The document summarizes Mircea Eliade's autobiographical novel "Novel of the Nearsighted Adolescent". The novel follows Eliade from his teenage years through the end of adolescence. As a near sighted teenager, he feels ugly and inferior to his peers. He finds escape by reading extensively and retreating to his attic. The novel explores his struggles with identity, relationships, and questions about the meaning of life during this period of self-discovery in his youth.