An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter
Encyclopedia
An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter by César Aira
was first published in 2000. Chris Andrews’ English translation was published by New Directions in 2006.
), a "memorable performance...whose tone and oddly compelling vision are distinctly [Aira's] own" (The Los Angeles Times). In his San Francisco Chronicle review, critic Ilan Stavans places this work alongside that of Roberto Bolano as a modern Latin American novel likely to endure beyond its present moment.
César Aira
César Aira is an Argentine writer and translator, and an exponent of Argentine contemporary literature. He has published over fifty books of stories, novels and essays...
was first published in 2000. Chris Andrews’ English translation was published by New Directions in 2006.
Summary
An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter simultaneously navigates the territories of history, philosophy, and fantasy to offer less a biography of German painter Johann Moritz Rugendas (1802-1858) than a surreal account of his journeys through Latin America. At the prompting of explorer and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, Rugendas travels to Argentina, Chile, and Mexico to paint their landscapes with a sense of what Humboldt calls "physiognomic totality," an understanding of each work as a portrait of the environment as a whole. In Argentina, Rugendas' adventure into the pampas almost costs him his life when he is struck by lightning while riding his horse and then dragged through the pampas as his horse flees. This leaves him horribly disfigured. As Rugendas struggles to recover physically he now sees the landscape with an altered vision. Aira's themes include the persistence of the artist and the sustaining power of his will to continue painting.Reception
An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter has been hailed as "thrilling" (The New York Sun) and "utterly astonishing" (San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
), a "memorable performance...whose tone and oddly compelling vision are distinctly [Aira's] own" (The Los Angeles Times). In his San Francisco Chronicle review, critic Ilan Stavans places this work alongside that of Roberto Bolano as a modern Latin American novel likely to endure beyond its present moment.
External links
- "Latin Americans Still Tweaking the Novel," by Ilan StavansIlan StavansIlan Stavans is a Mexican-American, essayist, lexicographer, cultural commentator, translator, short-story author, TV personality, and teacher known for his insights into American, Hispanic, and Jewish cultures.- Life :Ilan Stavans was born in Mexico to a middle-class Jewish family from the Pale...
, San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chroniclethumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, July 16, 2006. - "An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter," by Carlos Amantea.
- "César Aira," by Maria Moreno, Issue 106 Winter .
- "An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter" at Complete ReviewComplete reviewcomplete review is a literary website founded in March 1999. It is best known for reviews of novels in English translation, in particular drawing attention to otherwise neglected contemporary works from around the world, but there are also reviews of classics, non-fiction, drama and poetry...
. Includes links to many reviews.