Nina, a drifter from southern Spain, comes to London in search of experience, only to find that the strangest of stories is hiding in her father’s loft in Almería . . . Playfully concocted, Philosophical Toys is committed to the irresistible pleasure of reading, both a celebration and critique of our relationship to objects (from fetishes, to curios, to commodities, to objectum sexuality, to cyborgs). Philosophical Toys travels through different times, countries, and experiences as chance leads Nina to encounter time and again the enigmatic nature of things, which end up transforming her into that most rare of species: a female philosopher. Witty and elegiac, Philosophical Toys takes the reader on a tour of fetishism, late capitalist culture, Buñuel’s films, psychoanalysis, Alzheimer’s disease, as well as the avatars of belonging to two cultures, an experience increasingly shared by a myriad of expatriates.
“A prose both spare and lush, a commendable tension about the enterprise.” — WILL SELF
“A shockingly beautiful innovative voice in which the sublime and laughter are perfectly matched.” —ANDREW GALLIX
Susana Medina writes both in Spanish, her native language, and in English. She has been awarded several literary prizes. She is the author of ‘Red Tales Cuentos Rojos’, ‘Souvenirs del Accidente’ and two short films: Buñuel’s Philosophical Toys and Leather-bound Stories (co-directed with Derek Ogbourne). Her writing has been featured in Best European Fiction. She also has curated international art shows, written art catalogues, exhibited at Tate Modern and collaborated with artists.
‘Philosophical Toys’ is published by Dalkey Archive in June 2015.