{"product_id":"9781940953359","title":"The Clouds","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"Saer is one of the best writers of today in any language.\"—Ricardo Piglia\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"What Saer presents marvelously is the experience of reality, and the characters' attempts to write their own narratives within its excess.\"—\u003ci\u003eBookforum\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn modern-day Paris, Pichón Garay receives a computer disk containing a manuscript—which might be fictional, or could be a memoir—by Doctor Real, a nineteenth-century physician tasked with leading a group of five mental patients on a trip to a recently constructed asylum. Their trip, which ends in disaster and fire, is a brilliant tragicomedy thanks to the various insanities of the patients, among whom is a delusional man who greatly over-estimates his own importance and a nymphomaniac nun who tricks everyone—even the other patients—into sleeping with her.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFascinating as a faux historical novel and written in Saer's typically gorgeous, Proustian style, \u003ci\u003eThe Clouds \u003c\/i\u003ecan be read as a metaphor for exile—a huge theme for Saer and a lot of Argentine writers—as well as an examination of madness.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJuan José Saer \u003c\/b\u003ewas the leading Argentinian writer of the post-Borges generation. The author of numerous novels and short-story collections (including \u003ci\u003eScars \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eLa Grande\u003c\/i\u003e), Saer was awarded Spain's prestigious Nadal Prize in 1987 for \u003ci\u003eThe Event\u003c\/i\u003e. Five of his novels are available from Open Letter Books.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHilary Vaughn Dobel \u003c\/b\u003ehas an MFA in poetry and translation from Columbia University. She is the author of two manuscripts and, in addition to Saer, she has translated work by Carlos Pintado.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Open Letter","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47141593907440,"sku":"9781940953359","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781940953359_p0.jpg?v=1769897421","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781940953359","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}