• Title: The Invention of Morel
• Author: Adolfo Bioy Casares
• Genre/Subject: South American Literature
• Publisher: NYRB
• Publication Date: 1940
• Start date: 8/2/24
• Finish date: 8/4/24

Review:

Why had I never heard of this book or this author? Actually it is quite simple when I think about it. If you ask me or any reasonably well read person, “Can you name a South American novelist?” the answer is going to be Jose Luis Borges or Gabriel Garcia Marquez. When you have lights as bright as those shining it’s easy to lose sight of other authors in the glare of their brilliance. That’s likely why you see Borges name on the cover of this book in nice bold type. Up until this week I had no idea that a man called Casares existed, but I’m sure glad I discovered him and this excellent book.

At just over 100 pages The Invention of Morel was a quick read, but that was in part because I could not put this book down. Right from the first line it grabbed my attention: “Today on this island, a miracle happened; summer came ahead of time.” Okay, what island? Who is writing this? Why are you on an island? Is it like Gilligan’s Island? Why is an early summer a miracle? To find out you keep reading and it all becomes clea…. no, no it just spawns more questions and gets very peculiar. And then the people arrived and it got even more peculiar and more engrossing.

If you think I sound I’m being vague you’re correct, I don’t want to give the story away. If you read this review and then google it that’s beyond my control but I do think you should read the book instead.

Bizarre and slightly terrifying this is a book that Kafka would like to have written or at least read. This is an excellent translation by all accounts I read, and as I have stated in previous reviews translations can make a great novel even better or ruin it. The prose is clear and concise, descriptive but never overly verbose or flowery. Even when it describes flowers. There is a dark beauty about it that I can’t really put my finger on, not like Poe but more like Baudelaire.

Like the protagonist’s motto: ostinato rigore, this book was a work of literary brilliance accomplished by hard work and an almost musical affinity for narrative. A wonderful book that I highly recommend.