Description

How do we write about the singular experience of parenthood? Written in a ‘state of attachment’, or ‘under the influence’ of fatherhood, Childish Literature is an eclectic guide for novice parents, showing how the birth and growth of a child changes not only the present and the future, but also reshapes our perceptions of the past. Shifting from moving dispatches from his son’s first year of existence, to a treatise on ‘football sadness’, to a psychedelic narrative where a man tries, mid-magic mushroom trip, to re-learn the subtle art of crawling, this latest work from Alejandro Zambra shows how children shield adults from despondency, self-absorption and the tyrannies of chronological time. At once a chronicle of fatherhood, a letter to a child and a work of fiction, Childish Literature is the latest, virtuosic addition to the oeuvre of one of the most exciting Latin American writers in recent decades.

Publisher Review

‘What a rare and wonderful experience, to read a writer of such brilliance, wit and style as Alejandro Zambra on the subjects of fatherhood and childhood. I relished every page of this beautiful, surprising book.’

– Mark O’Connell, author of A Thread of Violence ‘Charming, protean, ebullient and precise, this book transforms and grows almost as much as the parents and child at the centre of the book. A wonder.’

– Karan Mahajan, author of The Association of Small Bombs ‘Hopeful, funny and full of wisdom. A meditation on fatherhood by one of our most perceptive writers.’

– Tara Westover, author of Educated ‘Zambra is one of my favourite living writers (which makes Megan McDowell one of my favourite translators). Childish Literature is funny, playful, sincere and, for me, as a new father, reassuring, not because of parenthood platitudes (quite the opposite), but for its line of anxious questioning on how one fathers a child without a “tradition of fatherhood”. It has clarified some of the depth of love alongside the concerns I have as a new father. Zambra is once again doing the work of great literature, providing (and provoking) old and new ideas around family, education, literature and art. He is childlike and deeply serious about the spaces and times we live in. If you have read this book, let’s talk about it!’

– Raymond Antrobus, author of Signs, Music ‘Whenever Alejandro Zambra brings out a new book, I’m excited to read it. The playful intelligence of his exuberant imagination, along with his sharp-eyed, poignant, poetic observations of everyday life, are unmatched. On every page there’ll be something that makes me laugh out loud, no matter if what’s being narrated is devastating or – like this new book – luminously tender. In Childish Literature, Zambra’s account of fatherhood is so generous, self-deprecating and infectious.’

– Francisco Goldman, author of Monkey Boy ‘Every beat and pattern of being alive becomes revelatory and bright when narrated by Alejandro Zambra. He is a modern wonder.’

– Rivka Galchen, author of Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch ‘When I read Zambra I feel like someone’s shooting fireworks inside my head.’

– Valeria Luiselli, author of Lost Children Archive ‘The most talked-about writer to come out of Chile since Bolano.’

– New York Times ‘Strikingly original.’

– James Wood, New Yorker