A review by mrsthrift
Ghosts by César Aira

4.0

It is New Years Eve and a Chilean family is preparing to celebrate with family and friends. The book is set almost entirely in an unfinished luxury high rise in Argentina, where the Vinas family stays during a short-term job assignment (security detail for the building). The condo is also haunted by a collection of nude male ghosts. The oldest daughter, Patri, is invited to a party that will cost her her life. Can her mother's love save her? Does she need to be saved? The story is creepy, even a little unsettling. The relationships and characters are authentic in the way that magical realist characters can be, a sincere earnest way just beyond your peripheral vision. A thoughtful experiment in magical realism, GHOSTS meanders through some philosophical ruminations, and the reader slogs along. Aira muses over great ideas - life, love, boredom, etc. The reader is repaid for their patience, however, with culminating weirdness at the end. This book is really short, but if you are the type to absorb vague philosophies from fiction & get lost in daydream, you might find it takes a surprisingly long time to get through the 138 pages.