Animal World
Encyclopedia
Animal World is a collection of short stories written by Antonio di Benedetto
, with hallucinatory animal transformations by the internationally acknowledged Argentine
master.
places the serpent in paradise, speaking wisely to the first man and woman. Classical authors like Lucian
and Apuleius
wrote satires in which pretentious people turned into lowly animals, like a jackass. William Shakespeare
created his own memorable jackass, and Miguel de Cervantes
had his witty talking dogs. In our century, Franz Kafka
presented the learned address of a highly refined ape to a scientific academy. Probably no writer worth his salt has not at one time or other picked up the theme.
A little-known, but fascinating contribution to this tradition is [Mundo animal, or Animal World, by the Argentine author, Antonio di Benedetto
. It is strangely different from its celebrated predecessors. Kafka, for example, impresses the reader with a striking artistic conception, ingenious logic and magnificent language in each story. Di Benedetto's stories do not impress in this way.
Written in conversational and even intentionally awkward language, they present a confused and troubled narrator, who, tormented by mysterious gnawings of guilt, becomes involved in some obscure way with an animal or whole group of animals. They invade his soul, drive him to rage or deliver him from his obsession. Often the story hinges on a pun, a distorted folktale, or an illogical association. While not spectacular in itself, each story adds to the preceding to create a growing sense of doom. Thus story by story the reader becomes ensnared in a horrifying, hallucinatory realm of associations; the world he thought was human is transformed into Animal World.
Antonio di Benedetto
Antonio di Benedetto , was an Argentine journalist and writer.-Publishing Career:...
, with hallucinatory animal transformations by the internationally acknowledged Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
master.
Summary
The animal theme is probably the oldest in literature. Cavemen told stories of hunts, of talking animals and probably of animal-like gods. The first book of the BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
places the serpent in paradise, speaking wisely to the first man and woman. Classical authors like Lucian
Lucian
Lucian of Samosata was a rhetorician and satirist who wrote in the Greek language. He is noted for his witty and scoffing nature.His ethnicity is disputed and is attributed as Assyrian according to Frye and Parpola, and Syrian according to Joseph....
and Apuleius
Apuleius
Apuleius was a Latin prose writer. He was a Berber, from Madaurus . He studied Platonist philosophy in Athens; travelled to Italy, Asia Minor and Egypt; and was an initiate in several cults or mysteries. The most famous incident in his life was when he was accused of using magic to gain the...
wrote satires in which pretentious people turned into lowly animals, like a jackass. William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
created his own memorable jackass, and Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, considered the first modern novel, is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written...
had his witty talking dogs. In our century, Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka was a culturally influential German-language author of short stories and novels. Contemporary critics and academics, including Vladimir Nabokov, regard Kafka as one of the best writers of the 20th century...
presented the learned address of a highly refined ape to a scientific academy. Probably no writer worth his salt has not at one time or other picked up the theme.
A little-known, but fascinating contribution to this tradition is [Mundo animal, or Animal World, by the Argentine author, Antonio di Benedetto
Antonio di Benedetto
Antonio di Benedetto , was an Argentine journalist and writer.-Publishing Career:...
. It is strangely different from its celebrated predecessors. Kafka, for example, impresses the reader with a striking artistic conception, ingenious logic and magnificent language in each story. Di Benedetto's stories do not impress in this way.
Written in conversational and even intentionally awkward language, they present a confused and troubled narrator, who, tormented by mysterious gnawings of guilt, becomes involved in some obscure way with an animal or whole group of animals. They invade his soul, drive him to rage or deliver him from his obsession. Often the story hinges on a pun, a distorted folktale, or an illogical association. While not spectacular in itself, each story adds to the preceding to create a growing sense of doom. Thus story by story the reader becomes ensnared in a horrifying, hallucinatory realm of associations; the world he thought was human is transformed into Animal World.
Editions
- Translated from SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
by H. E. FrancisH. E. FrancisH E Francis was a scholar, professor and writer.- Biography :H. E. Francis was Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He has travelled three times as a Fulbright professor to Argentina. An author in his own right, he has published five collections of stories,...
, with an Afterword by Jorge García-Gómez. Grand Terrace, CA: Xenos BooksXenos BooksXenos Books is a publishing company in Riverside, California that was founded in 1985 by Karl Kvitko and Verona Weiss. The company is known for publishing bilingual books, and modern American and foreign writers in translation.- Poetry :...
. ISBN 1-879378-17-5 (paper), 138 p. [With cover art by Peter Zokosky.]