Good readers will find something that can be found only in great
literature, the kind written by real poets, a literature that dares to
venture into the dark with open eyes and that keeps its eyes open no
matter what . . . . The literature of the twenty-first century will
belong to Neuman and a few of his blood brothers.--Roberto Bolaño
Playful, philosophizing, and gloriously unpredictable, Andrés Neuman's
short stories consider love, lechery, history, mortality, family
secrets, therapy, Borges, mysterious underwear, translators, and
storytelling itself.
Here a relationship turns on a line drawn in the sand; an analyst treats
a patient who believes he's the real analyst; a discovery in a
secondhand shop takes on a cruel significance; a man decides to go to
work naked one day. In these small scenes and brief moments Neuman
confounds our expectations with dazzling sleight of hand.
With a variety of forms and styles, Neuman opens up the possibilities
for fiction, calling to mind other greats of Latin American letters,
such as Cortázar, Bolaño, and Bioy Casares. Intellectually stimulating
and told with a voice that is wry, questioning, sometimes mordantly
funny, yet always generously humane, The Things We Don't Do confirms
Neuman's place as one of the most dynamic authors writing today.
Andrés Neuman was born in Buenos Aires, and grew up and lives in
Spain. He was included in Granta's Young Spanish-language Novelists
issue and is the author of almost twenty works, two of which--Traveler
of the Century and Talking to Ourselves-- have been translated into
English. Traveler of the Century won the Alfaguara Prize and the
National Critics Prize, and was longlisted for the 2013 Best Translated
book award, and shortlisted for the 2013 Independent Foreign Fiction
Prize and the 2014 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.
Nick Caistoris a prolific British translator and journalist, best
known for his translations of Spanish and Portuguese literature. He is a
past winner of the Valle-Inclán Prize for translation and is a regular
contributor to BBC Radio 4, Times Literary Supplement, and the
Guardian.
Lorenza Garcia has lived for extended periods in Spain, France, and
Iceland. Since 2007, she has translated over a dozen novels and works of
non-fiction from French and Spanish.
