Five

Synopsis

Bringing together five novellas selected from César Aira's vast body of work, Five is an exhilarating introduction to one of contemporary literature's most inventive writers. A cast of unforgettable characters—including cyber nuns, a princess working as a translator, General Winter, and a newspaper vendor—move through dreamlike worlds where logic bends, genres collide, and the unexpected is always just around the corner.

Playful, surreal, and endlessly original, these stories showcase Aira's singular imagination and his remarkable ability to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. Translated by Chris Andrews, Five is an essential collection for longtime readers and the perfect place to begin for anyone discovering Aira's work.

About the Author

César Aira is one of Argentina's most celebrated contemporary writers and the author of more than one hundred books. Renowned for his boundless imagination and genre-defying fiction, his work has been translated into dozens of languages and has earned a devoted international readership. This collection is translated by Chris Andrews, one of Aira's longtime English-language translators.

Publisher
New Directions

Publication Date
July 28, 2026

Format
Paperback

Pages
384

Subjects
Literary Fiction · Translated Fiction · Argentine Literature · Surrealism · Novellas

ISBN
9780811232364