Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Emece Editores (1996), 155 pages
Description
Jorge Luis Borges declared The Invention of Morel a masterpiece of plotting, comparable to The Turn of the Screw and Journey to the Center of the Earth. Set on a mysterious island, Bioy's novella is a story of suspense and exploration, as well as a wonderfully unlikely romance, in which every detail is at once crystal clear and deeply mysterious. Inspired by Bioy Casares's fascination with the movie star Louise Brooks, The Invention of Morel has gone on to live a secret life of its own. Greatly admired by Julio Cortázar, Gabriel García Márquez, and Octavio Paz, the novella helped to usher in Latin American fiction's now famous postwar boom. As the model for Alain Resnais and Alain Robbe-Grillet's Last Year in Marienbad, it also changed the history of film.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member John
Bioy Casares was a good friend of Borges who said of this novel, in the prologue to the edition that I have that “To classify it as perfect is neither an imprecision nor a hyperbole”. I’m not sure I would share Borges’s opinion, though the story is an interesting riff on reality and given
The story is told in the first person by a man who has escaped from custody to an unknown, uninhabited island that has a museum, a chapel, a swimming pool, a mill (we are never clear what the crime was, but it seemed to entail the death penalty). At least the island is initially uninhabited, but then a group of “people” arrive and the protagonist, fearful that they are part of a larger plot by the police to try to capture him, hides in the marshy areas of the island, in some considerable physical discomfort, from which he skulks about the island spying on the arrivals. To complicate matters, and the emotions of the protagonist, he falls in love with one of the arrivals….a strange relationship of unrequited love, unrequited attention, even unrequited awareness that baffles him until he discovers that the arrivals are, in fact, not real people, but sort of holographic images stuck in repeating scenes of activity, like an eternally running loop of film. This is adumbrated (in hindsight) early in the story when the protagonist notes, “I believe we lose immortality because we have not conquered our opposition to death; we keep insisting on the primary, rudimentary idea: that the whole body should be kept alive. We should seek to preserve only the part that has to do with consciousness.” Ah, but do the images have consciousness? They have no free will, though the inventor of the machine that creates them (Morel) hopes to imbue them with it.
The protagonist (who is recording the story in a diary) discovers the secret of the machines and inserts himself into the loop, so that he can be with his love thus blurring the lines between realities, and uttering one of the most plaintive of all cries at the very end of the book when he writes: “To the person who reads this diary and then invents a machine that can assemble disjoined presences, I make this request: Find Faustine and me, let me enter the heaven of her consciousness. It will be an act of piety.” Just as one can never enter entirely into the consciousness, the core of a person, even a person one loves, so the protagonist finds himself, in the extreme, eternally outside the consciousness of his “love”.
This slim volume touches upon a number of interesting themes and issues: the Malthusian theory of population growth, prospects for environmental disasters, the cloning of human beings, the existence of parallel universes. The choice of the name “Faustine” is obviously not accidental and the protagonist does indeed abandon his soul, his physical consciousness in entering into the loop of images. As a Canadian, I was intrigued by two references, one to the province of Quebec and one to Canada as place that Faustine talks about. Maybe Bioy Casares visited Canada at some point in his life.
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that it was written over forty years ago, it is prescient in the number of social and other issues that it touches upon. The story is told in the first person by a man who has escaped from custody to an unknown, uninhabited island that has a museum, a chapel, a swimming pool, a mill (we are never clear what the crime was, but it seemed to entail the death penalty). At least the island is initially uninhabited, but then a group of “people” arrive and the protagonist, fearful that they are part of a larger plot by the police to try to capture him, hides in the marshy areas of the island, in some considerable physical discomfort, from which he skulks about the island spying on the arrivals. To complicate matters, and the emotions of the protagonist, he falls in love with one of the arrivals….a strange relationship of unrequited love, unrequited attention, even unrequited awareness that baffles him until he discovers that the arrivals are, in fact, not real people, but sort of holographic images stuck in repeating scenes of activity, like an eternally running loop of film. This is adumbrated (in hindsight) early in the story when the protagonist notes, “I believe we lose immortality because we have not conquered our opposition to death; we keep insisting on the primary, rudimentary idea: that the whole body should be kept alive. We should seek to preserve only the part that has to do with consciousness.” Ah, but do the images have consciousness? They have no free will, though the inventor of the machine that creates them (Morel) hopes to imbue them with it.
