The Divorce
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- Create Date：2021-08-12 07:50:57
- Update Date：2025-09-13
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- Author：César Aira
- ISBN：0811230937
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Summary
With an enthusiastic foreword by Patti Smith， The Divorce is a delighful book of chance meetings， bizarre circumstances， and alternate realities
The Divorce tells about a recently divorced man on vacation in Buenos Aires。 One afternoon he encounters a series of the most magical coincidences。 While sitting at an outdoor café， absorbed in conversation with a talented video artist， he sees a young man riding by on a bicycle get thoroughly drenched by a downpour of water—seemingly from rain caught the night before in the overhead awning。 The video artist knows the cyclist， who knew a mad hermetic sculptor whose family used to take the Hindu God Krishna for walks in the neighborhood。 As the coincidences continue to add up， the stories concerning each new connection weave reality with the absurd until they reach a final， brilliant， cataclysmic ending。
The Divorce tells about a recently divorced man on vacation in Buenos Aires。 One afternoon he encounters a series of the most magical coincidences。 While sitting at an outdoor café， absorbed in conversation with a talented video artist， he sees a young man riding by on a bicycle get thoroughly drenched by a downpour of water—seemingly from rain caught the night before in the overhead awning。 The video artist knows the cyclist， who knew a mad hermetic sculptor whose family used to take the Hindu God Krishna for walks in the neighborhood。 As the coincidences continue to add up， the stories concerning each new connection weave reality with the absurd until they reach a final， brilliant， cataclysmic ending。
Reviews
Charlie Kruse
，
initially wasn't feeling this， but the form creeps up on you delightfully， and Aira is able to tell galactic stories in condensed forms and microscopic stories as epic yarns。 Really fun kind of origami writing， that folds up on itself only to eventually cohere into a beautiful novel。 still the GOAT initially wasn't feeling this， but the form creeps up on you delightfully， and Aira is able to tell galactic stories in condensed forms and microscopic stories as epic yarns。 Really fun kind of origami writing， that folds up on itself only to eventually cohere into a beautiful novel。 still the GOAT 。。。more
Vesna
，
This was the only episode that came back to her whenever she tried to sum up her past life， although she supposed， and with good reason， that many others must have been recorded somewhere in her memory。 It must have been a kind of shorthand， one event standing in for all the rest。 But it could not have been randomly chosen: the recollection must have been special in some way， like all the others， of course。 。 。 。 If that was where the meaning of life lay， it was very mysterious， because no tw This was the only episode that came back to her whenever she tried to sum up her past life， although she supposed， and with good reason， that many others must have been recorded somewhere in her memory。 It must have been a kind of shorthand， one event standing in for all the rest。 But it could not have been randomly chosen: the recollection must have been special in some way， like all the others， of course。 。 。 。 If that was where the meaning of life lay， it was very mysterious， because no two episodes can have precisely the same significance。 Time seemed to rule everything。 And yet it was not so。 Time was merely the mask that eternity had put on to seduce the young。 。。。more
Jenny （Reading Envy）
，
The Divorce tells about a recently divorced man on vacation in Buenos Aires。 One afternoon he encounters a series of the most magical coincidences。 While sitting at an outdoor café， absorbed in conversation with a talented video artist， he sees a young man riding by on a bicycle get thoroughly drenched by a downpour of water—seemingly from rain caught the night before in the overhead awning。 The video artist knows the cyclist， who knew a mad hermetic sculptor whose family used to take the Hindu The Divorce tells about a recently divorced man on vacation in Buenos Aires。 One afternoon he encounters a series of the most magical coincidences。 While sitting at an outdoor café， absorbed in conversation with a talented video artist， he sees a young man riding by on a bicycle get thoroughly drenched by a downpour of water—seemingly from rain caught the night before in the overhead awning。 The video artist knows the cyclist， who knew a mad hermetic sculptor whose family used to take the Hindu God Krishna for walks in the neighborhood。This was more whimsical than the other books I've read in translation from this author， but pleasantly so。 And at only 100 pages， it's a quick read。 This means I read it within a week from its arrival via the New Classics Club from New Directions， which I pay for。 。。。more
Darryl Suite
，
If you’re into surrealism and “WTF did I just read？” territory， come on over。 And since I’m very much into that kind of thing， I was living！！
Jill
，
I am honestly not sure what the fuck I just read but the word pretentious applies。
Bert Hirsch
，
