El joven Nathaniel Hathorne

A not-so-young man inspiring to be a writer, for whom routine and the necessity to make a living have spelt the end of various aspirations, discovers that one of his old texts from childhood has been plagiarised. How to get others to believe in what he says when he himself can't do so? The issue becomes especially knotty if the supposed plagiarist is an author who died over a century and a half ago. He speaks to us of the frustrations and difficulties someone trying to break into the world of literature, as well as reflecting on influences, inspiration and literary plagiarism. An impeccable text which uses questions, quotations and self-referential games to discuss the difficulty of getting published. With curious anecdotes which include Borges, Bioy Casares, Silvina Ocampo, Vargas Llosa, Poe and Melville, the author gives truth to this impossible fiction.