The diaries of Emilio Renzi : a day in the life /
Ricardo Piglia ; translated from the Spanish by Robert Croll.
- Brooklyn, N.Y. : Restless Books, 2020.
- 357 p.
First published as: Los diarios de Emilio Renzi : Un dia en la vida by Editorial Anagrama, Barcelona, 2017.
Sixty years in the making and the capstone of a monumental literary career, "The Diaries of Emilio Renzi: A Day in the Life" is the final volume of the autobiographical trilogy from the author who is considered Borges' heir and the vanguard of the Post-Boom generation of Latin American literature. "A giant of contemporary Latin American literature, Argentine novelist Ricardo Piglia's secret magnum opus was a compilation of 327 notebooks that he composed over nearly six decades, in which he imagined himself as his literary alter ego, Emilio Renzi. A world-weary detective, Renzi stars in many of his creator's works, much like Philip Roth's Nathan Zuckerman. But the Renzi of these diaries is something more complex--a multilayered reconstruction of the self that is teased out over intricate, illuminating pages. As Piglia/Renzi develops as a reader and writer, falls in love, and tussles with his tyrannical father, we get eye-opening perspectives on Latin America's tumultuous twentieth century. Obsessed with literary giants--from Borges and Cortázar (both of whom he knew), to Kafka and Camus--The Diaries comprise a celebration of reading as a vital, existential activity. When Piglia learned he had a fatal illness in 2011, he raced to complete his mysterious masterwork as rumors about the book intensified among his many fans. First released in Spanish as a trilogy to tremendous applause, The Diaries of Emilio Renzi cements Piglia's place in the global canon"--Amazon.com.