Reading the 20th Century discussion
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The Invention of Morel
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The Invention of Morel (1940) by Adolfo Bioy Casares (April 2026)
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Looking forward to it
Oh good! This has been on my radar for awhile, but the local library doesn't have it - I'll have to ILL or buy it. Which is worth it for a buddy read!
I've just read it and, as I wrote in my brief review: One of the GR tags "science fiction" for this novel must be confusing it with "metaphysical".Loved it!
Now, reading the description from Nigey's opening comment that it inspired the Last Year at Marienbad film, I absolutely see the connection as a concept (not in details). Since I love this film, I can't believe that this association didn't occur to me while reading and the place "Marienbad" was even mentioned in passing!
The Invention of Morel
by
Adolfo Bioy Casares
Apparently it's a slim, mind-bending novella from Argentina. It’s part sci-fi, part psychological thriller about a fugitive on a deserted island who discovers a machine that can project "real" ghosts.
All are welcome
Come and get involved - a mere 103 pages
Set on a mysterious island, Bioy’s novella is a story of suspense and exploration, as well as a wonderfully unlikely romance, in which every detail is at once crystal clear and deeply mysterious.
Inspired by Bioy Casares’s fascination with the movie star Louise Brooks, The Invention of Morel has gone on to live a secret life of its own. Greatly admired by Julio Cortázar, Gabriel García Márquez, and Octavio Paz, the novella helped to usher in Latin American fiction’s now famous postwar boom. As the model for Alain Resnais and Alain Robbe-Grillet’s Last Year at Marienbad, it also changed the history of film.