Not to Read

(Paperback)

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Description

In Not to Read, Alejandro Zambra outlines his own particular theory of reading that also offers a kind of blurry self-portrait, or literary autobiography. Whether writing about Natalia Ginzburg, typewriters and computers, Paul Leautaud, or how to be silent in German, his essays function as a laboratory for his novels, a testing ground for ideas, readings and style. Not to Read also presents an alternative pantheon of Latin American literature - Zambra would rather talk about Nicanor Parra than Pablo Neruda, Mario Levrero than Gabriel Garcia Marquez. His voice is that of a trusted friend telling you about a book or an author he's excited about, how he reads, and why he writes.

A standard-bearer of his generation in Chile, with Not to Read Alejandro Zambra confirms he is one of the most engaging writers of our time.

Reviews

'When I read Zambra I feel like someone's shooting fireworks inside my head. His prose is as compact as a grain of gunpowder, but its allusions and ramifications branch out and illuminate even the most remote corners of our minds.' - Valeria Luiselli, author of The Story of My Teeth

'There is no writer like Alejandro Zambra, no one as bold, as subtle, as funny.' - Daniel Alarcon, author of At Night We Walk In Circles

'Falling in love with Zambra's literature is a fascinating road to travel. Imaginative and original, he is a master of short forms; I adore his devastating audacity.' - Enrique Vila-Matas, author of The Illogic of Kassel

Author Bio

Alejandro Zambra is a Chilean writer, poet, and critic. His first novel Bonsai was awarded Chile's Literary Critics' Award for Best Novel. He is also the author of The Private Lives of Trees and Ways of Going Home, which won the Altazor Award and the National Council Prize for Books, both for the best Chilean novel. My Documents, published by Fitzcarraldo Editions in 2015, was shortlisted for the 2015 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Prize. His latest novel is Multiple Choice. His writing has been translated into more than fifteen languages and has appeared in the New Yorker, the Paris Review, Tin House, Harper's, Granta and McSweeney's, among other places. He was a 2015-16 Cullman Center fellow at the New York Public Library. He lives in Mexico City.