Will I love Optic Nerve?

A brilliant blend of narrative and non-fiction, Optic Nerve follows the narrator, an art critic, as she frequents art galleries in Buenos Aires and reflects on the artworks, which act as prisms that refract her own memories and experiences.

This is a book that moves forward by dint of impressions and ekphrastic encounters, eschewing a conventional plot. It explores the interconnections between image and text by incorporating art criticism into the fictional space. 

I love a book that defies genre—and this one is sort of a short story collection, sort of a novel, sort of criticism, sort of autofiction.

In each story, Gainza’s art critic narrator considers an anecdote from her own past in relation to a piece of art she’s studied. Gradually, art and life accumulate into the life story, from many angles, of this woman who might also be the author, and the stories and passions that compose who she is.