[In the following review of A Russian Doll, and Other Stories, Echevarría criticizes the collection's lack of "vital conflict" and thematic variation, but praises Bioy Casares's elegant writing style.]

Literary critics and Latin Americanists agree on classifying the Argentinean Bioy Casares as a fiction writer who, by dexterously combining the real and the fantastic, delves deep into the confused human mind. The present collection of short stories [A Russian Doll and Other Stories] is his ninth. It is composed of six pieces averaging some 20 pages each, and three short glimpses. They have in common their topics, which confirm the opinion of the critics. The title of the book itself, taken from the first story, summarizes the contents: Russian dolls were manufactured having identical dolls one inside the other, so that if one broke, it was replaced by the next. This represents, among other things, interchangeability and duplicability in the human personality. These stories take place mostly during travels, since the author believes that traveling makes one's spirit freer. "A Russian Doll" shows the double standards in love of a man after a rich woman; when he loses her, he simply replaces her with another, not quite so rich. "A Meeting in Rauch" again deals with the impact of greed upon the human personality: it depicts a businessman so eager to make a deal that, in an encounter with God, he fails to recognize Him and treats Him rather rudely. Other stories cover male-female relationships, which, as usual for Bioy Casares, are pictured with obstacles that neither side is willing to overcome. "Underwater" is fantastic, fantasy being for Bioy Casares a form of surrealistic imagery that helps to explain a problem. The tale shows some lovers turned into salmons, so as to stay together and isolated from others. But others also invited to take such a way to happiness shrink and simply decide to stay dry.

As far as the argument is concerned, these stories are disappointing. Argentinean contemporary fiction writers have been repeating the same metaphysical topics for more than four decades. The great vital conflicts that characterize Spanish-American literature are not here. But these stories are not dull. Bioy Casares's elegant style … [helps] to make up for what arguments lack with something more vital.

Breaking the law of logic and reality, Bioy Casares continues to offer a succession of cases that impart a sense of isolation and helplessness, with nearly no hope or solution in sight. But his characters are resilient and even the symbol of the Russian doll seems to offer some comfort, for not everything is lost: "A gift from my father…. It had identical dolls inside, which are smaller. When one breaks, the others are left."