'A highly original, piercingly beautiful work, full of beautiful shocks... I felt like a door had been kicked open in my brain' Johanna Thomas-Corr, Observer
A woman searches Buenos Aires for the paintings that are her inspiration and her refuge. Her life -- she is a young mother with a complicated family -- is sometimes overwhelming. But among the canvases, often little-known works in quiet rooms, she finds clarity and a sense of who she is . . .
'I was reminded of John Berger's Ways of Seeing, enfolded in tender and exuberant personal narratives'
Claire-Louise Bennett
'This woman-guide, who goes from Lampedusa to The Doors with crushing elegance, is unforgettable' Mariana Enriquez
'A dazzling combination of memoir, fiction and art book, like nothing you've ever read before' Elle
Rezensionen / Stimmen
I was reminded of Berger's Ways of Seeing, enfolded in tender and exuberant personal narratives - it's so sophisticated and fascinating, yet has a Calvinoesque light touch; all the textures and nuances come through without labour. Rigorous and mercurial. The prose, in Thomas Bunstead's translation, is restrained, funny, by turns (and at once) luminous and melancholy... We are left with a profound inquiry into the place and function of art... as remembrance, as joy and consolation, as meaning, as refuge * Guardian * A highly original, piercingly beautiful work, a book you'll want to savour... Gainza is a writer who feels immediately important * Observer * Quietly revelatory, and often fascinatingly so * Sunday Times * When reading The Optic Nerve, works of art are like songs: they carry the excitement and mystery you feel when you stumble upon them. This is the stunning, lucid debut of a writer who finds gold in the most forgotten folds of experience. The organizing principle of Optic Nerve is arresting and non-linear: the love affair between its protagonist and visual art... This is a book to read with a search engine at the ready. When the images [of art] are viewable, however pixelated and distorted by a screen, the deftness of Gainza's visual descriptions brings them to life * Times Literary Supplement * Dynamic sense of perception is what Gainza captures in her elegant prose and acute psychological insights * Morning Star * A piercingly beautiful debut novel... clever, surprising and deeply seductive * Evening Standard, * Completely original, gorgeous ... this woman-guide, who goes from Lampedusa to The Doors with crushing elegance, is unforgettable' * Mariana Enriquez *
Sprache
Verlagsort
Verlagsgruppe
Dateigröße
ISBN-13
978-1-4735-4978-4 (9781473549784)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Maria Gainza was born in Buenos Aires, where she still resides. She has worked as a correspondent for the New York Times in Argentina, as well as for ARTnews, and has contributed to Artforum, The Buenos Aires Review, and Radar, the cultural supplement from Pa?gina/12. Her debut novel, Optic Nerve, translated by Thomas Bunstead, was shortlisted for the 2020 LA Times Art Seidenbaum award for First Fiction, a finalist in the 2020 National Translation awards, and a New York Times 'Notable Book' of 2019.
