Outsider Everywhere - Witold Gombrowicz in Argentina - Mercedes Halfon

Name: Outsider Everywhere - Witold Gombrowicz in Argentina - Mercedes Halfon
Brand: Fitzcarraldo Editions
SKU: 9781804272350
Price: 18.95 USD
Availability: InStock

Fitzcarraldo Editions

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Outsider Everywhere - Witold Gombrowicz in Argentina / by Mercedes Halfon / 152-page paperback published in 2026 by Fitzcarraldo / ISBN 9781804272350

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In August 1939, a ship flying the Polish flag docked in Buenos Aires. On board was a delegation of businessmen, diplomats and journalists. Days later, the captain received orders to return home with all crew and passengers in light of the imminent outbreak of the Second World War. But one man, fascinated by the city, chose to stay at the very last minute. Thus began the unexpected twenty-four-year Argentine exile of one of the twentieth century’s major writers: Witold Gombrowicz. Drawing on his writings and interviews with surviving disciples, writers and scholars, Mercedes Halfon’s Outsider Everywhere traces Gombrowicz’s Argentine years in elegant, pared-back prose, and composes a vivid account of mid-century bohemia in Buenos Aires. Brilliantly translated by Rahul Bery, Mercedes Halfon’s Outsider Everywhere is a gripping portrait of a literary figure on the margins who rose to prominence late in life to become ‘one of the greatest novelists of our century’ (Milan Kundera).

‘In the 143 lively pages, adroitly translated by Rahul Bery, and divided into short chapters, she intertwines two threads. The first is Gombrowicz’s life in Argentina, one of the oddest exile stories, even by the standards of the 20th century. The second is how Argentina received him…. For those familiar with Gombrowicz, Halfon’s book is a quirky postscript to his legend. For readers who have not yet discovered him, it can serve as a way into his work.’― Magdalena Miecznicka, Financial Times