Schavelzon Graham Agencia literaria Barcelona

Fabulous Monsters

NARRATIVE ESSAY. YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 256 PAGES

An original look at how literary characters can transcend their books to guide our lives, by one of the world's most eminent bibliophiles.
Alberto Manguel, in a style both charming and erudite, examines how literary characters live with us from childhood on. Throughout the years, they change their identities and emerge from behind their stories to teach us about the complexities of love, loss, and the world itself. Manguel's favorite characters include Jim from Huckleberry Finn, Phoebe from The Catcher in the Rye, Job and Jonah from the Bible, Little Red Riding Hood and Captain Nemo, Hamlet's mother, and Dr. Frankenstein's maligned Monster. Sharing his unique powers as a reader, Manguel encourages us to establish our own literary relationships. An intimate preface and Manguel's own "doodles" complete this delightful and magical book.

New York Times Review

The Spectator Review

The Literary Characters That Move Us Video

"A charming and essential book"

Greg Garrett, Spectator

“One could go on quoting Manguel for a long time. There's something eye-catching on every page. Literature, he tells or reminds us, can be simultaneously disturbing and consoling”

Alan Massie, Literary Review

“Alberto Manguel’s book Fabulous Monsters is designed to be charming”

Emma Smith, Times Literary Supplement

“In Fabulous Monsters, Alberto Manguel argues that imaginary characters portray our own lives. Yes, we say, this is how we are, this is what we do to one another, this is true. That, perhaps, is where literature can help most.”

Salman Rushdie