The protagonist (who is recording the story in a diary) discovers the secret of the machines and inserts himself into the loop, so that he can be with his love thus blurring the lines between realities, and uttering one of the most plaintive of all cries at the very end of the book when he writes: “To the person who reads this diary and then invents a machine that can assemble disjoined presences, I make this request: Find Faustine and me, let me enter the heaven of her consciousness. It will be an act of piety.” Just as one can never enter entirely into the consciousness, the core of a person, even a person one loves, so the protagonist finds himself, in the extreme, eternally outside the consciousness of his “love”.
This slim volume touches upon a number of interesting themes and issues: the Malthusian theory of population growth, prospects for environmental disasters, the cloning of human beings, the existence of parallel universes. The choice of the name “Faustine” is obviously not accidental and the protagonist does indeed abandon his soul, his physical consciousness in entering into the loop of images. As a Canadian, I was intrigued by two references, one to the province of Quebec and one to Canada as place that Faustine talks about. Maybe Bioy Casares visited Canada at some point in his life.
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LibraryThing member JimmyChanga
At first this book was good but a little predictable. It felt like Last Year at Marienbad. Then it started to feel a little like Celine and Julie Go Boating. These are both great films that I love, so I didn't mind. But the book definitely differs from these in interesting ways, and I really loved
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the last 30 pages or so. I haven't read Borge's introduction to it yet, but he is so predictable for loving it: it's got most of the signature things in a Borges story: mirrors, reproduction, the fact that the text you are reading is some kind of imperfect artifact (the footnotes were a nice touch, and sometimes quite humorous esp. the one about Malthus on p.83 (also makes you wonder about the "editor"))... though there is no library filled with books, and the prose isn't as dense. My only complaint is that the narrator's paranoia in the beginning, and his slow-ness to catch on to what is happening even after the reader kinda figures it out is kind of disappointing. I found myself thinking "come on man, don't you get it already?" Sometimes I also found his "voice" to be tiring, too obvious a fabricated fictional voice. Also, near the end, he explains everything (except for one thing, which the editor points out in a footnote), down to the reason for the two suns. I felt this whole section was unnecessary; if left out, the book would've been more pleasurable on a repeat read (or multiple repeat reads, for eternity, get it? haha)But these minor quibbles shouldn't detract from the overall quality of the book, and the kind of depth it is able to reach in under 100 pages is impressive (although it could be even shorter if the annoying things I noted earlier were to be eliminated). You can read it in a day (and should).PS - I just thought of this... and I wonder if this works in the original language, but: I love that the title of this book has double meanings. If the title were "Morel's Invention," it would not be as interesting. But as "The Invention of Morel", it makes you wonder if the title refers to Morel's invention or if it refers to the fact that Morel is himself an invention. (as in "The Invention of the Telephone") Show Less
LibraryThing member RidgewayGirl
This book was originally written in 1940 and if I hadn't gone and read a few articles about it partway through, I might not have finished. The story is nuts, although also brilliant and boring. Casares was a good friend of Jorge Luis Borges and this novel is fantastical and a little surreal.
The
A few times, he's sure he's been spotted, but the behavior of the guests never changes. He leaves clues for the woman, but she never indicates that she's noticed. He tries to speak to her, but she ignores him.
