The Illogic of Kassel

The award-winning novelist brings his trademark humour and lightly worn intelligence to the contemporary art world

A puzzling phone call shatters a writer’s routine. An enigmatic female voice extends an invitation to take part in Documenta, the legendary contemporary art exhibition held every five years in Kassel, Germany. The writer’s mission will be to transform himself into a living art installation, by sitting down to write every morning in a Chinese restaurant on the outskirts of town.

Once in Kassel, the writer is surprised to find himself overcome by good cheer. As he strolls through the city, spurred on by his spontaneous, quirky response to art, he begins to make sense of the wonders that surround him.

‘A writer who has no equal in the contemporary landscape of the Spanish novel’
Roberto Bolano

‘Vila-Matas’s work made a tremendous impression on me’ Paul Auster