Kalpa Imperial

Kalpa Imperial is a landmark of Spanish-language imaginative fiction: a lyrical work that reimagines fantasy and myth from one of Argentina’s most brilliant writers – Mariana Enriquez, author of * Things We Lost in the Fire *
Nabokovian in its accretion of strange and rich detail, making the story seem at once scientific and dreamlike * Time Out *
Ursula K. Le Guin, whose novel The Left Hand of Darkness is one of science fiction’s finest achievements, has translated a work by the Argentine writer Angelica Gorodischer. Kalpa Imperial recounts the history of an imaginary empire in a series of tales that adopt the voice of a marketplace storyteller. … While the point of each tale eludes paraphrase, the cumulative burden is the imperfectibility of human society… Le Guin’s translation, which ranges from blunt to elegant to oracular, seems like the ideal medium for this grim if inescapable message * New York Times Book Review *
This Scheherazade-like collection of linked tales, loosely connected by a storyteller, form the rich history of an imaginary civilization … Never heavy-handed, the stories flow like fables and gradually show the futility of seeking power and trying to rule others. The dreamy, ancient voice is not unlike Le Guin’s, and this collection should appeal to her fans as well as to those of literary fantasy and Latin American fiction * Library Journal (Starred Review) *

Angelica Gorodischer (Author)

Although born in Buenos Aires, Angelica Gorodischer (1928-2022) was most closely associated with the city of Rosario, her home since childhood and also the home of her famous character, Trafalgar Medrano. She wrote over twenty books, including Trafalgar (1979) and the fantastical Kalpa Imperial (1983-4), which was translated into English by Ursula K. Le Guin. Her work has been compared to that of Borges and Calvino, and she won numerous literary prizes as well as an award for her contribution to women’s rights. In 2011 she received a World Fantasy Award for lifetime achievement.

Ursula K. Le Guin (Translator)

Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018) was one of the most acclaimed speculative fiction writers of the twentieth century. Her works include The Left Hand of Darkness, The Dispossessed, and The Earthsea Quartet, all of which redefined the possibilities of science fiction and fantasy.

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