Asleep in the Sun

Despite the back cover revealing the entire plot, this surreal anthropomorphic bodyswap novel contains as much wit as that other canine comedy, Mikhail Bulgakov’s Heart of a Dog. Lucio, in a series of implausible “letters” written from a mental asylum, narrates his tale of wife-fixing gone awry. Sending his wife Diana off to be “cured” of her undesirable traits, upon her return he finds a docile impostor inhabiting her body, and a dog in possession of her soul. Eager, in his bumbling w [...]

The dog, a tiger-striped mastiff was far as I could tell, unlike the usual mail carriers who month after month leave the magazines I anxiously await in the next door neighbour’s entrance-way, knew what he was doing. After giving me the envelope he looked at me with determination and, I now believe, with hope. He ran to the door, stood up on his hind legs, leaned on the latch, tried to open it. He couldn’t. I suppose that what then occurred was a conflict between his intelligence, extraordina [...]

De noche el hombre piensa de manera extraña. Considera creíble todo lo que es amenaza y espanto, pero descarta sin dificultad los pensamientos que pueden calmarloRealmente me gusta Bioy. Tiene unos temas muy creepy, pero que pueden llegar a ser verdaderos, si consideramos que la literatura fantástica es algo que puede pasar (aunque sea en un mundo paralelo). Es un maestro del suspenso y del misterio, y te hace dudar a cada línea y a cada acción de sus personajes. Menos mal que ya lo he leí [...]

Casares is a powerful storyteller, as seen in the esteem in which Borges held him, and novels like The Invention of Morel and Diary of the War of the Pig. But this one, a tale of the loves of humans and dogs, and the dubious aids of science, falls a little flat. To be sure, it's a quick read and page-turner by the finish, as Casares plotting never fails him. However, the path into that exciting story is a little jumbled and irritating. For one, though our narrator is a watch-maker, Casares, here [...]

La interrupción sutil, pero no por ello menos demoledora, de lo fantástico en la vida cotidiana es el modus operandi de esta novela de Bioy Casares. Como en otras obras de Bioy Casares, lo extraño va penetrando una cotideanidad de una familia que parecería no tener mayor vínculo con lo extraño que ser un matrimonio por demás "del montón". De manera gradual, pero irreversible, los elementos inquietantes van apoderándose de la trama y la otrora vida pacífica y anodina de los personajes t [...]

Not quite as good as The Invention of Morel, but much funnier. The book has a clever plot that takes WAY too long to get cooking, but the second half is really delightful. What I like about Casares is his weirdness - he zigs when he should zag and he's not worried about big finishes. Repetition hurts this book a lot (it really would have been better as a short story), but it's breezy and has some unique moments. Genuinely scary at a couple of points too. A weird one.

Terribly disappointed by this novel, which only gets interesting the last half dozen pages. Too much verbiage by the main character outlining his neuroses and insecurities (yawn!). The few noteworthy passages were not enough to sustain the boring barrage of senseless language.

Great book! Bioy's writing has a comic touch that works well the subject matter at hand (this is true of everything I've read by Bioy). Im this case the plot is just enough past current medical science to make it a fantasy. As has been pointed out in previous reviews, the publisher's blurb on the back cover is innacurate in it's description of what occurs. Thankfully so - if this was not a writer that I was familiar with and predisposed to - I may have passed on reading this based on that blurb. [...]

”Dormind la soare” este, deopotrivă, un fel de opera buffa cu personaje tarate, dar și un thriller psihologic cu accente comice, având în centru povestea neobișnuită a unei căsnicii, istorisită de unul dintre soți. Cei de la Humanitas au făcut o paralelă bună cu Hitchcock, pentru că Adolfo Bioy Casares, asemenea cineastului, nu face uz de elemente-șoc, ci de lucruri mai subtile, care mențin o stare de suspans abia perceput, o senzație sumbră și amenințătoare care pluteșt [...]

asleep in the sun, a slim novel by late argentine writer aldolfo bioy casares, incorporates elements similar to those found in his other works. one of his later novels, asleep in the sun finds bioy exploring themes of identity, as well as one's place within society. the book's protagonist (and narrator), lucio bordenave, is a recently unemployed bank worker struggling with marital difficulties. when his wife is committed to the local sanitarium (under questionable pretenses), lucho consigns hims [...]

