jcr610 's review for:

The Literary Conference by César Aira

4.0

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This book made me feel kind of crazy and manic, but not in a totally bad way. I'd never read Aira before, but I'd heard about his method of just going forward in a story without changing what he'd written already. That lends it the feeling of being in the hands of a zany driver going up a mountaintop. Is he going to get you back down? Will you survive at all? This small book alone had a cloning machine, a secret treasure trap, an appearance by Carlos Fuentes, a beautiful hotel pool, the titular literary conference, some uncomfortable romance, and, last but not least, giant blue mountain slugs. It's like if Roberto Bolano were on LSD and amphetamines at once. Remarkably, the book does achieve a narrative loop, however roughly, closing the circle it begins. Aira fits in some smart philosophical asides about language and representation. The writing is incredibly smart and dense while still conveying a B-movie type plot. I'm not sure I can handle more Aira but this was definitely not boring.