Sometimes certain books are attractive enough to pick up. There are times when I've been disappointed because I bought a book cause of its cover/title/synopsis/ etc etc...and it was just inaccessible when I came down to reading it. I still wonder how can one increase their chances of reading the right book at the right moment, and avoid misreading a book just because you weren't in the right mood.

This was one of those books was just sooo attractive, but then I struggled with not knowing a damn thing about the author... so it was one that I would pick up and put back on the shelf. Borges did write the introduction for this book and compared him to Kafka and James' The Turn of the Screw. I honestly didn't feel like meshing my tired brain with someone I would perceive would be a favorite of Borges. Yes, Borges is genius but he's a tough cookie. Well down the reading line, I found out that Bioy Casares is one of the most talented and under the radar Argentine writers out there, and for once I believe the hype! Bioy Casares was his buddy, but he never had the acclaim he deserved cause Borges was in the spotlight at the time. Nonetheless, this story is eerie in a seemingly distopian time/ space (Philip K. Dick-ish), and is full of this sinister romance that you can never tell if it truly exists only in the protagonist's mind, or if it is a part of the conspiracy that surrounds him.

The story is a diary of a fugitive who retreats to this deserted resort island. He believes he's the only one there, since the resort is known to have some vaporous disease that gradually eats away at the hair, nails, skin, and flesh of humans. Until one day a gang of tourists arrive and he can't decide whether they consist of the authorities that are after him, but he ends up falling for a gypsy-type woman that he sees by the shore staring at the sunset every day. Despite his fears, he tries to grab her attention and profess his love for her.... without doing so he feels he doesn't have a point in living... but he soon finds that all she has to offer is a blank stare, and the other visitors won't even acknowledge his presence. Even the buildings and its objects wouldn't budge - the holes he tore into the museum basement are sealed, the curtains won't move aside, the doors are automatically locked during certain times, etc. As the title bears, its a pretty twisted scenario.

Yea it was a surprisingly good read... to the point that I picked up all his other books (my weakness). Cheers.