Fireflies
Luis Sagasti author Fionn Petch translator
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Charco Press
Published:15th Jan '18
Should be back in stock very soon
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.
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**
ISBN: 9781999722746
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
89 pages