The Literary Conference
César Aira · b. 1949 · Argentina
Originally El congreso de literatura (Spanish) · translated by Katherine Silver
Why it matters
A mad scientist-translator attempts to clone Carlos Fuentes in order to build an army and take over the world, with predictably chaotic results. Aira's wildest genre mashup, pure improvisation pushed to gleeful extremes.
At a glance
speculative fictionsatire
Difficulty 5/10fast pace90 pagesFreewheeling, digressive improvisation resists any conventional plot logic.
Where to go next
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