This is the first of Argentinean writer Angelica Gorodischer's
nineteen award-winning books to be translated into English. In
eleven chapters, "Kalpa Imperial"'s multiple storytellers relate
the story of a fabled nameless empire which has risen and fallen
innumerable times. Fairy tales, oral histories and political
commentaries are all woven tapestry-style into Kalpa Imperial:
beggars become emperors, democracies become dictatorships, and
history becomes legends and stories.
But this is much more than a simple political allegory or fable.
It is also a celebration of the power of storytelling. Gorodischer
and translator Ursula K. Le Guin are a well-matched, sly and
delightful team of magician-storytellers. Rarely have author and
translator been such an effortless pairing. "Kalpa Imperial" is a
powerful introduction to the writing of Angelica Gorodischer, a
novel which will enthrall readers already familiar with the worlds
of Le Guin.
Selected for the "New York Times" Summer Reading list.
* "The dreamy, ancient voice is not unlike Le Guin's, and this
collection should appeal to her fans as well as to those of
literary fantasy and Latin American fiction."
--"Library Journal" (Starred Review)
"There's a very modern undercurrent to the Kalpa empire, with
tales focusing on power (in a political sense) rather than generic
moral lessons. Her mythology is consistent--wide in scope, yet not
overwhelming. The myriad names of places and people can be
confusing, almost Tolkeinesque in their linguistic originality. But
the stories constantly move and keep the book from becoming
overwhelming. Gorodischer has a sizeable body of work to be
discovered, with eighteen books yet to reach English readers, and
this is an impressive introduction."
--"Review of Contemporary Fiction"
"Borges and Cortazar are alive and well."
--"Bridge Magazine"
"Those looking for offbeat literary fantasy will welcome "Kalpa
Imperial: The Greatest Empire That Never Was, " by Argentinean
writer Angelica Gorodischer. Translated from the Spanish by Ursula
Le Guin, this is the first appearance in English of this
prize-winning South American fantasist."
--"Publishers Weekly"
"It's always difficult to wrap up a rave review without babbling
redundant praises. This time I'll simply say "Buy this Book
""
--"Locus"
"The elaborate history of an imaginary country...is Nabokovian
in its accretion of strange and rich detail, making the story seem
at once scientific and dreamlike."
--"Time Out New York"
"Kalpa Imperial" has been awarded the Prize "Mas Alla" (1984),
the Prize "Sigfrido Radaelli" (1985) and also the Prize Poblet
(1986). It has had four editions in Spanish: Minotauro (Buenos
Aires), Alcor (Barcelona), Gigamesh (Barcelona), and Planeta Emece
Editions (Buenos Aires).
Praise for the Spanish-language editions of "Kalpa
Imperial"
"Angelica Gorodischer, both from without and within the novel,
accomplishes the indispensable function Salman Rushdie says the
storyteller must have: not to let the old tales die out; to
constantly renew them. And she well knows, as does that one who met
the Great Empress, that storytellers are nothing more and nothing
less than free men and women. And even though their freedom might
be dangerous, they have to get the total attention of their
listeners and, therefore, put the proper value on the art of
storytelling, an art that usually gets in the way of those who
foster a forceful oblivion and prevent the winds of change."
--Carmen Perilli, "La Gaceta," Tucuman
"At a time when books are conceived and published to be read
quickly, with divided attention in the din of the subway or the
car, this novel is to be tasted with relish, in peace, in
moderation, chewing slowly each and every one of the stories that
make it up, and digesting it equally slowly so as to properly
assimilate it all."
--Rodolfo Martinez
"A vast, cyclical filigree . . . Gorodischer reaches much
farther than the common run of stories about huge empires, maybe
because she wasn't interested in them to begin with, and enters the
realm of fable, legend, and allegory."
--Luis G. Prado, "Gigamesh," Barcelona
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