| Book Description: | Pitol is unfathomable; it could almost be said that he is a literature entire of himself. -- Daniel Saldana Paris, author of Among Strange Victims The debut work in English by Mexico's greatest and most influential living author and winner of the Cervantes Prize ("the Spanish language Nobel"), The Art of Flight takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of the world's cultural capitals as Sergio Pitol looks back on his well-traveled life as a legendary author, translator, scholar, and diplomat. The first work in Pitol's "Trilogy of Memory," The Art of Flight imaginatively blends the genres of fiction and memoir in a Borgesian swirl of contemplation and mystery, expanding our understanding and appreciation of what literature can be and what it can do. Sergio Pitol Demeneghi (b. 1933 in Puebla), one of Mexico's most acclaimed writers and literary translators, studied law and philosophy in Mexico City, and served for over thirty years as a cultural attache in Mexican embassies and consulates across the globe, which is reflected in his diverse and universal writing. In recognition of the importance of his entire canon of literary work, Pitol was awarded the Juan Rulfo Prize in 1999 (now known as the FIL Literary Award in Romance Languages), and in 2005 the Cervantes Prize, the most prestigious literary prize in the Spanish language world. George Henson is currently completing a PhD in humanities (with an emphasis on literary and translation studies) at the University of Texas at Dallas. He received his BA from University of Oklahoma, and his MA from Middlebury College. His most recent published translations have included new works by Elena Poniatowska and Andres Neuman. |
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| Editorial Review: | To call The Art of Flight autobiography, essay, or memoir is an understatement. Life, fiction, memories, and readings intertwine in this book with astonishing ease, and the result is a volume that reads like a novel. Rome, Barcelona, Moscow, Prague, Warsaw, and Chiapas are just a few of the territories explored. Sergio Pitol is one of the great Spanish-speaking authors from recent history, mentor and model for many writers from Spain and Latin America. This book is an excellent introduction to the Pitolian universe. -- Daniel Saldana Paris, Publishers Weekly's 10 Essential Spanish-Language Books "A book as unique and remarkable as its author." -- Rosie Clarke, Music & Literature "One of Mexico's most culturally complex and composite writers." -- Publishers Weekly "Masterful... Known for questioning the limitations of language, Pitol uses The Art of Flight to chronicle his young life... He swirls together memories with poetic reflection, in a way that feels at home in America's memoir culture, but without this obsession with nonfiction." -- The Dallas Observer "The Art of Flight is a book bursting with energy and curiosity. It is a collection of observations, set of diaries, travelogue and much more. It defies categorisation and cannot be summarised. Only experienced."? -- On Art & Aesthetics "Certainly the strangest, most unfathomable and eccentric... His voice reverberates beyond the margins of his books." -- Valeria Luiselli, author of Faces in the Crowd "Reading him, one has the impression ... of being before the greatest Spanish-language writer of our time." -- Enrique Vila-Matas "Went to bed reading Sergio Pitol's Art of Flight... So full & rich, I think I'll savor [it]." -- Maud Newton, via Twitter "The bountiful work of [Sergio Pitol] is one of the most original in the Spanish language." -- El Pais(100 Best Books of the Last 25 Years) "If you are one of those who believes the experience must be lived to be true, that Alice and the Cheshire Cat are merely words on a page, that Ahab's biblical diatribes are just hyperbole from the brow of Melville, and that these in themselves do not count as experience--if you are one who does not believe in the transportive and life-affirming nature of literature, than this book is not for you. That being said, this book is for everyone else." -- Mark Haber, bookseller at Brazos Bookstore "[The Journey] and the preceding volume -- The Art of Flight -- are some of the best to be published by a small press in the last few years." -- Matt Pincus, Bookslut "Whilst the reflections on Pitol's life as a writer are thoroughly enjoyable and, at time, gripping, the book also includes a reading list to die for. His influences are too numerous to mention and there are anecdotes about certain influential writers, his own creative journey being altered by certain works, and in-depth analysis of other books. ...A "novel" that covers politics (free trade, unemployment), artistic creation, critics, sociology, travelogue and so much more." -- Tony, Messenger Booker |
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