An author (a version of Vila-Matas himself) presents a short history of a secret society, the Shandies, who are obsessed with the concept of "portable literature." In this rollicking, intellectually playful book, the society's members include writers and artists such as Marcel Duchamp, Witold Gombrowicz, Federico García Lorca, Man Ray, and Georgia O'Keeffe. The Shandies meet in apartments, hotels, and cafes all over Europe to discuss what great literature really is: brief, not too serious, penetrating the depths of the mysterious. We witness the Shandies having adventures in stationary submarines, underground caverns, African backwaters, and the cultural capitals of Europe.
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