About this item
Highlights
- How do we even begin to narrate the history of the world?
- About the Author: Luis Sagasti, a writer, lecturer and art critic, was born in Bahía Blanca, Argentina in 1963.
- 89 Pages
- Fiction + Literature Genres, Literary
Description
About the Book
A lyrical and philosophical exploration of seemingly unrelated people and events in modern history, drawing them together to form a whole.
Book Synopsis
How do we even begin to narrate the history of the world? Where do we start, and where do we end? Fireflies is Sagasti's bold and original attempt to answer these questions. Roaming across time and geography, he lights on an eclectic array of characters and events that at first glance seem unrelated, and teases out their stories to reveal unexpected points of contact between them. Stanley Kubrick, Joseph Beuys, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Neil Armstrong, Ludwig Wittgenstein, the Beatles, Japanese poets, Brazilian priests, Russian cosmonauts and many more cross these pages, and Sagasti finds common threads that weave them together into a single narrative.The fireflies themselves perhaps provide the key to understanding this book. They become a metaphor for the resistance of certain luminous moments, certain twinkling fragments of history, to the passing of time. They remind us that events do not always simply disappear neatly into the darkness, but rather remain, floating in the air, lighting up the night sky indefinitely. Sagasti shows us that the present moment, like this novel, is a tapestry woven of a multiplicity of times.Using his unique, poetic and keenly observant style, Sagasti transforms the accidents of history into a single, lyrical constellation, and for the reader it is an extraordinary sight.
Review Quotes
Society of Authors TA First Translation Prize (Shortlist)
"A subtle marvel...a nimble writer who merits wider readership in English." --Kirkus
"A genre-defying collection of associative musings on art, music, philosophy, and literature." --Publishers Weekly
"Innovative, playful, and beautifully executed."" --Carlos Fonseca, author of COLONEL LAGRIMAS
"Simply genius."" --Enrique Vila-Matas, author of DUBLINESQUE
"A work of wonderful analogies and disparate historical footnotes." --Morning Star
"Like Borges before him, Sagasti has produced a rare thing: a work of fiction as learned as it is fun." --Gary M. Perry, Foyles Charing Cross
"Sagasti produces here a magnificent constellation of stories, and in doing so pays tribute to art." --Fnac
"One hundred pages of pure intelligence, to be enjoyed listening to Sun Ra." --L'Arbre Vengeur
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Praise for Luis Sagasti
"A beautiful, fragmentary rendition which never strikes a false note." --Irish Times
"A bewitching suite of stories about music, heard and unheard." --The Arts Desk
"A work of immense complexity, great balance and extraordinary beauty." --The Monthly Booking
"Sagasti's careful contrapuntal construction weaves together an eclectic range of vignettes which transcend their parts, leaving an indelible emotional impact that defies rationalisation." --Gutter Magazine
"I have gained knowledge I didn't know I needed." --Joyzine
"Fate could be likened to a pointillist painting by Seurat, with each dab of colour and each descriptive passage contributing to what is finally a beautifully structured and brilliantly shimmering whole." --BookBlast
"The literary equivalent of a symphony." --Books and Bao
"Sagasti manages to create a world rich in illuminations and philosophical reflections." --Morning Star
Republic of Consciousness Prize (Shortlist)
"Una fascinante suite de historias sobre música, tanto escuchada como desconocida." --The Arts Desk
"Una interpretación hermosa y fragmentaria que siempre da con la nota precisa." --Irish Times
"Una ofrenda musical no es tanto un intento de escribir sobre música sino una verdadera partitura que usa palabras como un nuevo tipo de notación."" --Will Ashon, autor de CHAMBER MUSIC y STRANGE LABYRINTH
"I have gained knowledge I didn't know I needed." --Joyzine
"Sagasti logra crear un mundo rico en iluminaciones y reflexiones filosóficas." --Morning Star
"El equivalente literario a una sinfonía." --Books and Bao
"Un trabajo de inmensa complejidad, con un gran balance y una belleza extraordinaria." --The Monthly Booking
"Fate could be likened to a pointillist painting by Seurat, with each dab of colour and each descriptive passage contributing to what is finally a beautifully structured and brilliantly shimmering whole." --BookBlast
"La cuidadosa construcción a contrapunto de Sagasti entreteje una variedad de viñetas eclécticas que trascienden sus partes, dejando un impacto emocional indeleble que desafía la racionalización." --Gutter Magazine
About the Author
Luis Sagasti, a writer, lecturer and art critic, was born in Bahía Blanca, Argentina in 1963. The author of five novels, including Fireflies (known in Spanish as Bellas Artes, 2011) and A Musical Offering (Una Ofrenda Musical, 2017), he's just about to publish his most recent book, comprised entirely of footnotes.
Fionn Petch is a Scottish-born translator. He lived in Mexico City for 12 years, where he completed a PhD in Philosophy at the UNAM, and now lives in Berlin. His translations of Latin American literature for Charco Press have been widely acclaimed. Fireflies by Luis Sagasti was shortlisted for the Translators' Association First Translation Award 2018. The Distance Between Us by Renato Cisneros received an English PEN Award in 2018. A Musical Offering, also by Luis Sagasti, was shortlisted for the Republic of Consciousness Prize 2021 and won the Society of Authors Premio Valle Inclán 2021 for best translation from Spanish.