Optic Nerve

By Maria Gainza, Thomas Bunstead (translator),

Book cover of Optic Nerve

Book description

'A highly original, piercingly beautiful work, full of beautiful shocks... I felt like a door had been kicked open in my brain' Johanna Thomas-Corr, Observer

A woman searches Buenos Aires for the paintings that are her inspiration and her refuge. Her life -- she is a young mother with a…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Optic Nerve as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Christine Lai

Author

A brilliant blend of narrative and non-fiction, Optic Nerve follows the narrator, an art critic, as she frequents art galleries in Buenos Aires and reflects on the artworks, which act as prisms that refract her own memories and experiences.

This is a book that moves forward by dint of impressions and ekphrastic encounters, eschewing a conventional plot. It explores the interconnections between image and text by incorporating art criticism into the fictional space.

From Christine's list on art and the ways of seeing.

Kate Doyle

Author

I love a book that defies genre—and this one is sort of a short story collection, sort of a novel, sort of criticism, sort of autofiction.

In each story, Gainza’s art critic narrator considers an anecdote from her own past in relation to a piece of art she’s studied. Gradually, art and life accumulate into the life story, from many angles, of this woman who might also be the author, and the stories and passions that compose who she is.

From Kate's list on making sense of your life by writing about it.