Lucho es un relojero concienzudo en su trabajo y sumiso en su vida doméstica. Su esposa Diana, bella y tiránica, es internada en una especie de psiquiátrico (sin que se aclaren mucho los motivos ni siquiera para su marido) bajo la científica promesa de que recibiendo tratamiento profesional adecuado logrará convertirse "en otra persona". El bueno de Lucho se horroriza cuando comienza a sospechar que eso, literalmente, es lo que ha ocurrido con Diana.¿Qué amamos de las personas a las que a [...]

Dormir al sol es una novela corta, como suelen ser las obras de Bioy Casares, pero en el caso de Bioy la cantidad de hojas de inversamente proporcional a la calidad de la historia.La historia es realismo mágico en su mejor momento, presentando a una familia normal que vive su vida tranquila. Poco a poco, empiezan a aparecer elementos en la historia que atacan esa normalidad y la van transformando, para descubrir finalmente que las vidas normales no existen.Tiene un estilo impecable y es súper [...]

Este es sin dudas, el mejor libro de Bioy. No sólo por la forma en que se encuentra planteada la historia, si no por el clima que logra alcanzar. Aunque este libro no se sitúa en una isla, la isla es la casa donde viven estos personajes y la forma en la que se comunican. Como siempre, Bioy logra llevar al espectador de la mano a través de las vidas de sus personajes y hacer que forme parte de ellos. Un excelente libro.

Pocos libros me han dejado una sensación de confusión al terminar de leerlo como éste.El protagonista, Luis Bordenave, tiene una esposa que constantemente le hace sentir incómodo. Termina encerrándola un tiempo en un asilo, algo de lo que se arrepiente muy pronto, y la recupera algunos días después, al parecer curada. Pero no pasa mucho antes de que empiece a pasarse ideas por la cabeza, como que le cambiaron a la esposa.Definitivamente no esperaba el libro que me encontré. Empezó como [...]

En verdad, más que "un lúcido análisis sobre el funcionamiento de los manicomios y los peligros de la psiquiatría" la impresión que me da tras leer esta novela es que Bioy Casares utiliza toda esa parte del frenopático como vehículo, a modo de metáfora, para representar a un tipo de hombre urbano moderno. Lucho, el protagonista, es descrito a través de sus pensamientos y actos como alguien dependiente o, más bien, un débil mental y manipulable, el tipo de producto que surge de una vid [...]

Before I say anything about the book, I have to make a comment about the synopsis (both here on and on the jacket of the edition I read) - it is completely inaccurate. Lucio's wife is most certainly not possessed by a German Shepherd, and neither is a German Shepherd possessed by his wife. It's almost as though whoever wrote this summary didn't read the book at all. Further, the actual situation (which I will not spoil for future readers here) is the climactic final act of the book, making this [...]

Someone at NYRB made a monumental fuckup here. What would have been really a pretty good epistolic mystery/doomed love story was kinda ruined by the spoiler in the synopsis on the back cover. While it doesn't have the same mystique or metaphysical mindfuckery of Cesares' better known The Invention of Morel the paranoiac and skittery selfconsciousness of the narator does give it that sense of there being something not quite right with the world. I guess it also says something about why we love th [...]

Just finished Asleep in the Sun by Adolfo Bioy Casares. Haven't spent a lot of time pondering it yet, but I'm not really sure if I liked it or not. I do like that it is South American surrealism (to a small extent), has resemblances to Kafka, and ponders the meaning of identity -- the body or the soul? Of course, in pondering these things, you can also enter some sinister & disturbing territory too; I love the challenge & thinking, while the horror gives me pause. Definitely one that wou [...]

