Adolfo Bioy Casares Biography

The novelist and short-story writer Adolfo Bioy Casares (bee-YOY kah-SAH-rays), who became known in the United States primarily as a longtime friend and collaborator of Jorge Luis Borges, has been credited with introducing the science-fiction genre into the Argentine literary landscape. Bioy Casares was the son of Adolfo Bioy, a wealthy landowner, and his wife, Marta Casares. He spent his infancy both in the city and on the family ranch in the province of Buenos Aires. As an imaginative young boy, Bioy Casares found the night sky, pictures of the dead, and mirrors to be gateways to a marvelous reality. He also nurtured the terrifying yet compelling world of the fantastic through his readings. During his high school years he was particularly attracted to mathematics, but his love of writing was stronger.{$S[A]Lynch, B. Suárez;Bioy Casares, Adolfo}{$S[A]Davis, B. Lynch (joint);Bioy Casares, Adolfo}{$S[A]Domecq, H. Bustos (joint);Bioy Casares, Adolfo}{$S[A]Miranda, Javier;Bioy Casares, Adolfo}{$S[A]Sacastra, Martin;Bioy Casares, Adolfo}

Bioy Casares’s first literary work, completed in 1928, was a fantastic thriller titled Vanidad: O, Una aventura terrorifica (vanity, or a terrifying adventure). At that time, he was discovering nineteenth century Spanish literature, the Bible, Dante, James Joyce, and the Argentine classics. Comic strips and popular novelettes, however, also appealed to him. Like most upper-class Argentinians, he studied at the University of Argentina, first in the law school, then in the faculty of philosophy and letters, but he never completed his university studies and returned instead to manage his father’s ranch.

In 1932, Bioy Casares met Borges, and a close personal friendship and lifelong collaborative effort began. Together they...