César Aira

Ater Lividus Ruber & V

Ater Lividus Ruber & V

我ヲ學ブ者ハ死ス
Re: C?sar Aira

All of his books are different; that's one of his most appealing features - that you never know what you'll get.

The ones I checked out from the library were Ghosts, Literary Conference, Landscape Painter, and Nun. They're all very short and showcase his range, so if you're not addicted (*raises hand*), then you can do like me, and steer clear. Of course, this is paradoxical, as if each book is different, one could, theoretically, find one to his taste haha
 
redhead

redhead

Blahblahblah
Re: C?sar Aira

I'm in the same boat as ALRV, in that I've only read four of his novellas (he has a massive catalog of them). They were all different in certain ways, though I recall a certain common atmosphere pervading all of them. He also supposedly has a unique way of writing, I think he does two pages a day and does minimal, if any at all, revising. I remember really enjoying Varamo and finding it incredible if he really did write it that way; in Literary Conference, however, it's pretty obvious he wasn't quite sure where he was going at some points. I'd recommend Varamo and Nun (have also heard good things about Landscape Painter), they seem like good starting places.
 
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Ater Lividus Ruber & V

Ater Lividus Ruber & V

我ヲ學ブ者ハ死ス
Re: C?sar Aira

Per his writing style: yeah, I heard he also involves things that happen in real life. For example, if he's writing and a bird flies into the room, he'll try to add that to the story. Marías also claims he doesn't edit his writing, which - considering his novels' full-circle effects - I find bewildering, if true.
 
K

kpjayan

Reader
Re: C?sar Aira

redheadshadz said:
I'm in the same boat as ALRV, in that I've only read four of his novellas (he has a massive catalog of them). They were all different in certain ways, though I recall a certain common atmosphere pervading all of them. He also supposedly has a unique way of writing, I think he does two pages a day and does minimal, if any at all, revising. I remember really enjoying Varamo and finding it incredible if he really did write it that way; in Literary Conference, however, it's pretty obvious he wasn't quite sure where he was going at some points. I'd recommend Varamo and Nun (have also heard good things about Landscape Painter), they seem like good starting places.
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Varamo and the Landscape Painter are two of the books that stood out, in my reading of 6 or 7 books of his. His books are all an expansion of a theme or an idea. Hence each are different. But the style of writing probably are similar in most of them.
 
tiganeasca

tiganeasca

Moderator
Re: C?sar Aira

Thanks to you both. I decided to read Landscape Painter and so far, so good. Hoping to finish it soon and am curious to know where we're going--both literally and figuratively.
 
B

Ben Jackson

Well-known member
Daniel del Real said:
Re: C?sar Aira

Finished An Episode In The Life Of A Landscape Painter and without being mesmerizing, it is by far, the best I've from him. I still think his prose is something that takes time to settle down in his narrative, not very straightforward and with a different pace; it's the structure of sentences that sometimes looks awkward at the beginning, but then you get used to it. He manages to get a lot of great descriptions of la pampa, especially in the main scene where he describes the situation that changes the travesty originally scheduled by Rugendas. Imagery reminded me a lot of Cormac McCarthy's depiction of landscapes in Blood Meridian.
Good nouvelle, but just not exactly running to the bookstore to get my next Aira.
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Exactly my thoughts too. When I read Episode in Landscape of a Painter, I considered it a very fine work. Ghosts, the other I've read from Aira, isn't that bad but not in the level of Episode.
 
Ludus

Ludus

Reader
The Common Reader said:
Could you elaborate? I don’t know his work and I’m curious to hear more…
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He's very keen to make incendiary and pedantic comments in media, and he's admitted to say shit just because he knows he's going to make headlines and make people angry. This is, of course, often funny to watch, but sometimes I got the feeling that his figure is as recognized as it is because of this comments and not really for his literature. He has a devoted readership and lots of very vocal critics, certainly a divisive figure. Anyways, my dude Aira most of the time talks just cuz it's free.
 
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