There's an explanation for what's going on. And it's an interesting one that I'm glad I found out about because the story was, despite its brevity, becoming repetitious and annoying. Of course, the repetition was a necessary part of the tale, and the explanation is one that opens up so many questions and implications. This novel is the inspiration for the French modernist film classic, Last Year at Marienbad, just to give you an idea of what goes on. The film is set in an utterly different setting, the people are not the characters in the book and the explanation that ties the book together and makes it all worthwhile is missing, but other than that, it's eerily faithful.
The
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narrator is a fugitive, a man on the run, who hears about a deserted island in the South Pacific from an Italian rug seller in Calcutta. He steals a rowboat and sets out, finding the island. The island is small and marshy, but there are a few buildings and a swimming pool, all deserted and falling into disrepair. One day, the man wakes up and finds the buildings occupied by a group of vacationers, who play music loudly and wear oddly old-fashioned clothing. The man hides in the marsh, convinced they are there to capture him. He notices a woman, who goes every evening to an outcrop of rocks to watch the sunset. He becomes quickly fascinated in her and becomes determined to speak to her despite the danger. A few times, he's sure he's been spotted, but the behavior of the guests never changes. He leaves clues for the woman, but she never indicates that she's noticed. He tries to speak to her, but she ignores him.
There's an explanation for what's going on. And it's an interesting one that I'm glad I found out about because the story was, despite its brevity, becoming repetitious and annoying. Of course, the repetition was a necessary part of the tale, and the explanation is one that opens up so many questions and implications. This novel is the inspiration for the French modernist film classic, Last Year at Marienbad, just to give you an idea of what goes on. The film is set in an utterly different setting, the people are not the characters in the book and the explanation that ties the book together and makes it all worthwhile is missing, but other than that, it's eerily faithful.
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LibraryThing member Cecrow
The story of a man who loved too much; a country, a woman. He finds himself on the lamb, and on an abandoned island resort - abandoned until a host of people unexpectedly arrives and settles in, forcing him to hide in an inhospitable swamp. He can't escape the island, can't reveal himself - it's a
What I like about it is the realism with which the narrator questions his situation. It's a very good emulation of a guessing game, where you know the answer while your partner is following every tangent except the right one: it looks obvious to you, but try being in their shoes. The author's language is spare and he reveals the clues at a decent pace. There were only a few times when the poor man (conveniently) didn't investigate something he ought to have. The ending produces an interesting compare/contrast exercise with what we have today. It doesn't quite serve as a metaphor for us, but it offers a vision of the original frustrations that conjured up the world we live in.
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conundrum. This 1940 short science fiction novellette is built around a single idea, one that it won't take any Star Trek fan today nearly so long to parse as it does the narrator. There's hints of Borges in this, but not the same depth. What I like about it is the realism with which the narrator questions his situation. It's a very good emulation of a guessing game, where you know the answer while your partner is following every tangent except the right one: it looks obvious to you, but try being in their shoes. The author's language is spare and he reveals the clues at a decent pace. There were only a few times when the poor man (conveniently) didn't investigate something he ought to have. The ending produces an interesting compare/contrast exercise with what we have today. It doesn't quite serve as a metaphor for us, but it offers a vision of the original frustrations that conjured up the world we live in.
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LibraryThing member yhaduong
Borges, in the introduction, claims that The Invention of Morel is the perfect adventure story. And he is absolutely right. It's a short and pretty quick read, but very worth your while. The narrator is on an island, ostensibly on the lam from the law. The story is about his experience on the
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island, what happens to his sanity and his thoughts. I loved the twists of the books, the grand reveals and the sense of foreboding drama at the same time that the story is very simply told. Show Less
LibraryThing member paradoxosalpha
Although this novel is very short, it feels increasingly slow and frustrating toward the midpoint. Rather than a fault, this mood shows its success at getting the reader to identify with its stranded fugitive speaker, who is significantly the aspiring author of two books other than the journal
I was more than a little reminded of The Island of the Day Before, and I feel certain Eco must have read Morel. Although Borges called this book an "adventure story," I feel compelled to view it as a parable.
The moral of Morel:The utmost to be hoped for is a benevolent and capable posthumous editor.