Book review- The Divorce by Ceasr AiraCesar Aira the well respected and prolific Argentine novelist has added another piece to his growing multitude of strange yet engaging perspectives on literature。 Famous for publishing his first drafts his work can， at times， meander yet his flow of consciousness often results in tales no one else could write。In The Divorce he follows Kent， a divorcee， as he leaves his ex-wife and daughter in Rhode Island and rents a room in a guest house in the trendy Paler Book review- The Divorce by Ceasr AiraCesar Aira the well respected and prolific Argentine novelist has added another piece to his growing multitude of strange yet engaging perspectives on literature。 Famous for publishing his first drafts his work can， at times， meander yet his flow of consciousness often results in tales no one else could write。In The Divorce he follows Kent， a divorcee， as he leaves his ex-wife and daughter in Rhode Island and rents a room in a guest house in the trendy Palermo Soho neighborhood of Buenos Aires。 While chatting up a new female acquaintance， Kent observes the humorous dousing of water that befalls his landlord， Enrique。As the tale unfolds we learn how Enrique is traumatically connected to Kent’s lunch companion， a mysterious guest in the same house named Jusepe， and finally Enrique’s mother who was an innocent victim of an attempted mafia assassination。 On its face the tale appears farcical， yet Aira pulls off this tightrope performance， as he has done in prior pieces such as The Literary Conference and others。Along the way we learn about a school fire， Jusepe’s strange upbringing and his cult of evolutionists， Enrique’s mother’s oddly acquired business acumen， and the commercialism of Palermo Soho once the childhood home of Borges。As Enrique tells Kent about falling in love with a mysterious woman， as cool as ice， he wonders…“。。。had he fallen in love with Mystery。 The Mystery that he himself had fashioned， with his reticence and fantasies？ If so， this might have been a symptom of megalomania， like believing that one has been chosen or is the protagonist of a story。 The way stories unfolded， he thought， should have taught him some humility。 Except that it hadn’t been so much an ‘unfolding’ as a ‘consumption’ of stories…Enrique lost himself in the depths of that gaze， where he felt that he would be able to find answers for which there were no questions…The story did not come to a happy end， but stories rarely do。 In fact， they rarely come to an end of any kind， because the teller gets tired along the way， or bored， or fears that people will make fun of him。”Reading the above passage， I perceived an insight into Aira’s unique storytelling technique。 This is a little treasure。 A brief story that “happened in the blink of an eye…how could there have been an ending if the beginning was still going on？” 。。。more
Larry Davidson
，
A recently divorced man travels to Buenos Aires， has a meal at a cafe with a woman， and witnesses the proprietor inadvertently douse a passing individual with rainwater from the cafe awning。 The soaked individual （who remains drenched to the end of the story） turns out to be a friend of the divorced man and his woman acquaintance， and runs into his mother who is dining at the cafe。 This grouping forms the basis of a number of stories associated with each of them。 The separate stories are intrigu A recently divorced man travels to Buenos Aires， has a meal at a cafe with a woman， and witnesses the proprietor inadvertently douse a passing individual with rainwater from the cafe awning。 The soaked individual （who remains drenched to the end of the story） turns out to be a friend of the divorced man and his woman acquaintance， and runs into his mother who is dining at the cafe。 This grouping forms the basis of a number of stories associated with each of them。 The separate stories are intriguing and make for a fun， enjoyable read。 My favorite of the stories （they are all good） is the mother who takes over the management of a large corporation as a young teenager and proceeds to make a huge success of the business by consulting a manual she finds at the office。 。。。more
Miguel Buddle
，
This is such a lovely little book。 A set of fables， revolving around an encounter at a café， with just a touch of magic and mystery。 Almost more poetry than prose。
Mursalin Mosaddeque
，
The vignettes that are barely interconnected are fantastical and captivating pieces on their own。 They shatter our notions of what's to expect from a piece of fiction and never fails to get hold of our undivided attention in the process。 The vignettes that are barely interconnected are fantastical and captivating pieces on their own。 They shatter our notions of what's to expect from a piece of fiction and never fails to get hold of our undivided attention in the process。 。。。more
David
，
Nestled somewhere between the absurdity and wonder of Charlie Kaufman and Andre Breton， this surreal modern fable takes the reader down several uncanny biographies， each a tangent from a single synchronous moment when a bicyclist is suddenly drenched in water on a street outside a cafe in Palermo。 Full of surprises and utterly charming。
Sarah H。
，
“I was grateful for that practical help， of course， but even more so—and I reaffirm my gratitude here， in these pages—for the company， the conversation， the time those people spent with me。” 。。。 This is not a book that explains divorce or any one divorce， but the time that people spent with him （the divorcé） during it。 And also things a little more absurd。 Moments just exploded！
Jerry Yudelson
，
I loved this novella， short and full of magical coincidences and brilliant writing。
Jennifer
，
The quantum imagination of César Aira treats the metamorphoses of relationship and divorce -- get ready for some mindflips。
Jim
，
Another delightful short novel by the Argentinian wizard César Aira， The Divorce works around a strange moment when four characters who know each other meet by a Buenos Aires cafe at the very moment when the young B&B operator Enrique tragically loses the love of his life， who is a very specialized goddess。 Like other Aira novels， the plot swirls around like a Roomba vacuum gone crazy -- except this one time， the story comes back to the main characters at the beginning。 An unusual departure for Another delightful short novel by the Argentinian wizard César Aira， The Divorce works around a strange moment when four characters who know each other meet by a Buenos Aires cafe at the very moment when the young B&B operator Enrique tragically loses the love of his life， who is a very specialized goddess。 Like other Aira novels， the plot swirls around like a Roomba vacuum gone crazy -- except this one time， the story comes back to the main characters at the beginning。 An unusual departure for Aira， and， as usual， great fun。 。。。more
Charlie
，
