Author(s): Luis Sagasti (translated by Fionn Petch)

Novel | Charco Press | Music

Tracing a circular course that echoes Bach's Goldberg Variations, Luis Sagasti's second book to appear in English takes the guise of a musical scheherazade, recounting story after story, vibrating to celestial harmonies. From the music born of the sun to the music sent into space on the Voyager mission, from Rothko to rock music, from the composers of the concentration camps to a weeping room for Argentinian conscripts in the Falklands, A Musical Offering traverses the shifting sands of fiction and history.

In his final version of the Variations, Glenn Gould introduces a subtle, almost imperceptible change, breaking with the nocturnal circularity. As if he didn’t want the Count to sleep after all, condemning Goldberg to inhabit that wakeful night forever. The change occurs in the last beat of the final aria: an ornament that concludes the recording. Gould’s great contribution lies not in what he modifies, but in the very gesture of modification.

A Musical Offering traverses the same shifting sands of fiction and history as the tales of Jorge Luis Borges, while also recalling the ‘constellation’ structure of Olga Tokarczuk’sFlights. Filled with insight and ideas yet unexpectedly tender and personal, it is a celebration of storytelling, of childhood, and of the transformative power of music.

REVIEW:
"Fluidity, charm, emotion and disarming brushes of grace." -The Wall Street Journal
"A bewitching suite of stories about music, heard and unheard." -The Arts Desk
"A beautiful, fragmentary rendition which never strikes a false note." -Irish Times
"A Musical Offering is less an attempt to write about music than to actually write music - using words as a new kind of notation."" -Will Ashon , author of CHAMBER MUSIC and STRANGE LABYRINTH
"The literary equivalent of a symphony." -Books and Bao
"Sagasti handles his elements masterfully, subtly and dexterously weaves new threads into his tapestry." -BookBlast
"A work of immense complexity, great balance and extraordinary beauty." -The Monthly Booking
"Sagasti manages to create a world rich in illuminations and philosophical reflections." -Morning Star

Author Biography:

Luis Sagasti , a writer, lecturer and art critic, was born in Bahia Blanca, Argentina in 1963. The author of five novels, including Fireflies (known in Spanish as Bellas Artes, 2011) and A Musical Offering (Una Ofrenda Musical, 2017), he's just about to publish his most recent book, comprised entirely of footnotes.

Fionn Petch is a Scottish-born translator. He lived in Mexico City for 12 years, where he completed a PhD in Philosophy at the UNAM, and now lives in Berlin. His translations of Latin American literature for Charco Press have been widely acclaimed. Fireflies by Luis Sagasti was shortlisted for the Translators' Association First Translation Award 2018. The Distance Between Us by Renato Cisneros received an English PEN Award in 2018. A Musical Offering , also by Luis Sagasti, was shortlisted for the Republic of Consciousness Prize 2021 and won the UK Society of Authors Premio Valle Inclan 2021 for best translation from Spanish.