Una novela fascinante, muy diferente a todo lo que había tenido la oportunidad de leer. Dormir al sol podría denominarse de ficción sólo porque los hechos narrados para nuestro tiempo aún son impensables, sin embargo, esta puede ser una historia que le ocurre a cualquiera. El personaje principal me pareció muy curioso, todo el tiempo se mostró como una persona inteligente pero ingenua, sin embargo al reflexionar sobre las reacciones que toma, no parece del todo ingenuo. Recomendado.

This was an enjoyable and curious book that's really in its own genre. I agree that the summary does not do the book justice, but I picked it up because of the author. It's a book that builds up to the end, and you are left thinking about it long after you are finished reading. I liked the quaint setting, the odd characters, and the intriguing story. It's not for everyone, it's for people who are a tad quirky and can suspend judgement.

Con este libro me declaro fan de Casares. No creo todo el tiempo que paso sin que supiera de su existencia. Este libro se encuentra dentro del rango de lo magico y tragicomico, con una trama de lo mas original y atrapante donde uno termina por entender recien en las ultimas paginas. Sin lugar a dudas una delicia.

Si pueden evitarlo, antes de leer esta novela no vean la sinopsis (demasiado reveladora) ni las opiniones que han dejado justo aquí en algunas personas (bien intencionadas pero indiscretas). Que no les arruinen la sorpresa de Dormir al sol :)

No termino entendiendo dónde está la calidad de Adolfo Bioy Casares, pero no soy Borges.

La calificaría como una novela de terror. Siniestra con todas las letras. Brillante.

It’s a slim novel, a little surreal [then again, I have a high tolerance, so this is relative], a quick read — perfect for a few hours of downtime.Before we plunge into the book itself, let me say that the jacket copy is weirdness. On one hand, it’s extremely inaccurate; on another, it’s a major spoiler: a revelation — a surprise twist, the surprise twist — was broadcast the moment you flipped the book over from the bookstore shelf. That’s quite an accomplishment. It was like whoev [...]

Con 2 giros geniales en la trama, esta novela sorprende a cualquier lector. Lo increíble se vuelve posible y lo peor, se convierte en realidad. No tiene un "happy ending", sino es un profundo viaje de reflexión por aquello que dice: "Solo cuando perdemos lo que tenemos, lo valoramos".

personajes poco profundos, historia superficial. aunque la forma en que mezcla la ficción con la vida cotidiana es buena. Entretenida sin mas.

Dormir al sol es una novela fantástica escrita por Adolfo Bioy Casares y publicada en 1973. En 2014, con motivo de cumplirse los 100 años del nacimiento de este escritor, Booket sacó una edición especial de sus libros a un precio bastante accesible. Aproveché la ocasión y me compré El sueño de los héroes y Dormir al sol.¡Cuidado! No lean la sinopsis que está en la contratapa del libro y en porque revela demasiados detalles sobre la trama y además contiene un error. A continuación, [...]

Lucio Bordenave lives in a modest home in a small alley, along with his wife Diana, a woman of modest beauty and frequent, unpredictable tempers, and Doña Ceferina, an older relative who serves as the couple's housekeeper but excels at stirring up trouble between them and Diana's cantankerous family. Lucio is also surrounded by meddlesome neighbors who offer less than helpful advice on his troubled marriage, and his only escape is to his room, where he earns a profitable living as a repairer of [...]

Who are we? Who are the people we love? These are the questions that confront the readers in Alfredo Bioy Casares’ Asleep in the Sun. At first, I expected to read the novel by the Argentine writer first and foremost as science fiction but later on changed my mind: it is a love story, albeit a strange one.*Asleep in the Sun presents the readers with a grotesque scenario of a man living the ordinary life who had another consciousness occupying the body of his wife, without his knowledge, because [...]