4。5 stars。 Aira's The Divorce fits a lot of different stories into its 98 pages， and some， like the College Fire thread， are some of the most psychotropic， magnificent writing that Aira has put to paper。 Some of the other ones are just pretty great。 This does feel a bit odd in the translated Aira oeuvre thus far， in that it doesn't fit into what I see are his three main categories of narrative （speculative， historical， and metafictional） although I could see it slotting a bit more into the final 4。5 stars。 Aira's The Divorce fits a lot of different stories into its 98 pages， and some， like the College Fire thread， are some of the most psychotropic， magnificent writing that Aira has put to paper。 Some of the other ones are just pretty great。 This does feel a bit odd in the translated Aira oeuvre thus far， in that it doesn't fit into what I see are his three main categories of narrative （speculative， historical， and metafictional） although I could see it slotting a bit more into the final category on further inspection。 。。。more
Arlo
，
4-5*。。。for a couple minutes you're under the belief that this will take place in the United States。 The setting quickly changes and you are immersed in Argentinian culture。 Three interlocking stories。。。the first one， the surrealism is off the charts。 Mind bending and a commentary on who runs academia in Argentina。 I gave the book five stars at that point。。。the rest of the book doesn't disappoint。 4-5*。。。for a couple minutes you're under the belief that this will take place in the United States。 The setting quickly changes and you are immersed in Argentinian culture。 Three interlocking stories。。。the first one， the surrealism is off the charts。 Mind bending and a commentary on who runs academia in Argentina。 I gave the book five stars at that point。。。the rest of the book doesn't disappoint。 。。。more
Shankar Singh
，
3。5⭐️ César Aira’s newly translated novel “The Divorce，” is a slim read in which the title serves solely as a pretext for a series of strange and often absurd vignettes。 Through four separate storylines nestled within a frame， this tale is developed from a single episode。 Kent， a recently divorced man， plans to spend a month in Buenos Aires to get away from his ex-wife and his daughter in Providence， Rhode Island。 As he’s chatting with a young woman in a cafe， a deluge of rainwater from an unfur 3。5⭐️ César Aira’s newly translated novel “The Divorce，” is a slim read in which the title serves solely as a pretext for a series of strange and often absurd vignettes。 Through four separate storylines nestled within a frame， this tale is developed from a single episode。 Kent， a recently divorced man， plans to spend a month in Buenos Aires to get away from his ex-wife and his daughter in Providence， Rhode Island。 As he’s chatting with a young woman in a cafe， a deluge of rainwater from an unfurled awning drenches a passing bicyclist。 The bicyclist turns out to be the same young man who once helped the young woman from a school fire。 For a while， the story focuses on these two young individuals， named Enrique and Leticia， and their miraculous escape from a fire that destroyed the school where they met。 From here， the author digs into the backstories of his many characters， particularly Enrique's role in the formation of a "Evolution Club。" Later in the story， a sculptor's apprentice named Jusepe is introduced， who has been terribly wounded by childhood offences。Since there is so much to dissect in this tiny volume， reviewing it may be a difficult endeavour。 There are moments of absurdism， miniaturisation， and deification in these interactions。 The most amazing part is that these stories unfold in a couple of moments。 In this sense， The Divorce encapsulates the enormous range of sensations that might be had in one split second。 It was definitely a slower read for me， but it was still enjoyable。 The writing was good， bordering on poetry。 The first few of pages were quite enjoyable， but the material became increasingly bizarre and experimental as it progressed。 It'll appeal to those who appreciate experimental stuff。 。。。more
Jason
，
They don’t pay me to be coherent。 In fact， they don’t pay me at all。 They shouldn’t; I’m congenitally ungrateful。 That being said， I do find myself in possession of the uncorrected proof of THE DIVORCE as though I were a noted tastemaker or at least a paid clutter culture dirigible。 I cannot realistically be held to any standard whatsoever。 THE DIVORCE is the new book from César Aira， although it is from 2010， which may sound incongruous but which will to those familiar with this great， inexhaus They don’t pay me to be coherent。 In fact， they don’t pay me at all。 They shouldn’t; I’m congenitally ungrateful。 That being said， I do find myself in possession of the uncorrected proof of THE DIVORCE as though I were a noted tastemaker or at least a paid clutter culture dirigible。 I cannot realistically be held to any standard whatsoever。 THE DIVORCE is the new book from César Aira， although it is from 2010， which may sound incongruous but which will to those familiar with this great， inexhaustible Argentinean author， seem very much like a familiar sort of a spatiotemporal fold—max characteristic。 Because this is an uncorrected proof I address—the book immediately before me， small and some kind of sky’s blue and perfectly handsome， currently set atop an external CD drive—strictly， I suppose， I must establish that it would at this point merely ‘appear’ to be the case that the novel is preempted by an introduction in which Legendary Happy-Go-Lucky East Village Ragamuffin Symbolist Poet Patti Smith recalls her first interaction with Aira， the ‘event’ having occurred at a literary festival in the Land of Prince Hamlet， Patti， ever the ever-ready incipient superfan， reporting with no noticeable regret having realized she had performed a bit of a blunder in enthusiastically praising AN EPISODE IN THE LIFE OF A LANDSCAPE PAINTER， which is indeed a very great book， only to have its author chastise her。 “It wasn’t until I read and reviewed THE MUSICAL BRAIN that I realized why he’d been so cavalier about the merits of the book that I had fervently pedestaled。 Cesar Aira [sic] is gifted with a vastly flexible， kaleidoscopic mind: he can see the equation and the proofs simultaneously。 He sets one crystal in place and a whole structure manifests。” The fact that César Aira’s universe is unusually multiversal is a fact that anecdotal evidence would seem to suggest consistently dawns on his readers only progressively。 It is THE MUSICAL BRAIN， her second venture， a large collection of stories from a writer more commonly revered for his startlingly many very short novels， where Patti Smith finds herself starting to espy the awe-inspiring scale of the highly vertiginous network。 I started with THE MUSICAL BRAIN， then moved on to GHOSTS， which I don’t mind admitting I didn’t necessarily know exactly what to make of， before everything really seemed to lock in for me with CONVERSATIONS。 The Chicago Area writer Adam Levin， with whom I was communicating a little for a bit， claims GHOSTS was his third Aira and the ultimate point of immersive recognition as concerns or concerned he， Levin， as reader of the Argentine he had finally come to prize very highly。 If this is more or less what I likewise found with CONVERSATIONS， my third Aira， strictly speaking， I believe I achieved yet another supplementary plateau with the last Aira I read， the recent BIRTHDAY， which I cracked and drank heartily of in October of last year。 In BIRTHDAY， the narrator is an ironic version of César Aira himself， named accordingly， and the elliptical rhetorical mode employed largely depends on a governing intelligence that thinks of itself as a thorough and monomaniacal encyclopedist， the life and body of work a seeking the totalization of this immanent substantive world encyclopedia， though the governing intelligence that's been all the while governing has been， up until shortly after its fiftieth calendrical birthday， quite ridiculously misunderstanding the phases of the moon。 “The sole and ultimate aim of all my work has been to compensate for my incapacity to live， and the work has barely sufficed to keep me afloat。 I have done a lot， but only just enough。 Is it really so surprising that I’ve had to pay for my survival with scandalous gaps？” What we have here first and foremost is a picture of the literary encyclopedist trapped in the epistemological quagmire—not at all unlike an old-fashioned notional abyss—initiated and inaugurated by modern physics。 In LETTERS AND OTHER TEXTS， a recent compendium of posthumous miscellany from Gilles Deleuze， the French philosopher responds to an inquiry about metaphysics and whether or not he has an aversion to the field in general by stating in no uncertain terms that “Bergson says that modern science did not find its metaphysics， the metaphysics it needed。 I am interested in this metaphysics。” My contention is that César Aira is in his own way equally interested in this metaphysics。 Before looking at the text and the texts within the text and how these complexes or tenuous assemblages would appear to collaterally function， I would like to take a moment to share three striking axioms/maxims interspersed throughout THE DIVORCE like little bits of quasi-Nietzschean bird seed scattered in unstable spaces and thickets of entanglement （or sequencing）: 1） “The sign exercised a fascination”; 2） “Time was merely the mask that eternity had put on to seduce the young” 3） “It’s only when you’re in love， he said， that you perceive the humanity of the human。” The first precept， of course， suggests， just like Gilles Deleuze’s 1964 PROUST AND SIGNS， that the at least partially self-worlded worlded self is not an autonomous agent but much more the victim of the seductions of signs and of semiosis， while the second and third， reminding me of Buckminster Fuller’s assertion that love is the gravity of metaphysics， suggests that seduction and romantic coupling， however brief or fraught， might reintegrate the dissolved world， wrest it back from the brink of terminal entropy， or make it the heaven it already was but which seized as such in the light of lightning-flash revelation， makes for joy and vivid experiment。 How does this metaphysics work？ As in the literature of poet， autofiction pioneer， and mathematics professor Jacques Roubaud， who sees everything he does as one project and， if pressed to qualify his general area of specialty is liable to say the mathematical discipline of topoanalysis， early in THE DIVORCE we see how Aira builds unstable physical territories and the slippery preconditions that make them intelligible （or not quite intelligible）。 “It was as if Destiny were working with primordial blocks。 Fire had separated them; and now water had brought them together。 Taking air for granted， or keeping it in reserve for a later stage of their shared story， all they needed to complete the classic quartet of the elements was the ‘earth， swallow me up’ of unexpected and unwelcome encounters [。。。] what they were experiencing in that moment was something like the blessed consummation of memory made real。” So， yes， this is the production and showcase of a prestidigitator’s space-time， but it goes farther than this because proper domains （the so-called present， memory， the oneiric， the hallucinatory） are entangled within the overall sequencing and the local sequecing of offset regimes or narrational territorialities。 Key to the metaphysic or poetic cosmology built and showcased in THE DIVORCE is the concept of the “event，” absolutely central in the philosophy of Alain Badiou， for example， but also， when combined with a comically ham-fisted over-literalization of the second law of thermodynamic （i。e。 entropy）， subject of a would-be 2020 Christopher Nolan Blockbuster that， if I am not mistaken， may have indirectly helped my come to believe that the hypomanic fugue I hit in March after passing through two sequential PTSD triggers， caused that Bananas Suez Canal Accident…and my belief—currently， as it happens， a man falling in love with a woman—that we are headed into a pattern amounting to something approximating ten or fifteen years of relative stability and merriment。 