Name: bartleby & co.
SKU: 1876269
Price: 22.46 EUR
Availability: InStock
Author: Enrique Vila-Matas

Type

Physical Book

Author

Enrique Vila-Matas

Translated by

Jonathan Dunne

Publisher

New Directions Publishing Corporation

Language

English

Pages

178

Format

Paperback

Dimensions

20.3x13.4x1.4 cm

Weight

0.23 kg.

ISBN

0811216985

ISBN13

9780811216982

Synopsis "bartleby & co."

In Bartleby & Co., an enormously enjoyable novel, Enrique Vila-Matas tackles the theme of silence in literature: the writers and non-writers who, like the scrivener Bartleby of the Herman Melville story, in answer to any question or demand, replies: I would prefer not to. Addressing such artists of refusal as Robert Walser, Robert Musil, Arthur Rimbaud, Marcel Duchamp, Herman Melville, and J. D. Salinger, Bartleby & Co. could be described as a meditation: a walking tour through the annals of literature. Written as a series of footnotes (a non-work itself), Bartleby embarks on such questions as why do we write, why do we exist? The answer lies in the novel itself: told from the point of view of a hermetic hunchback who has no luck with women, and is himself unable to write, Bartleby is utterly engaging, a work of profound and philosophical beauty.

Enrique Vila-Matas

(Author)

View Author's Page

Enrique Vila-Matas (Barcelona, 1948) is one of the most influential writers in contemporary Spanish-language literature, known for his style that blends fiction, essay, and autofiction. His work is characterized by a constant reflection on writing and the figure of the writer, exploring the boundaries between reality and fiction. Among his most notable novels are El viaje vertical (1999), El mal de Montano (2002), París no se acaba nunca (2003), and Montevideo (2022). His most recent publication is Canon de cámara oscura (2025), where he continues his exploration of identity and literature

Throughout his career, Vila-Matas has been awarded numerous literary prizes, including the Rómulo Gallegos Prize (2001), the Herralde Novel Prize (2002), the National Critics Prize (2002), the Prix Médicis Étranger (2003), the Formentor de las Letras Prize (2014), and the FIL Prize in Romance Languages Literature (2015). His work has been translated into multiple languages and is the subject of academic study, consolidating his position as a central figure in contemporary literature.

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