Bioy Casares fu amico e collaboratore di Borges, dalla cui fama è per lo più oscurato. Sapeva, parole sue, di libri, di donne, di tennis. Questo romanzo breve del 1940 è la principale opera per cui è ricordato e può essere considerata (come diceva lo stesso Borges) un racconto perfetto, che sviluppa sotto forma di distopia fantascientifica una delle più potenti descrizioni del solipsismo e della solitudine in letteratura. Michele Mari, grazie alle cui pagine cui l'ho scoperto, lo paragona a La nube Purpurea di Shiel e a Dissipatio H.G. di Morelli. Direi che i paragoni sono calzanti e vi aggiungerei Io sono leggenda di Matheson, per lo meno nelle parti più concentrate sui pensieri del protagonista. A ogni modo, non è "solo" un libro di fantascienza o di introspezione psicologica. Bioy Casares si confronta con topoi potentissimi (l'isola, la tecnica) e sviluppa - di nuovo, siamo nel '40 - riflessioni profonde sulla "società dell'immagine", fornendo potenti metafore a chi si occupa di cinema e fotografia - o di sociologia.
( )

This was... okay. Maybe due to my scattered reading of it. But also, it is told in an off putting way, as the main character doesn't seem like an outstanding guy. First, it is said that he is running from the law, though the reader doesn't find out what exactly happened. With more back story, this main character could have been more likeable. And when he says he wishes he were invisible, it just reminds me what a sociopathic ass the invisible man from H.G. Wells is. Not to mention other H.G. Wells comparisons that can be found here. Otherwise, I don't want to ruin this odd plot for any other readers. It's an interesting idea, which seems to be inspired by Wells and Jules Verne and I'm glad to read something from Argentina. Also, it's short! But again, I think some back story for the main character might have helped here. ( )

Avrei davvero voluto farmel0 piacere, ma non ci sono riuscita. ^^ Sono arrivata circa a metà e poi ho detto basta.

This book, another of my recent finds courtesy of Goodreads, is intriguing on many levels. Not a highly refined literary style but directness and vividness of imagination more than make up for that. The involved premise concerns competing versions of reality, one real, one artificial. The two realities get mixed up in cleverly complicated ways. Though published in 1940, this tale has resonances that are pertinent today as virtual reality (VR) seems poised to make assaults on our mind- and life-spaces. Written by an Argentinian friend and protege of Jorge Luis Borges -- an interesting historical angle in itself -- the book is a quick, stimulating, and enjoyable read. ( )

The most perfect little novel. I have already made recommendations to most book lovers I know throughout reading it. It's ghostly, haunting, mesmerizing. However, it is not a ghost story or a story of a haunting outright. Yet it is eerie and so fully imagined that you will know the entire landscape from tip to tail after reading it; the author blankets the reader in imagery.

The narrator is compelling, as is the beautiful Faustine. I can't recommend this more. And I don't want to say much more either, because I think one of the best things about this novel is that it surprises with it's absolute originality.

It is a whole world, and it is enchanting. ( )