Just try and tell me I’m wrong！ The event around which the four distinct parts （or interactional assemblages） of which THE DIVORCE consists is one that would not come to be made known to us if not for the perhaps-only-temporarily ex-national Rhode Island divorcee from whom the novel’s title takes its sense， but at the centre of the event proper is Enrique， fulcrum of a pratfall involving a dousing with water distractedly released from the canvas awning of a Buenos Aires sidewalk café。 We are to quickly discover that his childhood "plunged" Enrique “into the bafflement produced by doublings and parallel universes。” We will quickly be treated to the impossible topologies of impossible apparently exclusive realities and beings/signs， “conducting wires”exploding （15）， “glittering bouquets [plunging] into concave obscurities， where compact， foaming glows appeared” （15-16）。 The divorcee， perhaps a mere Christ-like ‘gate for the sheep’ with respect to entrapment within this confounding funhouse network—seducing the young， doubtlessly， on behalf of eternity—is sitting at the sidewalk cafe with charming video artist Leticia， she the first to be hit by the evental waveform of uncanny recognition reverse-spiralling out of Enrique’s dousing。 The wave then hits the male divorcee， who realizes he too knows Enrique， then a third party， Enrique’s mother， who Enrique had himself believed long dead and who has been seated behind the divorcee and Leticia， out of their eye-lines and for a considerable time unremarked upon in the moments leading up to the cosmically decisive ‘wet event。’ Where has Enrique’s mother been？ Her decisive event happens to have been a creepy talismanic formation shot into her face with a gun， an event her son had believed killed her but after which she， somehow surviving， had upset the powers that be by making for a pitiful witness。 “For the next forty years she managed the firm。 All the rest of the family went into exile， with the excuse that their honor had been besmirched but in fact to enjoy their stolen wealth far from prying eyes。 Oddly， despite the systematic embezzlement to which the firm had been subjected， it continued to function smoothly， thanks to the nature of its operations。” During his childhood， an ‘event’ removed Enrique’s mother from his space-time and relegated her to another—until such time as something like another evental portal might open。 And poor， dear mother， just like the rest of us， swarmed by largely immaterial swarms， has been and is to be coopted chaotically into this or that space-time。 “The normality phase turned out to be short-lived， too: it was interrupted by the brutal attack that made her briefly famous， after which she had to start building a new normality from scratch。 Her friends often told her that she was lucky， in the end， to have lived a series of different lives: the coddled， ignorant rich girl; the hard-working， efficient businesswoman; the tumultuous lover; normal woman ‘number one’; the famous mafia victim; and finally normal woman ‘number two。’ The series was discontinuous， unpredictable， erratic。 Her friends found all this exciting。 They’d had one life， and that was it！ Actually， they felt as if they hadn’t lived at all。 Enrique’s mother energetically rejected this dubious admiration。 What the apparent multiplicity meant， she said， was that she hadn’t had a real life （which is singular by definition）。” Discontinuous， unpredictable， erratic: very much a specific field of topology/topoanalysis。 The quite terrifying and disruptive force of the so-far-only-theoretically-computable-quanta-of-All presents in the ongoing destabilization of the， ahem， always already completely unstable， very tenuously grounded， and outrageously prone to catastrophe， very often on a massive scale， far more often merely unaccountably weirdly。 So from Enrique’s mother back to Leticia and the burning College and the burning mini-College and a whole heaping ton of high-octane magic-lantern life-and-death confusion: “Although the glow of the little flames was intense， the moving bodies of so many children， huge by comparison， threw shadows in every direction; images appeared disjointedly on twisted， fleeting planes。” From this to the dogs a criminal child and future Evolution Club party-crasher believes totally destitute and abandoned， only to realize in coming to see one dog actively cared for， that it is truly he whose been abandoned with his cunning alone to the unforgiving steppes。 “It’s not true that you came into this world，” Alan Watts tells us。 “You came out of it， like a flower comes out of a plant。 You’re something the whole universe is doing。” This is the stuff of the Hindu conept of Maya， the psychonaut swamp gas cosmology， and Andrei Tarkovsky’s version of the planet Solaris， out-flowering hallucinatory in all its confounding epiphenomenal mayhem。 Entropy is the tendency of a system toward the loss of its own net organization （as a system， a network， a series of dizzy sequencing tangles）， and in THE DIVORCE we have an animated-object version of Krishna appear in order to symbolize the indefatigability of presiding chaos， exactly like the lucid dream that gets away from you。 “His [Krishna’s] attire， completed by bracelets and necklaces， was a mere eccentricity compared to his behavior， which combined an unfortunate sense of humor with the most exasperating puerility。 This manner， so at odds with the conventional image of a deity， explained why the duty had been assigned to families with boys about as old as the holy guest appeared to be: the idea was that he would have someone to entertain him。” Well， right。 ‘Entertainments，’ no matter whose idea of what constitutes “entertainment” we grant special credence （if we’re inclined to do that）， are worlds that capture， symbol-systems that seduce and cocoon。 The impregnable if implicit philosophical question around THE DIVORCE's metaphysics of the event， as the author well knows， is one of selection， as in Darwin， although here the question is: how is it events and semiosis make their selections？ perform their hijackings？ “It must have been a kind of short-hand， one event standing in for all the rest。 But it could not have been randomly chosen: the recollection must have been special in some way， like all the others， of course…。 If that was where the meaning of life lay， it was very mysterious， because no two episodes can have precisely the same significance。” We are in a situation here where pattern recognition and a desperate clinging to forms whose tangibility is always illusory at best， lead either to paranoiac catalepsy， de-selected desolation， or creative fervour。 Quantum mechanics remains the impossible to which you are impossibly bound。 Intelligence remains stymied by its limits。 But love can definitely be your gravity。 I can stare at a still image of Kim Hunter as June in Powell and Pressburger’s A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH （1946） while listening to Neil Young & Crazy Horse perform “Love to Burn” live on repeat knowing that this is all about the woman who will share my bed in the month of June and the ten or fifteen years I am convinced I get as a kind of birthright。 Again， just try and tell me contrary。 Best of luck。 。。。more
jeremy
，
there was no room for pretense between their protons and electrons， and they all fled from death at the speed of light， each for himself， with the egoism of matter， confirming， had there been any doubt， that there is no other world than this。 the eighteenth（！） of the prolific argentine's books brought into english， the divorce （el divorcio） is another gratifying outing from the master of the novella。 this one starts simply enough （don't they always？！）， before unfurling into something wholly u there was no room for pretense between their protons and electrons， and they all fled from death at the speed of light， each for himself， with the egoism of matter， confirming， had there been any doubt， that there is no other world than this。 the eighteenth（！） of the prolific argentine's books brought into english， the divorce （el divorcio） is another gratifying outing from the master of the novella。 this one starts simply enough （don't they always？！）， before unfurling into something wholly unexpectable。 reviewing aira can be a tough task， easy as it is to carelessly divulge a plot twist or spoil the whole， so suffice it to say a story which begins with a recent divorcé seeking a break in the sunnier climes of the southern hemisphere ends up nary a tale of matrimonial ruination at all。 his storytelling， his prose， his perspective， his humor， his imagination; aira effortlessly offers it all。 time seemed to rule everything。 and yet it was not so。 time was merely the mask that eternity had put on to seduce the young。 *translated from the spanish by chris andrews （bolaño， almada， adimi， et al。） 。。。more
Antonio Delgado
，
En esta novela hay momentos brillantes， como en todas las novelas de Aira。 Sin embargo， tiene muchos momentos que no son tan bien logrados y hasta olvidables。
Nicolás Ferreiro
，
Cada novelita nueva que leo de Aira me hace pensar en las anteriores， o las primeras que leí， con más cariño。 No sé si alguna se va a acercar a "El Tilo" o "Fragmentos de un diario。。。"Si se puede decir algo de esta novela es que pone de manifiesto uno o varios de los "artificios Aira"。 El relato parte de un escritor norteamericano que， por un divorcio y， para no hacer sufrir a su hija con visitas esporádicas， desaparece y cae en Buenos Aires。 Un día， charlando en un café con una amiga， presencia Cada novelita nueva que leo de Aira me hace pensar en las anteriores， o las primeras que leí， con más cariño。 No sé si alguna se va a acercar a "El Tilo" o "Fragmentos de un diario。。。"Si se puede decir algo de esta novela es que pone de manifiesto uno o varios de los "artificios Aira"。 El relato parte de un escritor norteamericano que， por un divorcio y， para no hacer sufrir a su hija con visitas esporádicas， desaparece y cae en Buenos Aires。 Un día， charlando en un café con una amiga， presencia un hecho: el dueño de un bar abre un toldo y un muchacho， en bicicleta， es empapado por un torrente de agua acumulada （¿Cómo está acumulada si el dueño del bar abre el toldo， no lo cierra？） que no parece cesar （aira）。 Da la casualidad， que la chica con la que el narrador está hablando， es amiga de ese muchacho: ¡Enrique！ ¡Leticia！ No se ven desde hace tanto tiempo。。。 La última vez， había sido escapando de un instituto en llamas。 Ahí el primer relato。 La pérdida de la infancia es el motor。 Enrique y Leticia se encuentran perdidos en un instituto， descubren una maqueta del mismo edificio y se escapan dentro。 El mismo relato se sucede dos veces， con algunas modificaciones。 （Este es 1 procedimiento）。 Este se me hizo aburrido。 Está increíblemente bien escrito， no voy a negar eso。 Pero puede ser aburrido igual que un músico de jazz que solea durante veinte minutos。 Seguramente yo no lo entiendo igual。 Dice cosas como: "Desde ese mirador sobreelevado vieron estallar en llamas todos los especímenes de la Flora encarcelada， hincharse de aire ardiente los cálices y generar explosiones globulares; sartas de alveolos incandescentes subían ondulando y quedaban suspendidos frente a sus ojos"。 Aira siempre cuela frases que te hacen pensar que no habla del relato， sino de la Literatura。 Y eso te hace pensar: "¿No es lo mismo？ ¿No están hechas de la misma materia？ Oh， Aira。 ¿Qué me estás queriendo decir？"。"El Plan de Evacuación， muy ingenioso， se basaba en las seguridades que ofrecía un cambio repentino de dimensiones。 Los niños vacilaron。 Pero no tenían opción"。 Esta digresión， escape， bifurcación， aparece muchas veces， como ingeniosos retorcijones de las posibilidades infinitas del relato。 La segunda historia， siguen las casualidades en el bar del Gallego， ocurre cuando el narrador se da cuenta de que Enrique no es otro que el dueño del hostel donde él se queda。 En el Palermo más chic， hay uno dedicado a la "Evolución" con un club de fanáticos de Darwin。 