César Aira Knihy

The narrative explores a humorous and quirky obsession with collecting Artforum magazine, showcasing the protagonist's frantic search through shops and bookstores. His journey is filled with anxieties over availability and subscription woes, leading to comical encounters, like hounding the mailman and salvaging damaged magazines. Interspersed within the collection of stories is a whimsical chapter about the mystery of broken clothespins, adding to the book's charm and eccentricity. Overall, it captures the essence of passionate obsession in a lighthearted manner.

Aira is one of the most provocative and idiosyncratic novelists working in Spanish today and should not be missed The New York Times

Translated into English for the first time, On Contemporary Art, a speech by the renowned novelist César Aira, was delivered at a 2010 colloquium in Madrid dedicated to bridging the gap between writing and the visual arts. On Aira’s dizzying and dazzling path, everything comes under question—from reproducibility of artworks to the value of the written word itself. In the end, Aira leaves us stranded on the bridge between writing and art that he set out to construct in the first place, flailing as we try to make sense of where we stand. Aira’s On Contemporary Art exemplifies what the ekphrasis series is dedicated to doing—exploring the space in which words give meaning to objects, and objects shape our words. Like the great writers Walter Benjamin and Hermann Broch before him, Aira operates in the space between fiction and essay writing, art and analysis. Pursuing questions about reproducibility, art making, and limits of language, Aira’s unique voice adds new insights to the essential conversations that continue to inform our understanding of art.

Birthday is among the very best of Aira--it will surprise readers new to his work, and will deeply satisfy his many fans

In Ghosts, a group of immigrant workers and their families are squatting on the haunted construction site of a luxury condominium building. One teenage girl's interest in the ghosts on the site becomes so intense that her mother realizes her life is in the balance. An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Paintertells of a point in the life of German painter Johann Moritz Rugendas, when he visits Latin America to paint its spectacular landscapes. And in The Literary Conference, a young translator called Cesar Aira travels to a literary conference, intent on world domination . . .

The Lime Tree opens with the description of a giant lime tree in the town square of Coronel Pringles. From that tree's blossom, the author's father would brew a sedative tea, an infusion associated with the recovery of childhood memories. But Aira's childhood, unlike that of Proust's narrator in In Search of Lost Time, is marked by historical events: the ousting of Peron in 1955. A devoted Peronist, Aira's father lost his job as a municipal electrician. His dreams of ascent to the middle class broken, he lapsed into sullenness while his wife reveled in her anti-Peronism.

Set against the backdrop of the pampas, a nineteenth-century English naturalist embarks on a quest for the mythical flying Legibrerian hare. His journey takes an unexpected turn when local Indians request his assistance in finding their missing chief. As he delves deeper, Clarke discovers the complexities of language among the Mapuche and Voroga, where words hold multiple meanings. With a blend of wit and irony, the narrative explores themes of love, colonialism, and the intricate nature of communication, showcasing the author's signature digressive style.

Dr. Aira, a skeptical and unconventional doctor in his forties, grapples with his miraculous abilities while battling his arch-nemesis, Dr. Actyn, the chief of Piñero Hospital. Despite his talent for miracles, he has lost faith in them and feels a sense of shame about his powers. The narrative unfolds through his quirks and insecurities, leading him into a complex web of challenges. César Aira masterfully blends the magical with the human experience, creating a unique exploration of belief, identity, and the struggle between skepticism and wonder.

A divorce leads a man to Buenos Aires. In a trendy cafe he witnesses a minor accident involving Enrique, the owner of his guest house; this accident reunites Enrique with a childhood friend, with whom he had miraculously escaped from a raging fire in a miniature replica of a boarding school. So starts a true master-yarn from Booker finalist Aira.

Was it a nightmare--the result of a bad case of indigestion--or did something truly scary happen after dinner in the Argentine town of Coronel Pringles?