Portrait Of An Unknown Lady La Luz Negra Maria Gainza Thomas Bunstead Translation by Maria Gainza, Thomas Bunstead (translation) 9781473597266, 1473597269 instant download after payment.

From the internationally acclaimed author of Optic Nerve, a New York Times Notable Book 2019 

'A writer who feels immediately important' — Observer 

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At a hotel in Buenos Aires, a woman checks in under a pseudonym. She wears a black fur shawl & has no luggage. She is alone. Over the coming days & nights, she tells a story, which begins with a secret shared in a local bath house, revealing art forgery and fraud on a dazzling scale. At its heart is an enigmatic genius who for years forged portraits of the city's elite, before disappearing without trace. It is a story of influence & intrigue, in which nothing is as it seems. We're not to expect 'names, numbers or dates', she cautions, but a more subtle kind of reckoning... 

Told in a mordant, irresistible voice & full of sharp surprises, Portrait of an Unknown Lady is a captivating enquiry into what we mean by 'authenticity', in life as in art. At once poised and capricious, elegant and bold, it is a thrilling exploration of the relationships between what is lived, what is told, what is remembered, & what is real.

Translated from the Spanish by Thomas Bunstead.    

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Maria Gainza was born in Buenos Aires, where she still resides. She has worked as a correspondent for the New York Times in Argentina, as well as for ARTnews, & has contributed to Artforum, The Buenos Aires Review, & Radar, the cultural supplement from Página/12. 

Her debut novel, Optic Nerve, translated by Thomas Bunstead, was shortlisted for the 2020 LA Times Art Seidenbaum award for First Fiction, a finalist in the 2020 National Translation awards, & a New York Times ‘Notable Book’ of 2019.