Eso permite muchas cosas， pero， de nuevo， la digresión。 Entramos en la vida de Jusepe uno de los miembros del club evolutivo cuya historia se entromete a fuerza de cambiar los temas de conversación del grupo del club。 De nuevo， la infancia perdida， él es obligado a malvivir con un escultor borracho de Quilmes y luego， odiado por el padre， que debe pasear a un Krishna por el barrio。 Este segundo relato es muy bueno。 Entre otras definiciones， tiene una sobre las digresiones y los restos que van quedando en las miniaturas o dimensiones que se suceden:"Como en uno de esos trucos de prestidigitador， en los que la mano es más rápida que el ojo， la Evolución había sido reemplazada por Jusepe， donde antes había estado uno ahora estaba el otro; pero el cambio no había sido tan limpio， había quedado en el aire una especie de fantasma conceptual que se manifestaba en la historia del joven escultor"。 Por ejemplo， Darwin y la evolución aparecen sugeridos en el relato sobre Jusepe en la forma de unos perros salvajes a los que teme。 O los fantasmas ya habían aparecido nombrados en el relato de la institución。 El fragmento más lindo de la novelita es una idea sencilla y genial。 El escultor borracho y malvado es encargado un trabajo por la municipalidad。 Tiene que moldear una piedra， cosa que nunca ha hecho， y mientras lucha consigo mismo por hacerlo， Jusepe ve cómo las manos y los movimientos construyen un juego de sombras en las paredes。 "Fue su única obra de arte， privada y secreta"。 Claro。 （？）El tercer relato， parte de la madre de Enrique que también estaba en el bar。 Hacía muchos años no se veían。 Ella sufrió tener que hacerse cargo de una empresa familiar siendo muy pequeña。 de vuelta la infancia。 Además， fue atacada por un grupo mafioso pero que， al parecer， la confundió con otra persona。 Le dieron cinco tiros en la cara y la deformaron。 ¿Cómo reconocerla ahora？Otra digresión。 Dos， en realidad。 Un episodio sobre cómo encontrar un árbol de navidad en un local sin luz。 Y un conjunto de empleados que quieren encontrar el Manual que de con todas las respuesta， que explique cómo la madre de Enrique pudo llevar adelante una empresa sin saber nada al respecto。 Hay varias reflexiones sobre la combinatoria y la posibilidad de contenerlo todo。 Por último， un relato de amor。 Enrique， que vive en Palermo， está Borges， una Argentina en crecimiento por las commodities que compra China， la moda， Tres Planetas， el mito de Don Desviado， el misterio de una chica que no habla。 Un estallido。 "¿Se había enamorado acaso del Misterio？ Del Misterio que él mismo había construido， con sus reticencias y sus fantasías。 Si era así， podía ser una señal de megalomanía， como creerse un elegido， el protagonista de una historia。 El transcurso de las historias， pensaba， debería haberle enseñado humildad。 Pero estaba el hecho de que no había habido tanto un "transcurso" como un "consumo" de historias"。 Qué sé yo。 No quiero contar el final porque ya es un montón。 Ahora que escribí esto creo que me gusta bastante más。 Pero la primera parte fue insoportable。 Es una explosión vista en reversa。 Del Divorcio al Amor。 。。。more
Guille
，
Me parece hasta aírico divorciarme del autor en este cuento así titulado y que， por supuesto， no trata de un divorcio。 Mi relación con César Aria empezó titubeante con La villa， mejoró bastante con esa declaración de principios que fue Cecil Taylor， pero tres novelas más tarde he decidido divorciarme de él。 No ha sido una relación especialmente intensa， así que no se preocupen por mí， lo llevo bien。 ¿Las razones？ No es mi tipo。 No aguanto ciertas cosas， y no me refiero a detalles como no levanta Me parece hasta aírico divorciarme del autor en este cuento así titulado y que， por supuesto， no trata de un divorcio。 Mi relación con César Aria empezó titubeante con La villa， mejoró bastante con esa declaración de principios que fue Cecil Taylor， pero tres novelas más tarde he decidido divorciarme de él。 No ha sido una relación especialmente intensa， así que no se preocupen por mí， lo llevo bien。 ¿Las razones？ No es mi tipo。 No aguanto ciertas cosas， y no me refiero a detalles como no levantar la tapa del váter。 Por ejemplo， cuando le pregunté por esta misma novela， me dijo: “Quise probar otras técnicas… cuatro historias independientes metidas dentro de un marco。 En este caso quise empezar con una historia y seguir con otra para ver qué pasaba， hacer una especie de díptico。 Nunca son cosas deliberadas， voy improvisando las novelas a medida que las voy escribiendo， sin un plan。” Sin un plan， se dan cuenta。 Uno quiere que en este tipo de relaciones haya un plan， yo al menos lo necesito。 Y también quiero que los personajes signifiquen algo， que la historia esté justificada por y para los personajes。 ¿Pues saben qué me dijo cuando así se lo demandé？ “Mis personajes， por lo general， no tienen psicología porque no me interesa。 No me interesa la persona， me interesa la historia， la trama， los personajes tienen que ser simplemente funcionales a la historia。” ¿Trama， historia？ Le dije， yo solo leo anécdotas encadenadas por un sentido que se me escapa。 ¿Quieren más motivos？ Hablando con uno de sus grandes amigos， alguien que le admira como yo querría， le pregunté， ¿qué significa lo que estoy leyendo？ No hay respuesta， me dijo， El divorcio es un libro sobre la imposibilidad de responder a esa pregunta。 Y siguió diciendo: “Mientras que， casi por definición， la literatura， como decíamos， o la novela， es un intento por lograr que el sentido haga pie en la palabra del relato， Aira trabaja en la dirección contraria: por liberar al relato del sentido de la palabra…es como si el libro fuese el intento reiterado， frustrado y reiterado， por dar un soplo de vida a la posibilidad de lograr desprenderse de lo literario。” Y joder， llámenme raro， pero yo necesito lo literario。Y por último， pero no menos importante， ¿saben quién es el autor， el único autor， que sigue con cada libro que publica？ Kazuo Ishiguro， ¡¡¡ Kazuo Ishiguro ！！！ Ya me dirán si esta no es por sí sola una razón definitiva de divorcio。 。。。more
nazareno
，
