Leí este libro tras leerme 'La parte escondida del iceberg', de Máxim Huerta. Reconozco que las reflexiones de Vila-Matas sobre algunos temas son interesantes, así como su punto de vista respecto a la Ciudad de la Luz, sin embargo, como amante aférrima de París, muchas de las opiniones me han parecido cínicas y en ocasiones he terminado cerrando el libro.

An absolute delight to read.
Charmingly erudite; chock full of allusion and wisdom and irony.
The parts that should have been sad were poignant. The parts that could have been silly were whimsical, and the parts that may have been true were ironic.
Is it a biography, a writing manual, an intellectual gossip rag, or a philosophical examination of the nature of reality and fiction? It was just a really really good read.

Paris is cool for sure

Enrique Vila-Matas writes:


In those days I had no idea that, as Gide said, the great secret of works with style – the great secret of Stendhal for example – consists of writing on the spot. Gide says of Stendhal that his style, what we might call the malice of his style, consists in his stirring thought being so alive, so freshly colored, like a newly hatched butterfly (the collector is surprised to see it emerge from the chrysalis.) From this comes Stendhal’s vivid, spontaneous, unconventional touch, sudden and naked, that captivates us again and again.