Hace tiempo descubrimos que la gran novela de C sar Aira se estaba escribiendo con la acumulaci n de sus decenas de novelitas, que alcanzaron la centena en 2018. Los devotos fuimos atesor ndolas como si se tratara de los fasc culos de una enciclopedia secreta, ya que, adem s, iban public ndose con rapidez por aqu y por all , de manera esquiva -un gesto m s propio de un artista contempor neo que de un escritor.

En el camino nos acostumbramos a que algunas de las entregas tuvieran s lo diez o quince p ginas, a que asumieran formas diversas- digresiones ensay sticas, cr nicas inveros miles, cuentos de hadas-, a que cuestionaran conscientemente las reglas de aquello que suele considerarse "escribir bien". Porque, al fin y al cabo, qu podemos esperar de una obra de C sar Aira? Cualquier cosa: un artefacto ingenioso e impredecible, una miniatura narrativa que renueva, una y otra vez, la literatura.

Este volumen re ne por vez primera diez novelas publicadas en editoriales peque as y que en muchos casos estaban fuera de circulaci n. Diez piezas del ins lito rompecabezas airano una novela de zombies, una teor a y pr ctica del humor, la biograf a de un m sico de jazz genial, o el relato delirante de la huida de dos personajes diminutos dentro de la maqueta de un colegio, entre otras. Diez razones que confirman a C sar Aira como uno de los narradores m s asombrosos de la literatura actual. . -Juan Pablo Villalobos

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

This volume compiles ten of the best novels by the great Argentine author, Cesar Aira, with selection and preface made by Juan Pablo Villalobos.

"Some time ago we discovered that Cesar Aira's great novel was being written little by little with the collection of dozens of his short novels; in 2018 they reached the hundreds. We, his devoted followers, were treasuring them as if they were the fascicles of a secret encyclopedia, since they were quickly being published here and there, in an subtle way.

"Along the way we got used to some only being ten to fifteen pages long; we knew to expect different forms, and to consciously question the rules of what was considered "to write well." Because, after all, what can we expect from Cesar Aira's works? Anything: a clever and unpredictable piece, a miniature narrative that revives and invigorates, literature.

"Now for the first time, this volume compiles ten novels originally published by small publishing houses and that in many cases were no longer available to readers. Ten pieces of the unusual and curious Airanian puzzle: Cecil Taylor / Cecil Taylor, La costurera y el viento / The seamstress and the wind, Las conversaciones / Conversations, El divorcio / Divorce, Los dos payasos / Two clowns, El volante / The Flyer, La confesi n / Confession, La pastilla de hormona / The hormone pill, La cena / Dinner, and Diario de la hepatitis / Diary of hepatitis. These ten reasons ratify Cesar Aira as one of the most amazing narrators of current-day literature." - Juan Pablo Villalobos