muy buena。 en esta novela confluyen varios aira， casi todos: el de pasajes melancólicos y cómicos， el sociólogo de derecha， el alter ego de escritor maduro， el delirante， el místico， el conurbano。 pero no es un relato caótico （o sí， diría la faraona） ni una serie de deux ex machina encadenados de esos que profiere el pringlense cuando se aburre demasiado pronto de su propia novela， sino que aparece todo bien dosificado， en capítulos que escinden historias derivadas de un único episodio。qué miste muy buena。 en esta novela confluyen varios aira， casi todos: el de pasajes melancólicos y cómicos， el sociólogo de derecha， el alter ego de escritor maduro， el delirante， el místico， el conurbano。 pero no es un relato caótico （o sí， diría la faraona） ni una serie de deux ex machina encadenados de esos que profiere el pringlense cuando se aburre demasiado pronto de su propia novela， sino que aparece todo bien dosificado， en capítulos que escinden historias derivadas de un único episodio。qué misterio （o no） el que hace que textos， no sé si "menores"， pero sí efectistas， petardistas， de aira como "la guerra de los gimnasios" o "el mármol" tengan sucesivas reediciones y éste quede perdido entre la marea de su producción。 。。。more
Guillermo Jiménez
，
No podría decir que es como en el arte minimalista， pero， sí， algo hay。 En espacios con tan poco elementos o casi sin ellos o en blanco， uno tiene que averiguar cuál es la razón o sentido de cada objeto percibible， o de la atmósfera: uno llega a esas expresiones mínimas con todo su bagage， o con la ausencia de este， para comprender y disfrutar， o para verse confrontado o ignorado y salir ausente。Digo que difícilmente Aire podría entrar como escritor minimalista， puesto que sus obras son múltiple No podría decir que es como en el arte minimalista， pero， sí， algo hay。 En espacios con tan poco elementos o casi sin ellos o en blanco， uno tiene que averiguar cuál es la razón o sentido de cada objeto percibible， o de la atmósfera: uno llega a esas expresiones mínimas con todo su bagage， o con la ausencia de este， para comprender y disfrutar， o para verse confrontado o ignorado y salir ausente。Digo que difícilmente Aire podría entrar como escritor minimalista， puesto que sus obras son múltiples y múltiples las lecturas y las aproximaciones que presenta， sus interpretaciones。 Y， como si esto no fuera poco， dentro de cada novelita hay un buen de historias que se bifurcan en subhistorias que parecen no tener fin， parecen solo determinar un camino posible que el lector puede seguir， pero， que aún habiendo cerrado el libro， continúa en el imaginario del lector。 Y si…El divorcio aprovecha cada resquicio de letra， cada palabra， para erigir una obra narrativa sobre la ruptura y el peso del instante。Me recordó un poco al planteamiento de Vonnegut en Galápagos， en la que， según recuerdo， la novela inicia con algo como “es el año x [en nuestro futuro]， pero， regresémonos mil años atrás en el tiempo”， a un tiempo anterior incluso a nuestro presente posible。Algo así。Separaciones que nunca se concretan， encuentros que desencadenan historias múltiples que van desde lo que entendemos proporción 1:1 hasta 1:100 o 1:500; un mundo de apariencias o mejor dicho， que nos deja jugar con los mundos posibles de las cosas y le otorga un peso magnífico a las apariencias y a los estereotipos y a los lugares donde vivimos。Algunos a veces nos sentimos vivir entre las líneas， en los márgenes， de la literatura que amamos y admiramos。Aira se afana con novelas “rusas” con gran tino， “rusas” en el sentido de las muñecas rusas en las que dentro de una encontramos otra… igual， pero más pequeña y por ende ya no igual， sino una especie de mini doble siniestro; en las novelas de Aira las historias no son similares， el primer plano ya es lo suficientemente absurdo， y no， que alguien decida viajar al romper una relación no es absurdo， que lo haga al otro lado del mundo tampoco， menos si es porque tiene amigos y conocidos; el absurdo puesto sobre la tela de juicio de una mente disparatada pero que termina dando en el blanco， ¿por qué？ Porque Aira es capaz de interesarnos no solo por lo literario， sino que nunca deja fuera esa “pasión por la trama”， sabe que es relevante para la concatenación de ideas。Digo disparatada， podemos decir improvisación también， pero， como una excelente pieza de jazz， sabemos que por encima de la fuerte carga de libertad y de jugar con la interpretación， la “obra” ya está escrita， aunque sea en la mente del escritor。 。。。more
Cesc Camí
，
Nadie escribe como Aira。 No creo que nadie escriba mejor que él。 Maravillosa
Julio César
，
Una pieza magistral。 La compré porque la última vez que lo vi a Fogwill dijo que esta， para ese entonces la "última novela" de César Aira， era excepcional。 No se equivocó。 No conozco， al menos no he leído， escritores que escriban mejor que Aira， con la excepción quizás de Roberto Bolaño。 Si alguien me pregunta， cómo se escribe la buena literatura en castellano， le doy este libro de César Aira。 Cada oración está perfectamente construida， en sí misma y en relación con la que le antecede y la que l Una pieza magistral。 La compré porque la última vez que lo vi a Fogwill dijo que esta， para ese entonces la "última novela" de César Aira， era excepcional。 No se equivocó。 No conozco， al menos no he leído， escritores que escriban mejor que Aira， con la excepción quizás de Roberto Bolaño。 Si alguien me pregunta， cómo se escribe la buena literatura en castellano， le doy este libro de César Aira。 Cada oración está perfectamente construida， en sí misma y en relación con la que le antecede y la que le sigue。 Se lee lento， con el ritmo de la poesía， disfrutando de cada párrafo。 La historia， lógicamente， es lo que menos importa。 Tenemos una abarrotada sarta de sucesos fantásticos， minuaturizaciones y deificaciones incluidas。 Son 130 páginas， pero cómo se disfrutan。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Divorce
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Divorce&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Divorce&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0