Overview

“Hopeful, funny, and full of wisdom. A meditation on fatherhood by one of our most perceptive writers.” —Tara Westover, author of Educated From the author of My Documents and Chilean Poet, a wise, humorous, and captivating literary exploration of the delights and absurdities of childhood, fatherhood, and family life Childish Literature is a charming and wide-ranging collection of short stories, essays, and even a couple of poems produced under the influence of fatherhood, a transformative experience that reshapes and enlivens the author's relationship to aging, intimacy, and time. Written in Alejandro Zambra’s brilliantly warm, playful, and philosophical voice, these pieces explore the lives of families and their stories through a wide variety of topics—from screen time and ""soccer sadness"" to personal libraries, fishing, and psychedelics. Throughout, Zambra captures the texture of daily life and deep truths about how we feel and live, with particular insight into the ways parents and children challenge, enrich, and entertain each other. Simultaneously lighthearted and profound, and brilliantly rendered by National Book Award-winning translator Megan McDowell, Childish Literature is an intimate and unclassifiable new work by an internationally celebrated writer.

Full Product Details

9780143138082

Table of Contents

Reviews

Advance praise for Childish Literature: “Charming, protean, ebullient, and precise, this book transforms and grows almost as much as the parents and child at the center of the book. A wonder.” —Karan Mahajan, author of the National Book Award finalist The Association of Small Bombs “Whenever Alejandro Zambra brings out a new book, I’m excited to read it . . . On every page there’ll be something that makes me laugh out loud, no matter if what’s being narrated is devastating or—like this new book—luminously tender. In Childish Literature, Zambra’s account of fatherhood is so generous, self-deprecating and infectious that I ended up feeling like a more attentive, entertaining and knowing first-time dad than I probably am, and a more self-forgiving one too.” —Francisco Goldman, author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist Monkey Boy “Hopeful, funny, and full of wisdom. A meditation on fatherhood by one of our most perceptive writers.” —Tara Westover, New York Times bestselling author of Educated

Advance praise for Childish Literature: “Charming, protean, ebullient, and precise, this book transforms and grows almost as much as the parents and child at the center of the book. A wonder.” —Karan Mahajan, author of the National Book Award finalist The Association of Small Bombs “Whenever Alejandro Zambra brings out a new book, I’m excited to read it . . . On every page there’ll be something that makes me laugh out loud, no matter if what’s being narrated is devastating or—like this new book—luminously tender. In Childish Literature, Zambra’s account of fatherhood is so generous, self-deprecating and infectious that I ended up feeling like a more attentive, entertaining and knowing first-time dad than I probably am, and a more self-forgiving one too.” —Francisco Goldman, author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist Monkey Boy “Hopeful, funny, and full of wisdom. A meditation on fatherhood by one of our most perceptive writers.” —Tara Westover, New York Times bestselling author of Educated “What a rare and wonderful experience, to read a writer of such brilliance, wit and style as Alejandro Zambra on the subjects of fatherhood and childhood. I relished every page of this beautiful, surprising book.” — Mark O’Connell, author of A Thread of Violence

"Advance praise for Childish Literature:  ""Charming, protean, ebullient, and precise, this book transforms and grows almost as much as the parents and child at the center of the book. A wonder.” —Karan Mahajan, author of the National Book Award finalist The Association of Small Bombs ""Hopeful, funny, and full of wisdom. A meditation on fatherhood by one of our most perceptive writers."" —Tara Westover, New York Times bestselling author of Educated"

Author Information

Alejandro Zambra is the author of ten books, including Chilean Poet and Multiple Choice. The recipient of numerous literary prizes, as well as a New York Public Library Cullman Center fellowship, he has published fiction and essays in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Paris Review, and Harper’s Magazine, among other publications. He lives in Mexico City. Megan McDowell (translator) is the winner of the 2022 National Book Award for Translation and the recipient of a 2020 Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, among other awards. She has been nominated four times for the International Booker Prize.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available