This is a remarkable short science fiction novel written in 1940 by Argentinian author Adolfo Bioy Casares, originally published in Spanish and translated into English by Ruth L. C. Sims.
The story opens with an unnamed fugitive from Venezuela who has escaped political oppression to live on a remote and supposedly uninhabited island that is avoided by ships as being the source of a strange and deadly disease. He lives as a castaway for a while until he is woken by the sound of a phonograph record playing and sees a group of oddly dressed French tourists staying in the previously empty museum building where he had been sheltering from the elements.
He spies on the visitors from a distance and becomes infatuated with one woman in particular who visits the same spot every day to watch the sun set. His clumsy attempts to talk to her are ignored and he becomes jealous of another man called Morel who he sees talking to her and calling her Faustine.
Many odd and inexplicable things as he follows the tourists, seeing them jump into an uninviting algae clogged swimming pool and shivering with cold when the sun is blazing hot. One morning there is no sign of the tourists, but by the evening they have returned continuing with their odd vacation. Strangest of all, he notices two suns and two moons in the sky.
I won’t spoil the explanation of the mystery, other than to say it’s a classic sci-fi trope of taking an existing piece of technology and extrapolating it into a new form and showing the effects of it. It’s a great and thought provoking piece that still has relevance today.
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