{"title":"César Aira","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCésar Aira\u003c\/strong\u003e crafts narratives that blur the boundaries between reality and imagination, inviting readers into worlds where art, memory, and the surreal intertwine. His works, such as \u003cem\u003eAn Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Famous Magician\u003c\/em\u003e, offer a unique blend of poetic storytelling and inventive exploration of creativity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith a keen eye on \u003cem\u003eArts \u0026amp; Culture\u003c\/em\u003e and the nuances of human experience, Aira’s writing challenges conventional fiction while remaining deeply engaging. His books are ideal for those drawn to thoughtful, unconventional tales that celebrate the power of artistic vision.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"an-episode-in-the-life-of-a-landscape-painter-by-cesar-aira-9780241746882","title":"An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAn Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter\u003c\/em\u003e by César Aira is part of 90 classic titles celebrating 90 years of Penguin Books.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt is 1837 and a brilliant German artist sets out to cross the mountains between Chile and Argentina. Perhaps nobody before him has been able to paint the sights that unfold—vast chasms, surreal plants and animals...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut then something goes appallingly wrong.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is one of Aira's great works, filled with his baffling ability to veer between grandeur and absurdity. Each page fails to provide clues as to what lies in wait for the reader on the next.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House Distribution","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46463300141292,"sku":"9780241746882","price":17.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/06c2131fe0de6cceaada2e77ecffc8b0.jpg?v=1789340350"},{"product_id":"the-famous-magician-by-cesar-aira-9780811228893","title":"The Famous Magician","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA certain writer (\"past sixty, enjoying 'a certain renown'\") strolls through the old book market in a Buenos Aires park: \"My Sunday walk through the market, repeated over so many years, was part of my general fantasizing about books.\" Unfortunately, he is suffering from writer's block. However, that proves to be the least of our hero's problems. In the market, he fails to avoid the insufferable boor Ovando—\"a complete loser\" but a \"man supremely full of himself: Conceit was never less justified.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAnd yet, is Ovando a master magician? Can he turn sugar cubes into pure gold? And can our protagonist decline the offer Ovando proposes, granting him absolute power if the writer never in his life reads another book? And is his publisher also a great magician? And the writer's wife?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOnly César Aira could have cooked up this witch's potion (and only he would plop in phantom Mont Blanc pens as well as fearsome crocodiles from the banks of the Nile)—a brew bubbling over with the question: where does literature end and magic begin?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46853313298668,"sku":"9780811228893","price":33.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/22672893482476.jpg?v=1759196868"},{"product_id":"on-contemporary-art-by-cesar-aira-9781941701867","title":"On Contemporary Art","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTranslated into English for the first time, \u003cem\u003eOn Contemporary Art\u003c\/em\u003e, a speech by the renowned novelist César Aira, was delivered at a 2010 colloquium in Madrid dedicated to bridging the gap between writing and the visual arts. On Aira's dizzying and dazzling path, everything comes under question—from the reproducibility of artworks to the value of the written word itself. In the end, Aira leaves us stranded on the bridge between writing and art that he set out to construct in the first place, flailing as we try to make sense of where we stand.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAira's \u003cem\u003eOn Contemporary Art\u003c\/em\u003e exemplifies what the ekphrasis series is dedicated to doing—exploring the space in which words give meaning to objects, and objects shape our words.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLike the great writers Walter Benjamin and Hermann Broch before him, Aira operates in the space between fiction and essay writing, art and analysis. Pursuing questions about reproducibility, art making, and the limits of language, Aira's unique voice adds new insights to the essential conversations that continue to inform our understanding of art.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Thames and Hudson (Australia) Pty Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47383952621804,"sku":"9781941701867","price":18.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/8829263482879.jpg?v=1773390279"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/cesar-aira.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}