| Varamo Contributor(s): Aira, César (Author), Andrews, Chris (Translator) |
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ISBN: 0811217418 ISBN-13: 9780811217415 Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation OUR PRICE: $11.66 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: February 2012 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Fiction | Literary |
| Dewey: FIC |
| LCCN: 2011039758 |
| Physical Information: 0.3" H x 4.9" W x 6.8" (0.20 lbs) 144 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Unmistakably the work of César Aira, Varamo is about the day in the life of a hapless government employee who, after wandering around all night after being paid by the Ministry in counterfeit money, eventually writes the most celebrated masterwork of modern Central American poetry, The Song of the Virgin Boy. What is odd is that, at fifty years old, Varamo "hadn't previously written one sole verse, nor had it ever occurred to him to write one." Among other things, this novella is an ironic allegory of the poet's vocation and inspiration, the subtlety of artistic genius, and our need to give literature an historic, national, psychological, and aesthetic context. But Aira goes further still -- converting the ironic allegory into a formidable parody of the expectations that all narrative texts generate -- by laying out the pathos of a man who between one night and the following morning is touched by genius. Once again Aira surprises us with his unclassifiable fiction: original and enjoyable, worthy of many a thoughtful chuckle, Varamo invites the reader to become an accomplice in the author's irresistible game. |
Contributor Bio(s): Aira, Cesar: - Nominated for a Neustadt award and the Man Booker International Prize, César Aira was born in Coronel Pringles, Argentina, in 1949. He has published at least one hundred books and was most recently the creator of a limited edition, "Valise," for the Museum of Modern Art, NYC.Andrews, Chris: - The poet Chris Andrews teaches at the University of Western Sydney, Australia, where he is a member of the Writing and Society Research Centre. He has translated books by Roberto Bolaño and César Aira for New Directions. He has won the Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize for his poetry and the Valle-Inclan Prize for his translations. |