Artforum, the newest work by César Aira to be published in the U.S., is one of the most fascinating experiences in modern literature. A novel that synthesizes surrealism, pseudo-memoir, philosophy, and theater into the compact space of eighty-two pages, it somehow still retains the fluttery and playful tone that makes this book so enjoyable to read.
— Rain Taxi
One man’s obsession with Artforum magazine takes us on a hilarious journey to the ultimate meaning of the very creation of art
Artforum is certainly one of César Aira’s most charming, quirky, and funny books to date. Consisting of a series of interrelated stories about his compulsion to collect Artforum magazines, this is not about art so much as it is about passionate obsession.
At first we follow our hapless collector from magazine shops to used bookstores hunting for copies of Artforum. A friend alerts him to a copy somewhere and he obsesses about actually going to get it—will the shop be open, will the copy already be sold? Finally he takes out a subscription, but then it never comes, so he hounds the mailman. There’s the day his stash of Artforums gets rained on, but only one absorbs the water. And interspersed is a wacky chapter about the mystery of the broken clothespins. “How weird.” “How crazy.”
Artforum, the newest work by César Aira to be published in the U.S., is one of the most fascinating experiences in modern literature. A novel that synthesizes surrealism, pseudo-memoir, philosophy, and theater into the compact space of eighty-two pages, it somehow still retains the fluttery and playful tone that makes this book so enjoyable to read.
— Rain Taxi
For a novella like Artforum, one doesn’t need to reach deep into the toolkit of literary theory. Aira creates his own epistemology. It’s marvelous to witness….Aira is unencumbered. He does what he does, and what we receive is giddy, unquestionably self-indulgent, and yet absolutely perfect.
— Kamil Ahsan, NPR
César Aira is an experimental Argentinian author whose short fiction is often funny and always mind-boggling. His new novella, Artforum, is an excellent entrypoint into his wild body of work.
— GQ
Sui generis is really the only way to accurately describe César Aira. He’s by turns a realist, a magical realist and a surrealist — and therefore not really any of them. Anything can happen in an Aira novel, and almost everything does.
— Tyler Malone, Los Angeles Times
A marvelous little collection about compulsion, obsession, and the extraordinary joy that a simple pleasure can bring.
— Kirkus Reviews
As Aira illuminates the dead ends in his drive to collect the magazine, he offers rich insight into the appreciation of art and the desire to possess. This entertaining jaunt through the writer’s creative development satisfies with brevity and grace.
— Publishers Weekly
Once you’ve started reading Aira, you don’t want to stop.
— Roberto Bolaño
His novels are eccentric clones of reality, where the lights are brighter, the picture is sharper and everything happens at the speed of thought…. You don’t know where you are or what you are looking at, but the air is full of electricity.
— The Millions
César Aira is an exquisite miniaturist who toys with avant-garde techniques.
— The Wall Street Journal
Aira’s cubist eye sees from every angle.
— Patti Smith, New York Times Book Review
[W]hile the volume may be slim, it is a surprisingly rich work. For those who have not read him, it is also an excellent place to start a relationship.
