Belarmino and Apolonio

I am amazed that a writer of Perez de Ayala's genius has vanished into an obscurity so profound that nobody before me has written a review of this extraordianry novel. Perez de Ayala combines the playfulness of Calvino with the intellectual pyrotechnics of Nabokov. Through the texture of this novel one glimses regions of the universe invisible to ordinary vision. For Perez de Ayala words are more than clay containers, they radiate their tone and intention to those who are able to perceive their crystaline nature. If you read this novel you'll meet two of the most fascinating characters of contemporary fiction: Belarmino, the man who imagines the universe as a dictionary with opaque and shimmering concepts, which blind or connect us to this bizarre thing called life; and Apolonio, he who "preferred bankruptcy and poverty to obscurity." If you enjoyed Pale Fire and its hidden plot, you'll love this romp through the contradictory concepts that populate philosophy and watch as Perez de Ayala reconciles this mumbling world into a quivering, pulsating mental plane that forever remains outside the scope of the concret moulds beloved by the majority of humanity. But this is not exclusively a philosophical novel; it is much more. It leaves residues of its vision, buried in your consciousness for years to come. Though it playfully bounces from one perception to another, it carries you along a plot that would make film writers writhe with envy. Why this is not recognized as one of the greatest novels on the world escapes my understanding, its neglect is puzzling; however, its quality is beyond question. Read and be amazed.