Sunday, May 3, 2020

César Aira, The Hare *** 1/2

The cover of The Hare aptly calls César Aira "the Duchamp of Latin American literature." The story of an English naturalist searching the Argentine pampas for the possibly legendary flying Legibrerian hare, The Hare whipsaws between realism, symbolism, and absurdity in a disconcerting but entertaining manner. The language is a unique delight that never reads like a translation; full props to the translator Nick Caistor.
He sat motionless for a moment, lost in the contemplation of his own grandeur.
The narrative follows a wandering path and is filled with developments that feel like improvisations. The naturalist's search takes him to an Indian village, where he comes to suspect that the hare is not a creature but a metaphor; the village chieftain disappears and the Indians recruit the naturalist to help find him; the naturalist's guide turns out to be heir to a great fortune if he can reach his half-sister in the mountains before the month is out; and so on. Which made it quite surprising when the final chapter ("Happy Families") ties up all of the threads like the end of a romantic comedy.

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