Dalkey Archive Press Spring/Summer 2012 catalogue.

The Dalkey Archive Press Spring/Summer 2012 catalogue is out. [pdf, via Dalkey Archive Press]

Notable releases for me are Vlad by Carlos Fuentes, Flowers of Grass by Takehiko Fukunaga, Ariadne in the Grotesque Labyrinth by Salvador Espriu, and…

A cryptic, self-negating series of notes for an unfinished work of fiction, this astonishing book is made up of ideas for characters and plot points, anecdotes and tales, literary references both real and invented, and populated by an array of fictional authors and their respective literary cliques, all of whom sport multiple pseudonyms, publish their own literary journals, and produce their own ideas for books, characters, poems . . . A dizzying look at the ugly backrooms of literature, where aesthetic ambitions are forever under siege by petty squabbles, long-nurtured grudges, envied or undeserved prizes, bankrupt publishers, and self-important critics, The No Variations is a serious game, or perhaps a frivolous tragedy, with the author and his menagerie of invented peers fighting to keep their feelings of futility at bay. A literary cousin to David Markson and César Aira, The No Variations is one of the great “novels” of contemporary Latin American literature.

The No Variations: Journal of an Unfinished Novel by Luis Chitarroni. It simply sounds incredibly fun.

Of course I know that’s marketing hype. Doesn’t mean I won’t get excited about it.

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