Writer Esther Allen joins us to discuss her translation of Antonio di Benedetto's Zama, an Argentine existential novel originally published 1956. We discuss the intricacies of translation, the author's repudiation of the idea of a historical novel, and Lucrecia Martel's 2017 film adaptation of the story. Listeners unfamiliar with the plot may want to read the book (and watch the movie) before tuning in.

References:

Burton Pike
The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil
Jorge Luis Borges
Julio Cortázar
The Silentiary
The Suicides
César Aira
Roberto Bolaño
The Sound of Music
Werner Herzog
Aguirre, the Wrath of God
"Sensini" by Bolaño
Guido Boggiani
Canaan Morse
Peach Blossom Paradise
Waiting for Godot
Samuel Beckett
Daisy Rockwell
Benjamin Kunkel
In a Lonely Place
"Benito Cereno" by Herman Melville
Juan José Saer
Federico Fellini
Roberto Bolaño's Fiction: An Expanding Universe by Chris Andrews

Find us on Twitter or Instagram.