Bonsai (The Contemporary Art of the Novella) (Paperback)

by Alejandro Zambra (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
“One of the greatest literary events of recent years.”
—Alfonso Cortínez, Las Últimas Noticias

“An unclassifiable object of unusual beauty . . . one of the best Chilean novels of recent times.”
—David Lacalle, Capital

"Bonsai won the Chilean Critics Award for best novel of the year in 2006…and it's easy to understand why."
—Jonathan Messinger, Time Out Chicago

“Bonsai ultimately ends as it begins, with Emilia gone and Julio left to continue alone. What is remarkable about Zambra’s novella is the space between ending and beginning -- the progressive prose that relates a true story with emotional and artistic implications extending far beyond its 83 pages. Like the “shielded carriage that steered itself, feeling its way through a beautiful and unreal city,” Bonsai sweeps the reader up and inside, providing, for a short distance and in spite of the adventure’s lack of “hope,” a ride they won’t forget. If, therefore, the elements comprising a bonsai -- its living form and container -- must be in harmony, Alejandro Zambra has replicated Julio’s achievement: he has grown a bonsai.”
—Bookslut

Product Description

Winner of Chile's Literary Critics' Award for Best Novel

"One of the greatest literary events of recent years."-Alfonso Cortínez, Las Últimas Noticias

"An unclassifiable object of unusual beauty . . . one of the best Chilean novels of recent times."-David Lacalle, Capital

Hailed as a great Latin American literary event, this stylistically innovative, elliptically told tale of a young man and his love who mysteriously disappears is, as the narrator tells us, "a simple story that becomes complicated."

Through both the distance and closeness of these young lovers, Alejandro Zambra brilliantly explores the relationship between art, love, and life. Bonsai is accessible yet profound-as one critic in Chile's Capital newspaper put it, "Brief as a sigh and forceful as a blow."

Alejandro Zambra is acclaimed as the greatest writer of Chile's younger generation. He is a poet and critic and currently teaches literature at the Diego Portales University in Santiago. Bonsai is his first novel. It was awarded Chile's Literary Critics' Award for Best Novel.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 90 pages
• Publisher: Melville House (October 7, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193363362X
• ISBN-13: 978-1933633626
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #255,268 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A haunting love story, January 29, 2009

By	Darryl R. Morris "Kidzdoc" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This novella, by the Chilean writer Alejandro Zambra, is his first novel after he published two books of poems, Useless Bay and Change. Bonsai won the Chilean Critics' Award for the Best Novel of the Year in 2006, and it is one of the 10 shortlisted books for the Best Translated Book of 2008 by Three Percent.

The main characters are two Chilean university students, Emilia and Julio, who become lovers after a drunken study session. They are inseparable, almost indistinguishable in their likes and dislikes, and their lovemaking sessions are preceded by excerpts from their favorite works of literature. Eventually they begin to drift apart, and Emilia soon disappears from Chile.

Anita, Emilia's old roommate and best friend since childhood, eventually tracks her down years later in Madrid, and makes a startling and disturbing discovery, which is hinted at in the opening paragraph of the book.

Emilia and Julio are lovingly painted, and even though you know what will eventually happen to Julia, it is still shocking and achingly sad, and the ending is heartbreaking.