/privacy en de privacyverklaring van Californië op https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info . ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/de-balie-841437/episodes/in-conversation-about-the-epic-novel-theodoros-with-mircea-c-rt-rescu-and-jan-willem-bos/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/de-balie-841437/in-conversation-about-the-epic-novel-theodoros-with-mircea-c-rt-rescu-and-jan-willem-bos.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.