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which forms the principal text of The Invention of Morel. The later part of the book involves a crucial agnorisis and the working out of its consequences. I was more than a little reminded of The Island of the Day Before, and I feel certain Eco must have read Morel. Although Borges called this book an "adventure story," I feel compelled to view it as a parable.
The moral of Morel:
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LibraryThing member tuckerresearch
I already knew the secret before reading this book (like Citizen Kane), but it is so well-plotted that it is still gripping. What an odd, interesting, intriguing little novella. It is a tale of unrequited love mixed with equal parts H. G. Wells, Borges, and Crusoe. It keeps your interest though
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it's slim, and it aspires at points to grand literature, though it is written in the disjointed passages of a shipwreck diarist. Without giving away the plot, I can say that this book is well worth the few hours you'll put into it, and anyone who likes Borges or has held an unrequited love for someone will understand the book's message. Show Less
LibraryThing member P_S_Patrick
If you only have time to read one 100-page novella this year, it should be this one. Known as a disciple of Jorge Luis Borges, the author of this work Adolfo Bioy Casares fulfills almost every expectation that might be made of him on this basis. This is no light praise.
Washed up on a deserted
Washed up on a deserted
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island the protagonist is fleeing the law. He is paranoid. However he is confused by the structures that have been built on the island and abandoned. A museum, a chapel, a swimming pool, and possibly some kind of hydro-electric power rig. Why would someone do this, and will they return. I will give nothing more of this incredibly-conceived plot away, other than that it is a work of psychological depth, tension, obsession, originality, imagination, and perfect resolution. It is crystalline in its clarity, sharp as a papercut, and deep as the sea (though like the sea we can see it coming before we get there). It has heartache, longing, desperation, fear, wonder, and a sense of the miraculous. Yet on a certain level it is all completely believable, it is scientific, systematic, metaphysical, and yet precise, and we are right there in the midst of it. Perhaps there are a couple of holes in it if we think about it too much. But on the whole this is a work that improves the more we think about it, which is rare. Show Less
LibraryThing member hemlokgang
This little gem is a novella that packs a punch. The story is set on an imaginary,, nameless island, which has a secret. The beginning is a bit disorienting, on purpose, and once the secret is revealed it starts to make some sense, albeit never completely. Science fiction is full of stories about
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man trying to devise a means to immortality, and here is yet another. Extremely well-written, my curiosity was piqued immediately and was engaged throughout this tale of mystery. Themes include the nature of love and the intense desire of some people to become immortal. An excellent way to spend a rainy afternoon! Show Less
LibraryThing member booklove2
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
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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. Show Less
LibraryThing member thorold
Adolfo Bioy Casares and his wife, the writer and artist Silvina Ocampo, were both close to Jorge Luis Borges and often collaborated with him on literary projects. Borges wrote the preface for this, Bioy's first stand-alone novella. He and Octavio Paz both famously categorised it as "an almost
The narrator is a fugitive from Venezuela (we aren't told why he is on the run from the law, but there are hints that he's the victim of some sort of political persecution) who has taken refuge on what is meant to be an uninhabited island. Naturally, he's a bit miffed when a bunch of tourists suddenly appear and start playing the gramophone a week or two after he first arrives. At first, he keeps a low profile, thinking that this might be a plot by the police to flush him out of hiding, but then he gradually becomes fascinated with one of the tourists, a woman called Faustine, and discovers that something seems to have gone seriously wrong with either the way he perceives the world, or the way in which everyone else does.
There turns out to be a very ingenious solution to the mystery, and we are bombarded with references to H.G. Wells, Faust, Robinson Crusoe, and much profound speculation about the relationship between human individuality, memory, and perception, but none of it ever really grabbed me very profoundly - it's all just clever philosophical juggling, really, and it seems to take itself far too seriously. As one of the other LT reviewers says, it might have been much more interesting if it had been a five-page story by Borges rather than a 90-page novella in which we have time to become irritated with the lack of any real interaction between characters.
