Recommendation: César Aira

A couple of weeks ago at the bookstore.

"The Literary Conference?" Got it. "How I Became a Nun?" Just read it. "Dinner?" That one's great. That got me started.

I had asked the woman at the counter if she could order a couple of César Aira novels for me. The two I suggested were backordered.

"I'll take whatever I can get as long as I haven't read them." Next thing I knew, I sounded like a kid trading baseball cards. Got it, got it, need it.

Aira is an Argentine novelist who has published more than a hundred books, typically two or more per year. Most of his novels are 100 - 150 pages. They often begin with a clever, compelling opening and then surreality takes over. There are radical turns every few pages and, more than these words suggest, you can't imagine what will happen next. He calls his style "flight forward". He writes himself into corners and then improvises a way out.

These are the books for this moment. I've noticed bookstores, publishers, and arts journalists recommending long books for all of our free time inside. But in my experience I've barely been able to concentrate on one thing for more than a few minutes. I'm not in a place to read the final book of My Struggle. What we need are short books and the hope of an impossible escape.

-Adam

This story first appeared in PROMPTS, Take Note’s email newsletter. Sign up now!