Morel’s Invention

“Morel’s Invention may be described, without exaggeration, as a perfect novel.” —Octavio Paz

A new translation of Adolfo Bioy Casares’s metaphysical masterpiece, a marvelously plotted story of a fugitive writer who discovers an uncanny phenomenon taking place on his island hideout.

Jorge Luis Borges declared Morels Invention a masterpiece, comparable to The Turn of the Screw and Journey to the Center of the Earth. When a fugitive washes up on a deserted island, he quickly discovers that the place is in fact populated by well-heeled tourists, whose nightly comings and goings are as bewildering as they are fascinating. Soon, the fugitive becomes enamored of a beautiful woman and finds himself more and more caught up in the islands mystery—until at last he realizes it is time for him to take action.

Inspired by Adolfo Boy Casaress fascination with the movie star Louise Brooks, and greatly admired by Julio Cortázar, Gabriel García Márquez, and Octavio Paz, Morels Invention has gone on to live a secret life of its own. As the model for Alain Resnais and Alain Robbe-Grillets Last Year at Marienbad, it changed the history of film. And in its contemplation of consciousness, perception, and the self, it stands as one of the first literary explorations of virtual reality.

Margaret Jull Costas new translation of Morels Invention, the first into English in more than fifty years, brings out the full force of the storys beguiling and metaphysical power.