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perfect novel" - so obviously it's more or less compulsory to read it if you want to say you know something about South American literature...The narrator is a fugitive from Venezuela (we aren't told why he is on the run from the law, but there are hints that he's the victim of some sort of political persecution) who has taken refuge on what is meant to be an uninhabited island. Naturally, he's a bit miffed when a bunch of tourists suddenly appear and start playing the gramophone a week or two after he first arrives. At first, he keeps a low profile, thinking that this might be a plot by the police to flush him out of hiding, but then he gradually becomes fascinated with one of the tourists, a woman called Faustine, and discovers that something seems to have gone seriously wrong with either the way he perceives the world, or the way in which everyone else does.
There turns out to be a very ingenious solution to the mystery, and we are bombarded with references to H.G. Wells, Faust, Robinson Crusoe, and much profound speculation about the relationship between human individuality, memory, and perception, but none of it ever really grabbed me very profoundly - it's all just clever philosophical juggling, really, and it seems to take itself far too seriously. As one of the other LT reviewers says, it might have been much more interesting if it had been a five-page story by Borges rather than a 90-page novella in which we have time to become irritated with the lack of any real interaction between characters.
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LibraryThing member seelight
Not thrilled with it. It's a good, but not an exciting or inspiring book. Well structured, but with one of those maddeningly boring and stupid protagonists who falls in love with a beautiful but unlovable woman and acts like an idiot.
LibraryThing member stef7sa
Books based on a single idea, the realisation of a logical object, in which the story is mainly meant to represent this object, avoiding inconsistencies, tend to be lifeless, sterile and boring, as literature that is. And what a bore this one was! A purely intellectual exercise,
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schematic,repetitative. How to write such a book and good literature at the same time? Ask David Mitchell, his Cloud Atlas is far more enjoyable. Show Less
LibraryThing member HadriantheBlind
A charming little narrative which lulls you into thinking it's 'just another adventure story' and then throws a few genuinely shocking twists at you. I won't reveal their nature, as that would genuinely spoil the book, but let's just say that Philip K. Dick would enjoy this idea as much as Borges
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or Paz. Show Less
LibraryThing member veracite
Science Fiction. SCIENCE FICTION. SCIENCE FICTION. SCIENCE FICTION.
There.
Definitely worth reading, science fiction fans. Don't be put off by fear of the worst and most indulgent of magic realism*. This is a creepy, fascinating book. The reader will be way ahead of the narrator pretty quickly but
*Not that magic realism is bad, just that bad anything is bad and bad magic realism (ie SFF for non-SFF readers) is quite tedious.
There.
Definitely worth reading, science fiction fans. Don't be put off by fear of the worst and most indulgent of magic realism*. This is a creepy, fascinating book. The reader will be way ahead of the narrator pretty quickly but
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that won't undermine the experience. *Not that magic realism is bad, just that bad anything is bad and bad magic realism (ie SFF for non-SFF readers) is quite tedious.
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LibraryThing member VeritysVeranda
I wish I had read this when I was a bit younger so that I could have found great South American writers sooner. (Ah the joys of the American public school system!) It is a small piece that combines scifi/fantasy with excellent writing.
LibraryThing member phooky
Nicely paced and conceived, but the premise must have been far more surprising and mind-expanding at the time of publication. The novel invests a lot of its energy in foreshadowing and anticipation; unfortunately, most of the ideas have since become popular science fiction fodder, and I found I was
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several steps ahead of the narrator throughout. I would have loved this book if I'd read it in a less technologically sophisticated age. Show Less
LibraryThing member nosajeel
It might be unfair, but as a Borges short story this would have been brilliant. But as a novella, even a short one, it felt slightly too long for what was otherwise a clever premise, good execution and spine-tingling ending.
