'Optic Nerve' Tells A Life Story Through Visions Of Art
María Gainza's protagonist — also named María — combines the her experiences of art with her personal experiences for an unpretentious, imaginative and compelling account of her life.
, the Argentine writer María Gainza's first novel, tells the reader very little about its protagonist. Her name is María, like her creator; she's an art critic from a fallen-aristocracy background; she lives in Buenos Aires; and at some point in her life, she becomes scared of flying. That's about it. But Gainza, in a gorgeous translation by Thomas Bunstead, mines María's elusiveness — and allusiveness; she's great with a well-placed quotation — to create a highly compelling life story told almost entirely through
