The Invention of Morel

La invención de Morel (1940) — translated as The Invention of Morel or Morel’s Invention — is a novel by Argentine writer Adolfo Bioy Casares. It was Bioy Casares’ breakthrough effort, for which he won the 1941 First Municipal Prize for Literature of the City of Buenos Aires. He considered it the true beginning of his literary career, despite being his seventh book. The first edition cover artist was Norah Borges (see below), sister of Bioy Casares’ lifelong friend, Jorge Luis Borges.

This is the strange tale that I insist everyone read it at least once. It is short and unique. I think it may be the inspiration to the series Lost.

The narrative follows an unnamed fugitive who hides on a mysterious deserted island to escape from society. He discovers that the island is home to bizarre occurrences, particularly involving a group of people who seem to relive the same day over and over. These individuals are the creations of a machine invented by a character named Morel, who has developed a technology capable of recording and projecting reality, allowing the past to be experienced repeatedly.