The reason it might be unfair is that one cannot read Bioy Casares without
The Invention of the Morel is a series of diary entries by a man who fled to an uninhabited island that has an abandoned museum, pool and chapel. He begins to see a set of people that look real but none of them can see him. And he sees other slightly off things, like two suns and two moons. It all feels surreal but it is tied together neatly with an explanation, and a final romantic twist.
The reason it might be unfair is that one cannot read Bioy Casares without
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knowing that he is a disciple of Borges (after all, Borges wrote the preface). And thus one ends up comparing the book to Borges. Which is inevitably unflattering to just about anyone.The Invention of the Morel is a series of diary entries by a man who fled to an uninhabited island that has an abandoned museum, pool and chapel. He begins to see a set of people that look real but none of them can see him. And he sees other slightly off things, like two suns and two moons. It all feels surreal but it is tied together neatly with an explanation, and a final romantic twist.
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LibraryThing member BayardUS
A novella with an intriguing start, especially because of the setting. This opening is followed by the narrator speculating about various possibilities that would account for the bizarre situation he finds himself in, and most of the usual suspects for an unreliable narrator are set forth. Instead
Overall I thought the standout piece of this story was the plot, as the writing was solid but not remarkable and there is only one character to speak of, really. His situation prevents much concrete characterization. An introduction written by Borges is always a welcome addition to a story.
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of leaving it at that, though, the story goes on to introduce a unique explanation for the phenomena the narrator is experiencing. The idea of a device that could capture its subjects absolutely, but at the cost of their reality (not to mention creating an endless loop), is an interesting concept- and a clear parallel to writing a work of fiction. This novel gives a perspective on the creation of characters and stories in fiction in the same vein as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead but in a less meta way. For another story that explores some of the same ideas check out The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories by Gene Wolfe.Overall I thought the standout piece of this story was the plot, as the writing was solid but not remarkable and there is only one character to speak of, really. His situation prevents much concrete characterization. An introduction written by Borges is always a welcome addition to a story.
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LibraryThing member ytchio
I read this book a long time ago (in college) and I absolutely loved it. It is on my reread list.
LibraryThing member gothamajp
I’m still not sure what to make of this novella. Given that it was first published in 1940, in many ways it’s astoundingly prescient in its descriptions and concept of a first encounter with a virtual reality.
On the other hand I found the narrative to be incoherent at times and the writing
If I had to sum this piece up in one word I think I’d rate it as “intriguing.”
On the other hand I found the narrative to be incoherent at times and the writing
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style obtuse and full of digressions that at times I wasn’t sure if I was reading about things happening to the main character, or the philosophical meanderings of the author.If I had to sum this piece up in one word I think I’d rate it as “intriguing.”
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LibraryThing member jwhenderson
The Invention of Morel is a science fiction novel by Adolfo Bioy Casares. It was Bioy Casares' breakthrough effort, for which he won the 1941 First Municipal Prize for Literature of the City of Buenos Aires. It shares some elements with The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells. This is a tale of
The impact of Casares concise and precise writing style is evident throughout the book. Slowly you begin to realize that each sentence is important to the construction of the whole, references some theme and is essential to the understanding of the Island, the story, and the characters who inhabit this world.
Jorge Luis Borges wrote in the prologue, "To classify it [the novel] as perfect is neither an imprecision nor a hyperbole." Mexican Nobel Prize winner in Literature Octavio Paz echoed Borges when he said, "The Invention of Morel may be described, without exaggeration, as a perfect novel."
