El vestido rosa

A long short-story and a short novel, these first two works by Csar Aira uncover an excellent writer. El vestido rosa tells the story of a little dress specially made to be given as a present for a newborn girl. The person in charge of delivering it is Assisi The Fool ("el Tonto Ass"), who has the package stolen on the way. And this is how the little dress is passed on to Indians, General Roca's soldiers, "gauchos", herdsmen. The story takes place in an isolated village in Southern Argentina halfway through the last century, and the famous dress gets, finally, many years later, to his first messenger, who has now become a wealthy cattle breeder and respected Justice of the Peace.

Characters in Las ovejas are no longer human beings but animals. A severe drought leaves the 'pampas' in harsh living conditions, the setting where the sheep struggle to survive. The author makes them talk, think, philosophize. They live at night, sleep during the day. They become fascinated by the mysteries of the sky, the stars, the comets. The sheep reflect over the unstable mental world, "an inexhaustible labyrinth, a state of chaos, a dream".

The vast prairie of the 'pampas' merges these two works in a single atmosphere, and Csar Aira's richly textured prose suggests the ambiguous proximity of men and animals.