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Overview

A literary look at one of Europe’s most acclaimed art exhibitions by a Spanish author “offering strange cerebral satisfactions” (Village Voice).

A puzzling phone call shatters a writer’s routine. An enigmatic female voice extends a dinner invitation, and it soon becomes clear that this is an invitation to take part in the documenta, the legendary exhibition of contemporary art held every five years in Kassel, Germany.  The writer’s mission will be to sit down to write every morning in a Chinese restaurant on the outskirts of town, transforming himself into a living art installation. Once in Kassel, the writer is surprised to find himself overcome by good cheer as he strolls through the city, spurred on by the endless supply of energy at the heart of the exhibition. This is his spontaneous, quirky response to art, rising up against pessimism.With humor, profundity, and a sharp eye, Enrique Vila-Matas tells the story of a solitary man, who, roaming the streets amid oddities and wonder, takes it upon himself to translate from a language he does not understand. 

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780811221498
Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation
Publication date: 06/09/2015
Pages: 256
Sales rank: 860,321
Product dimensions: 5.30(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

ENRIQUE VILA-MATAS was born in Barcelona. He has received countless prizes and written numerous award-winning novels, including Bartleby & Co., Montano’s Malady, Never Any End to Paris, and Dublinesque.

Anne McLean lives in Toronto and has translated the works of authors including Javier Cercas, Julio Cortázar, and Juan Gabriel Vásquez, and Enrique Vila-Matas.

Anna Milsom, b. 1951, is an acclaimed experimental artist.
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