The Little Buddhist Monk - Aira Сésar (tr. Nick Caistor)

Aira César is a rather prolific Argentine author whose novels are as diverse as they are unpredictable: anything can happen, and nothing is what it seems. “The Little Buddhist Monk” is no exception. While the story starts in a relatively straightforward way - a Buddhist monk proposes to guide a couple of French tourists in Korea - it then turns marvellously weird and unexpected. This slim book poses many interesting questions about what an ‘authentic’ travel experience is and whether photography captures the reality of a place. If you enjoy such authors as Jorge Luis Borges and Roberto Bolaño or are up for a read that will surprise and entertain - you are likely to enjoy this one

In Korea, a little Buddhist monk dreams of the Western world. He meets the holidaying French couple Napoleon Chirac and Jacqueline Bloodymary and offers to be their guide, in the hope they will take him to Europe. But though our monk seems the very spirit of tourism, nothing is natural in this tour de force of Aira's twisted imagination.

‘Beautiful . . . so dismayingly sad, and so ghastly, yet so satirically piercing, that one doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry.’ The Spectator


‘An absurdist interpretation of the Western gaze onto Eastern exoticism.’ The Skinny

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