{"product_id":"the-museum-of-eternas-novel-the-first-good-novel-9781934824061","title":"The Museum of Eterna's Novel (the First Good Novel)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"I imitated him, to the point of transcription, to the point of devoted and impassioned plagiarism. I felt: Macedonio is metaphysics, is literature. Whoever preceded him might shine in history, but they were all rough drafts of Macedonio, imperfect previous versions. To not imitate this canon would have represented incredible negligence.\"--Jorge Luis Borges\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Museum of Eterna's Novel (The First Good Novel)\u003c\/i\u003e is the very definition of a novel written ahead of its time. Macedonio (known to everyone by his unusual first name) worked on this novel in the 1930s and early '40s, during the heyday of Argentine literary culture, and around the same time that \u003ci\u003eAt Swim-Two-Birds\u003c\/i\u003e was published, a novel that has quite a bit in common with Macedonio's masterpiece.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e In many ways, \u003ci\u003eMuseum\u003c\/i\u003e is an \"anti-novel.\" It opens with more than fifty prologues--including ones addressed \"To My Authorial Persona,\" \"To the Critics,\" and \"To Readers Who Will Perish If They Don't Know What the Novel Is About\"--that are by turns philosophical, outrageous, ponderous, and cryptic. These pieces cover a range of topics from how the upcoming novel will be received to how to thwart \"skip-around readers\" (by writing a book that defies linearity!).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe second half of the book is the novel itself, a novel about a group of characters (some borrowed from other texts) who live on an estancia called \"la novella\" . . .\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA hilarious and often quite moving book, \u003ci\u003eThe Museum of Eterna's Novel\u003c\/i\u003e redefined the limits of the genre, and has had a lasting impact on Latin American literature. Authors such as Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar, and Ricardo Piglia have all fallen under its charm and high-concepts, and, at long last, English-speaking readers can experience the book that helped build the reputation of Borges's mentor.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMacedonio Fernández\u003c\/b\u003e was one of the most influential--and strangest--Argentine authors ever. He was Borges's mentor; he campaigned for president by leaving notecards with the word \"Macedonio\" in cafes; he started a utopian society. He also wrote the \"Last Bad Novel\" (\u003ci\u003eAdriana Buenos Aires\u003c\/i\u003e) and the \"First Good One\" (\u003ci\u003eThe Museum of Eterna's Novel\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eMargaret Schwartz\u003c\/b\u003e is an assistant professor at Fordham University. She was a Fulbright fellow to Argentina in 2004, during which time she researched the life and works of Macedonio Fernández.\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAdam Thirlwell\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of the novels \u003ci\u003ePolitics\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Escape\u003c\/i\u003e. His book about literature and translation, \u003ci\u003eThe Delighted States\u003c\/i\u003e, won the Somerset Maugham Award in 2008. He has twice been named as one of \u003ci\u003eGranta\u003c\/i\u003e's \"Best Young British Novelists.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMacedonio Fernández\u003c\/b\u003e was one of the most influential--and strangest--Argentine authors ever. He was Borges's mentor; he campaigned for president by leaving notecards with the word \"Macedonio\" in cafes; he started a utopian society. He also wrote the \"Last Bad Novel\" (\u003ci\u003eAdriana Buenos Aires\u003c\/i\u003e) and the \"First Good One\" (\u003ci\u003eThe Museum of Eterna's Novel\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eMargaret Schwartz\u003c\/b\u003e is an assistant professor at Fordham University. She was a Fulbright fellow to Argentina in 2004, during which time she researched the life and works of Macedonio Fernández.\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAdam Thirlwell\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of the novels \u003ci\u003ePolitics\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Escape\u003c\/i\u003e. His book about literature and translation, \u003ci\u003eThe Delighted States\u003c\/i\u003e, won the Somerset Maugham Award in 2008. He has twice been named as one of \u003ci\u003eGranta\u003c\/i\u003e's \"Best Young British Novelists.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Open Letter","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50697983164690,"sku":"9781934824061","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_357b3176-e64f-4e8b-b48b-7c4b3020a846.jpg?v=1734314155","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-museum-of-eternas-novel-the-first-good-novel-9781934824061","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}