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a man stranded on an island, one which appears to be inhabited by ghosts. Now I do not believe in ghosts, but when you are stranded on an island the spirits may be a bit closer than they are in the big city. And so it begins. "Today, on this island, a miracle happened: summer came ahead of time."(p 9) Now that may not sound like much of a miracle, but it is enough of one to give this short novel an aura of surprise and suspense. The fugitive who narrates the story is concerned with many things including the views of Thomas Malthus; a sort of population control is just one of the themes that inhabit this small book. Then there is Faustine and it is she that inspires a love that is more real than the island or the body of the tourists who disappear. It is these tourists who like to dance to "Tea for Two" from the Broadway musical "No, No, Nanette, foreshadowing this love that the fugitive bears for Faustine. Strangeness abounds throughout as suggested by the opening miracle, but this is fiction. It is here that dreams of immortality of the spirit inspire in ways that are not possible outside the world of fiction. The fugitive seeks control of his world, a way to deal with others including, possibly, Morel. It is Morel who reminds me of Well's Doctor Moreau. The impact of Casares concise and precise writing style is evident throughout the book. Slowly you begin to realize that each sentence is important to the construction of the whole, references some theme and is essential to the understanding of the Island, the story, and the characters who inhabit this world.
Jorge Luis Borges wrote in the prologue, "To classify it [the novel] as perfect is neither an imprecision nor a hyperbole." Mexican Nobel Prize winner in Literature Octavio Paz echoed Borges when he said, "The Invention of Morel may be described, without exaggeration, as a perfect novel."
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LibraryThing member jasonlf
It might be unfair, but as a Borges short story this would have been brilliant. But as a novella, even a short one, it felt slightly too long for what was otherwise a clever premise, good execution and spine-tingling ending.
The reason it might be unfair is that one cannot read Bioy Casares without
The Invention of the Morel is a series of diary entries by a man who fled to an uninhabited island that has an abandoned museum, pool and chapel. He begins to see a set of people that look real but none of them can see him. And he sees other slightly off things, like two suns and two moons. It all feels surreal but it is tied together neatly with an explanation, and a final romantic twist.
The reason it might be unfair is that one cannot read Bioy Casares without
Show More
knowing that he is a disciple of Borges (after all, Borges wrote the preface). And thus one ends up comparing the book to Borges. Which is inevitably unflattering to just about anyone.The Invention of the Morel is a series of diary entries by a man who fled to an uninhabited island that has an abandoned museum, pool and chapel. He begins to see a set of people that look real but none of them can see him. And he sees other slightly off things, like two suns and two moons. It all feels surreal but it is tied together neatly with an explanation, and a final romantic twist.
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LibraryThing member KWharton
I got this book as a "blind date with a classic" and I was disappointed when I opened the wrapping, because I read "Dormir al sol" and really didn't enjoy it, and also because I prefer to read in the original language if I can. There are many interesting books or there that I was quite happy not to
Therefore, I read this really quickly so that I could return it to the bookshop and swap out for something else. However, I quite enjoyed it. I think Bioy Casares has some interesting ideas even if I don't really like his style. Reading this in English probably helped as it made it easier for me to understand and therefore quicker.
I groaned about the main character's attitude to women, but I can sort of overlook it due to the age of the book.
Anyway, it's a short read with an interesting idea. Could be good for a book group. I think it's best to read without knowing anything about it.
The blind date blurb said "I fit neatly together like a dreamy and beautiful jigsaw puzzle" and I got it from Mary Martin bookshop in Melbourne, Australia.
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bother with anything else written by Bioy Casares.Therefore, I read this really quickly so that I could return it to the bookshop and swap out for something else. However, I quite enjoyed it. I think Bioy Casares has some interesting ideas even if I don't really like his style. Reading this in English probably helped as it made it easier for me to understand and therefore quicker.
I groaned about the main character's attitude to women, but I can sort of overlook it due to the age of the book.
Anyway, it's a short read with an interesting idea. Could be good for a book group. I think it's best to read without knowing anything about it.
The blind date blurb said "I fit neatly together like a dreamy and beautiful jigsaw puzzle" and I got it from Mary Martin bookshop in Melbourne, Australia.
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LibraryThing member FPdC
Maybe the most famous novel by the famous contemporary of Borges and his co-writer. A peak of latin american and magical realism/surrealism literature. Really great!
Subjects
Awards
Language
Original language
Spanish
Original publication date
1940
Physical description
155 p.; 7.64 x 0.4 inches
ISBN
9500401797 / 9789500401791