![]() Love is a privileged perception, the most complete and total perception not only of the unreality of the world but of our own unreality: not only do we traverse a realm of shadows, we ourselves are shadows. The Invention of Morel may be described, without exaggeration, as a perfect novel.Bioy Casares's theme is not cosmic, but metaphysical: the body is imaginary, and we bow to the tyranny of a phantom. Inspired by Bioy Casaress fascination with the movie star Louise Brooks, The Invention of Morel has gone on to live a secret life of its own. Jorge Luis Borges declared The Invention of Morel a masterpiece of plotting, comparable to The Turn of the Screw and Journey to the Center of the Earth. Bioy makes us laugh at our foibles with an affectionate yet elegant touch.Behind his post-Kafka, pre-Woody Allen sense of nonsense is a metaphysical vision, particularly of life's brevity and the slippery terrain of love. ![]() The Argentine Adolfo Bioy Casares is an urban comedian, a parodist who turns fantasy and science fiction inside out to expose the banality of our scientific, intellectual, and especially erotic pretensions. It is this keenness of thought and expression that buttresses Borges's claim of the novella's perfection. Inspired by Bioy Casares's fascination with the movie star Louise Brooks, The Invention of Morel has gone on to live a secret life of its own. Like the best science fiction, of which this is an exemplar, Bioy's themes have become ever more relevant to a society beholden to image. Set on a mysterious island, Bioy's novella is a story of suspense and exploration, as well as a wonderfully unlikely romance, in which every detail is at once crystal clear and deeply mysterious. A masterfully paced and intellectually daring plot. ![]()
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