The Linden Tree

A delightful fictional memoir about César Aira's small hometown. The narrator, born the same year and now living in the same great city (Buenos Aires) as César Aira, could be the author himself. Beginning with his parents--an enigmatic handsome black father who gathered linden flowers for his sleep-inducing tea and an irrational, crippled mother of European descent--the narrator catalogs memories of his childhood: his friends, his peculiar first job, his many gossiping neighbors, and the landscape and architecture of the provinces. The Linden Tree beautifully brings back to life that period in Argentina when the poor, under the guiding hand of Eva Perón, aspired to a newly created middle class.

As it moves from anecdote to anecdote, this charming short novella--touching, funny, and sometimes surreal--invites the reader to visit the source of Aira's extraordinary imagination.

Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation
Published: 04/24/2018
Pages: 128
Weight: 0.2lbs
Size: 7.10h x 5.10w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9780811219082


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 12/01/2017
Kirkus Reviews 02/15/2018
Publishers Weekly 02/26/2018

About the Author
Aira, César: - Nominated for a Neustadt award and the Man Booker International Prize, CÉSAR AIRA was born in Coronel Pringles, Argentina, in 1949. He has published at least one hundred books and recently created a limited edition, "The Valise," for the Museum of Modern Art, NYC.Andrews, Chris: - The poet CHRIS ANDREWS teaches at the University of Western Sydney, Australia, where he is a member of the Writing and Society Research Centre. He has translated books by Roberto Bolano and César Aira for New Directions. He has won the Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize for his poetry and the Valle-Inclan Prize and the French-American Foundation Translation Prize for his translations.