Maria Gainza (Author) Maria Gainza was born in Buenos Aires, where she still lives. She has worked as a correspondent for The New York Times, as well as for ArtNews. For more than ten years she was a regular contributor to the magazine Artforum. Her debut novel, Optic Nerve, was published by Harvill Secker in 2019.
'Vividly detailed and saturated with intricate feeling, Gainza's novel is an engrossing exploration of authenticity, obsession, and the enveloping allure of art' -- Alexandra Kleeman, author of SOMETHING NEW UNDER THE SUN This is a truly exquisite novel... It is moving, clever and written wry precision... As much as the narrator is haunted, the reader will be haunted -- Stuart Kelly * Scotland on Sunday * Gainza weaves a fascinating, often confounding story about beauty, obsession and authenticity... Gainza is sharp, modern and playful, a writer who multiples the possibilities of fiction -- Johanna Thomas-Corr * Observer * A richly detailed detective novel of sorts that explores authenticity and the distance between the way things appear and they way they really are -- Chiara Rimella * Monocle * Dazzling... [a] clever novel that explores the gap between what's remembered and what's real -- Chloe Ashby * Spectator *