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Zama
Zama | Antonio Di Benedetto
7 posts | 5 read | 11 to read
An NYRB Classics Original First published in 1956, Zama is now universally recognized as one of the masterpieces of modern Argentine and Spanish-language literature. Written in a style that is both precise and sumptuous, weirdly archaic and powerfully novel, Zama takes place in the last decade of the eighteenth century and describes the solitary, suspended existence of Don Diego de Zama, a highly placed servant of the Spanish crown who has been posted to Asuncin, the capital of remote Paraguay. There, eaten up by pride, lust, petty grudges, and paranoid fantasies, he does as little as he possibly can while plotting his eventual transfer to Buenos Aires, where everything about his hopeless existence will, he is confident, be miraculously transformed and made good. Don Diego's slow, nightmarish slide into the abyss is not just a tale of one man's perdition but an exploration of existential, and very American, loneliness. Zama, with its stark dreamlike prose and spare imagery, is at once dense and unforeseen, terse and fateful, marked throughout by a haunting movement between sentences, paragraphs, and sections, so that every word seems to emerge from an ocean of things left unsaid. The philosophical depths of this great book spring directly from its dazzling prose.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
blurb
batsy
batsy
Zama | Antonio Di Benedetto
post image

#AlphabetGame @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
Letter Z

"To the victims of expectations" is the epigraph of this book. A brilliant portrayal of the paranoia & self-loathing that stems from being desperate to get out. A tale of the psychosis of the coloniser. The author lost a year in prison being tortured by the Argentine military junta & underwent mock executions in front of a firing squad. This book feels like it was born out of that experience.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Thanks for sharing!! 2y
batsy @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Thank you for hosting; it was fun! 🙂 2y
Suet624 Wow. 2y
64 likes1 stack add3 comments
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The_Penniless_Author
The_Penniless_Author
Zama | Antonio Di Benedetto
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Hooray! Finally received my first book from the NYRB Classics subscription I got for Christmas. It was a nice surprise. I can't remember the last time I was excited by something that came in the mail 😂

(This book wasn't in Litsy's library, so tagging another Di Benedetto book.)

Suet624 Congrats. I love my subscription. 2y
42 likes1 comment
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batsy
batsy
Zama | Antonio Di Benedetto
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To add to the #top10ofthedecade #fictionedition I'm borrowing an idea from @Lindy and doing an #intranslationedition #fictionintranslation

Feel very lucky to be able to have access to a fantastically diverse selection of fiction translated into English; so many brilliant books 💙

@Cinfhen

alisiakae Great idea! And I‘m stacking a lot of these! 😄 4y
Cinfhen Love this!!! Thanks for the additional #TBRexplosion 💥heads up @Kalalalatja 4y
Billypar Great list! Schweblin is at the top of my must-try authors for 2020. Really want to try those Miaojin and Lispector choices. And Strange Weather... @Reggie convinced me on @ReadingEnvy podcast. So basically everything on this list is a must-read for me (except Vegetarian- already read and loved) 😁 4y
See All 17 Comments
Lindy Thanks for sharing your list! 2020 might be the year that I finally pick up Clarice Lispector. 😊 4y
batsy @4thhouseontheleft @Cinfhen 🙂❤️❤️ 4y
batsy @Billypar I'd definitely encourage you to try them all 😁 Lispector's stories I reread over a period of a year or so... There's something about how she sees the world. And Strange Weather is just one of the loveliest books in terms of being life-affirming. Fever Dream on the other hand messed with me 😭 4y
batsy @Lindy My pleasure! I've only read Lispector's shorts and the novella The Hour of the Star. She's pretty special. Would love to see what you think if you give her a try. 4y
Suet624 I‘ve only read Vegetarian but I did a screenshot so I can find the others. Thanks for sharing! 4y
Kalalalatja Oh, so many new to me books! Definitely a big #TBRexplosion @Cinfhen 💥💥💥 4y
BarbaraBB I may like this one even more 😍😍 4y
ReadingEnvy Eve out of her ruins is so good! 4y
batsy @Suet624 @Kalalalatja @BarbaraBB ❤️❤️❤️ 4y
batsy @ReadingEnvy Just brilliant 4y
readordierachel Love your list! Blowing up my tbr as usual 😃 4y
batsy @readordierachel Always a pleasure 😁❤️ 4y
GatheringBooks oh em gee. this is perfect for our #ReadIntlLit2020. Taking note of some of the lesser-known-to-me titles. You are a veritable treasure trove, Suba. 4y
batsy @GatheringBooks 😘 I hope you get a chance to read them and I'd love to know what you think! 4y
81 likes17 comments
review
Occy
Occy
Zama | Antonio Di Benedetto
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Mehso-so

#zama #antoniodibenedetto

1 like
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AlaMich
AlaMich
Zama | Antonio Di Benedetto
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Sooo...anyone read this? Anyone? Yeah, that‘s what I thought. I was browsing on my Fire last night and apparently ordered this, which I didn‘t learn til I got the shipping notification this morning. 😠 It‘s so easy to do that on the Fire. I thought about just keeping it and reading it, but then I saw the words “existential masterpiece” and decided I‘m just too tired! #amazonaccident
#nyrb

Wait! I just noticed @batsy read it!! And you liked it!

batsy Yes, I enjoyed it! It is existential absurdism so if that makes you tired then I'm not so sure if I'll recommend it... 6y
AlaMich @batsy I‘ll give it a shot 😊. Thanks! 6y
batsy Cool :) Hope you enjoy! 6y
34 likes3 comments
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batsy
batsy
Zama | Antonio Di Benedetto
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#riotgrams #greatdedications

11 likes
review
batsy
batsy
Zama | Antonio Di Benedetto
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Pickpick

A loathsome yet pitiable character who an administrator for the Spanish empire in the late eighteenth century. Even at his most repugnant (his distaste for women who are not-white, for example) Zama comes off as pitiful; in this way, intentionally or not, Di Benedetto shows the emptiness that underlies prejudice. (More on Goodreads because 451 characters isn't enough sometimes :) https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1908589128)

12 likes