{"title":"Enrique Vila-Matas","description":"\u003cp\u003eWelcome to our collection of works by renowned Spanish author, \u003cem\u003eEnrique Vila-Matas\u003c\/em\u003e. Known for his unique and thought-provoking narratives, Vila-Matas has carved a niche for himself in the world of contemporary literature. His novels often explore themes of literary obsession, metafiction, and the intricate dance between reality and imagination.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAmong his acclaimed works is \u003cem\u003eBartleby and Co\u003c\/em\u003e, a compelling exploration of writers who grapple with writer's block and the concept of 'non-writing.' In \u003cem\u003eDublinesque\u003c\/em\u003e, Vila-Matas pays homage to James Joyce, weaving a narrative filled with reflections on literature's past and its evolving nature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMac and His Problem\u003c\/em\u003e continues his tradition of metafiction, offering a humorous yet profound take on a writer's struggle with creativity. Meanwhile, \u003cem\u003eMontevideo\u003c\/em\u003e captivates with its introspective odyssey through the landscapes of fiction and reality, leaving readers questioning the boundaries between the two.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDive into Vila-Matas' works and discover why he is celebrated as one of the contemporary masters of metafictional literature. Whether you're a long-time fan or new to his storytelling genius, our collection promises a rich and rewarding literary journey.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"bartleby-and-co-by-enrique-vila-matas-9780099453727","title":"Bartleby And Co","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePrize-winning novel from Spain - intellectual, contemporary, very funny and highly original - by one of the most admired of present-day Spanish writers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMarcelo, a clerk in a Barcelona office who might himself have emerged from a novel by Kafka, inhabits a world peopled by characters in literature. He once wrote a novel about the impossibility of love, but since then he has written nothing. He has, in short, become a 'Bartleby', so named after the character in Herman Melville's short story who, when asked to do something, always replied, \"I would prefer not to.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOne day Marcelo sets out to make a search through literature for all those other possible Bartlebys, and with this in mind, he has the engagingly original notion of keeping a diary and writing footnotes to an invisible text. His references to authors, both real and invented, provide the reader with extravagant doses of humour that are at once hilarious, irreverent, and stimulating.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46529561788652,"sku":"9780099453727","price":27.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/10626103482223.jpg?v=1749223152"},{"product_id":"dublinesque-by-enrique-vila-matas-9780099555841","title":"Dublinesque","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom one of Spain's greatest writers, a witty, moving novel about art, life, death and James Joyce.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSHORTLISTED FOR THE INDEPENDENT FOREIGN FICTION PRIZE\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'A writer who has no equal in the contemporary landscape of the Spanish novel.'\u003c\/em\u003e Roberto Bolano\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSamuel Riba is about to turn 60. A successful publisher in Barcelona, he is increasingly prone to attacks of anxiety and, looking for distraction, he concocts a spur-of-the-moment trip to Dublin, a city he has never visited but once dreamed about.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHe sets off for Dublin on the pretext of honouring James Joyce's \u003cem\u003eUlysses\u003c\/em\u003e on Bloomsday. But as he and his friends gather in the cemetery to give their orations, a mysterious figure in a mackintosh resembling Joyce's protege Samuel Beckett hovers in the background. Is it Beckett, or is it the writer of genius that Riba has spent his whole career trying, and failing, to find?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46549388689644,"sku":"9780099555841","price":25.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/11647243482223.jpg?v=1749899843"},{"product_id":"mac-and-his-problem-by-enrique-vila-matas-9780143788454","title":"Mac and His Problem","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA funny, erudite novel from one of the great European storytellers, with the process of writing and creation playfully at its heart.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMac, over sixty and recently unemployed, lives on his wife's earnings from her furniture restoration business. An avid reader, he decides at the age of sixty to keep a diary. Mac's wife, Carmen, a dyslexic born of dyslexic parents, thinks he is simply wasting his time and risking sliding further into depression—but Mac persists, and is determined that this diary will not turn into a novel. However, one day, he has a chance encounter with a near neighbour, a highly successful author who once wrote a collection of enigmatic, wilfully obscure stories...\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMac and His Problem\u003c\/em\u003e is a delight for those who appreciate the nuances of writing and storytelling. Vila-Matas engages in a playful exploration of the writing process itself, offering a narrative that is both witty and thought-provoking.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46549923266796,"sku":"9780143788454","price":34.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/4600733482239.jpg?v=1749937225"},{"product_id":"montevideo-by-enrique-vila-matas-9780300284836","title":"Montevideo","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe award-winning newest novel by Spain's premier writer—a metafictional meditation on the limits and possibilities of literature.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe narrator of \u003cem\u003eMontevideo\u003c\/em\u003e is an itinerant writer and erstwhile drug pusher in the throes of a personal and literary transformation. Increasingly disillusioned with life in Paris and hoping for an artistic breakthrough, he ventures out in search of a \"new style.\" His quest takes him to Barcelona and then to a hotel in Montevideo, Uruguay, called The Cervantes, where seemingly both Julio Cortázar and Adolfo Bioy Casares found inspiration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMontevideo, however, is not the final stop: Bogotá, Reykjavík, New York, and St. Gallen in Switzerland are ahead on the narrator's journey. But to what?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn this brilliant new novel, Enrique Vila-Matas deepens and extends his inquiry into the purposes and functions of fiction: Can the products of the imagination be set on paper, coherently and faithfully? Or is literature forever destined to fall hopelessly short—consigned to be nothing more than an impoverished, inaccurate representation? Moving between cities and genres, from coarse slapstick to insightful criticism, from travelogue to metaphysical speculation, \u003cem\u003eMontevideo\u003c\/em\u003e is a narrative vortex, a labyrinthine tale of mirrors and illusions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47306922361068,"sku":"9780300284836","price":35.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/24846103482294.jpg?v=1771069062"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.pro\/collections\/enrique-vila-matas.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}