The Magician of Vienna
Sergio Pitol
The Magician of Vienna is admirably the final volume of Sergio Pitol's "Trilogy of Memory," following The Art of Flight and The Journey. In this book, the author recounts, in a an essay format that is part memoir and part fiction, his encounters with literature throughout his life. It is no secret that the author, a Cervantes Prize winner, faces a neurological condition that has caused him to lose his ability to speak, making this book particularly appealing for those interested in Pitol's life as well as the Spanish literary canon. In this book, the author takes us from one setting or topic to the next unapologetically – perhaps a reflection of his life as a Mexican diplomat constantly traveling from one place to another, experiencing a world of literature in cities like Barcelona, Paris, Rome, Prague, Moscow, Beijing, among many others as a cultural attaché. The Magician of Vienna is a book that should be read, as the author states when reading great authors, "with an attention closer to tenacity than delight, more in tune with the activity of the detective than the pleasure of the aesthete", in order to capture the essence of these accounts comparable to a grandfather's tender anecdotes filled with hidden truths and treasures. |
Sergio Pitol Deméneghi (born 18 March 1933 in Puebla) is a prominent Mexican writer, translator and diplomat. In 2005 he received the Cervantes Prize, the most prestigious literary award in the Spanish-speaking world.
The Magician of Vienna is a Deep Vellum publication and can be purchased through Amazon. Click here to purchase.
The Magician of Vienna is a Deep Vellum publication and can be purchased through Amazon. Click here to purchase.
5/13/2017
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