Childish Literature

‘Childish Literature shows shows boundless – and bounding – enthusiasm for the chaos and curiosity that his son, Silvestre, has brought into his life…. Alejandro Zambra makes being a writer seem like the least solitary, most joyful job in the world – an enthusiasm that makes this his most engaging book yet’
— Jonathan Gibbs, Times Literary Supplement

‘What a rare and wonderful experience, to read a writer of such brilliance, wit and style as Alejandro Zambra on the subjects of fatherhood and childhood. I relished every page of this beautiful, surprising book.’
— Mark O’Connell, author of A Thread of Violence

‘Charming, protean, ebullient and precise, this book transforms and grows almost as much as the parents and child at the centre of the book. A wonder.’
— Karan Mahajan, author of The Association of Small Bombs

‘Hopeful, funny and full of wisdom. A meditation on fatherhood by one of our most perceptive writers.’
— Tara Westover, author of Educated

‘Zambra is one of my favourite living writers (which makes Megan McDowell one of my favourite translators). Childish Literature is funny, playful, sincere and, for me, as a new father, reassuring, not because of parenthood platitudes (quite the opposite), but for its line of anxious questioning on how one fathers a child without a “tradition of fatherhood”. It has clarified some of the depth of love alongside the concerns I have as a new father. Zambra is once again doing the work of great literature, providing (and provoking) old and new ideas around family, education, literature and art. He is childlike and deeply serious about the spaces and times we live in. If you have read this book, let's talk about it!’
— Raymond Antrobus, author of Signs, Music

‘Whenever Alejandro Zambra brings out a new book, I’m excited to read it. The playful intelligence of his exuberant imagination, along with his sharp-eyed, poignant, poetic observations of everyday life, are unmatched. On every page there’ll be something that makes me laugh out loud, no matter if what’s being narrated is devastating or – like this new book – luminously tender. In Childish Literature, Zambra’s account of fatherhood is so generous, self-deprecating and infectious.’ 
— Francisco Goldman, author of Monkey Boy

‘Every beat and pattern of being alive becomes revelatory and bright when narrated by Alejandro Zambra. He is a modern wonder.’
— Rivka Galchen, author of Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch

‘When I read Zambra I feel like someone’s shooting fireworks inside my head.’
— Valeria Luiselli, author of Lost Children Archive

‘The most talked-about writer to come out of Chile since Bolaño.’
— New York Times

‘Strikingly original.’
— James Wood, New Yorker

‘There have been plenty of books written about the experience of becoming a parent in recent years, but few of them have tackled the subject with the style, wit, wisdom and grace of Alejandro Zambra in his latest book…. Zambra is an exceptionally funny writer, but he’s also much more … and the last chapter of the book, which is a letter to his son both now and in the future, is beautifully moving. Childish Literature is a testament to why Zambra is one of the most exciting writers working today.’
— Joshua Rees, Buzz Magazine