| Asleep in the Sun Contributor(s): Bioy Casares, Adolfo (Author), Sallis, James (Introduction by), Levine, Suzanne Jill (Translator) |
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ISBN: 1590170954 ISBN-13: 9781590170953 Publisher: New York Review of Books OUR PRICE: $15.26 Product Type: Paperback Published: August 2004 Annotation: Lucio, a normal man in a normal (nosy) city neighborhood with normal problems with his wife (not the easiest person to get along with) and family and job (he lost it) finds he has a much bigger problem: his wife is a dog. At first, it doesn't seem like such a problem, because the German shepherd inhabiting his wife's body is actually a good deal more agreeable than his wife herself, now occupying the body of the same German shepherd in a mental hospital run by scientists who, it appears, have designs on the whole neighborhood. But then Lucio has a sense, however confused, of what's right, which is an even bigger problem yet. Asleep in the Sun is the great work of the Argentine master Adolfo Bioy Casares's later years. Like his legendary Invention of Morel, it is an intoxicating mixture of fantasy, sly humor, and menace. Whether read as a fable of modern politics, a meditation on the elusive parameters of the self, or a most unusual love story, Bioy's book is an almost scarily perfect comic turn, as well as a pure delight. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Fiction | Literary - Literary Criticism - Fiction | Humorous - Black Humor |
| Dewey: FIC |
| LCCN: 2004015891 |
| Series: New York Review Books Classics |
| Physical Information: 0.43" H x 5.02" W x 8.02" (0.44 lbs) 172 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Lucio, a normal man in a normal (nosy) city neighborhood with normal problems with his in-laws (ever-present) and job (he lost it) finds he has a new problem on his hands: his beloved wife, Diana. She's been staying out till all hours of the night and grows more disagreeable by the day. Should Lucio have Diana committed to the Psychiatric Institute, as her friend the dog trainer suggests? Before Lucio can even make up his mind, Diana is carted away by the mysterious head of the institute. Never mind, Diana's sister, who looks just like Diana--and yet is nothing like her--has moved in. And on the recommendation of the dog trainer, Lucio acquires an adoring German shepherd, also named Diana. Then one glorious day, Diana returns, affectionate and pleasant. She's been cured --but have the doctors at the institute gone too far? Asleep in the Sun is the great work of the Argentine master Adolfo Bioy Casares's later years. Like his legendary Invention of Morel, it is an intoxicating mixture of fantasy, sly humor, and menace. Whether read as a fable of modern politics, a meditation on the elusive parameters of the self, or a most unusual love story, Bioy's book is an almost scarily perfect comic turn, as well as a pure delight. |