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4/26/16

Review: Quiet Creature on the Corner by João Gilberto Noll, translated by Adam Morris

http://twolinespress.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Quiet-Creature-web-294.jpgQuiet Creature on the Corner by João Gilberto Noll, translated by Adam Morris (Two Lines Press, 120 pages, May 10)

This slim volume asks to be read in a single sitting, which is precisely what I did. And that's a good thing, because only in that way could I fully experience the dizzying and unsettling "plot."

The first of Noll's works to be translated into English, Quiet Creature is ostensibly about a young, poverty-stricken poet who, after being sent to jail for rape, is released into the custody of a mysterious older man who cares for him on an unidentified estate. Throughout the story, time seems to skip ahead without any warning, the narrator and the few other characters aging in fits and starts.

4/24/16

A (Potentially) Complete List of Speculative Fiction in Translation for 2016

I'm sure that this list will need to be updated soon, but here's what I have so far:


title author country translator transl. Date publisher
The Core of the Sun Johanna Sinisalo Finland Lola Rogers 01/05/16 Grove Press Black Cat
Fardwor, Russia!: A Fantastical Tale of Life Under Putin Oleg Kashin Russia Will Evans 01/12/16 Restless Books
Empire V Victor Pelevin Russia Anthony Phillips 02/18/16 Gollancz
Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Vol 1: Dawn Yoshiki Tanaka Japan Daniel Huddleston 03/08/16 Haikasoru
Castles in Spain various Spain ed. Mariano Villarreal 04/09/16 Sportula
Super Extra Grande Yoss Cuba David Frye 06/07/16 Restless Books
The Doomed City Arkady & Boris Strugatsky Russia Andrew Bromfield 07/01/16 Chicago Review Press
The Year 200 Agustín de Rojas Cuba Nicholas Caistor 07/12/16 Restless Books
Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Vol 2: Ambition Yoshiki Tanaka Japan Daniel Huddleston 07/19/16 Haikasoru
The Gate of Sorrows Miyuki Miyabe Japan Jim Hubbert 08/16/16 Haikasoru
Death's End (3/3) Cixin Liu China Ken Liu 08/30/16 Tor
Sixth Watch Sergi Lukyenko Russia Andrew Bromfield 08/30/16 Harper Paperbacks
Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation various China Ken Liu 11/01/16 Tor
Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Vol 3: Endurance Yoshiki Tanaka Japan Daniel Huddleston 11/15/16 Haikasoru
The Monteverde Report Lola Robles Spain Lawrence Shimel
Aqueduct Press
Zero Machine
Italy

Acheron Books

4/22/16

Review: La Superba by Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, translated by Michele Hutchison

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 Superba by Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, translated from the Dutch by Michele Hutchison (Deep Vellum, 418 pages, March 15)

"La Superba"- an apt nickname for the labyrinthine, kaleidoscopic city of Genoa. As one of Pfeijffer's characters elaborates, this nickname has many meanings: "superb and reckless, beautiful and proud, alluring and unapproachable."

Thus are we thrown into the meta-novel that is La Superba, a work concerned with identity and reinvention, immigration, loss, language, writing, and the murky territory of love and sexuality. Pfejffer has made himself the narrator, and the novel we hold in our hands is, according to him, simply a compilation of letters that he writes to an unidentified friend back home in the Netherlands. He often says something like "if I wrote this novel, I would change x or y," which never fails to give the reader a very slight but noticeable case of literary vertigo.

4/16/16

Review: The SEA is Ours: Tales of Steampunk Southeast Asia, edited by Jaymee Goh and Joyce Chng

http://i1.wp.com/images.amazon.com/images/P/1495607569.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_SL400_.jpg?w=620
The SEA is Ours: Tales of Steampunk Southeast Asia, ed. by Jayme Goh and Joyce Chng (Rosarium Publishing, 270 pages, 2015)


If you haven’t already, I encourage you to read my interview with editors Jaymee Goh and Joyce Chng on the genesis of this collection. As they explained, The SEA is Ours is a unique and exciting effort to broaden the boundaries of the subgenre we know as “steampunk” while simultaneously creating alternate colonial histories, ones that imagine people using airships and automatons (among other things) to beat back invaders and keep alive traditions in an evolving world.

When Books Hit Too Close to Home

http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/content/creativecontent/images/cms/961353_630x354.jpgYou know that feeling when you’re reading a novel and suddenly you come across a description or a scene and you’re like “hey that’s my life right there!” It’s as if the author had known that you specifically were going to read their book, so they threw in some personal things to freak you out.

Well. This has happened to me twice within the past four years, and both times it was very disturbing. So a big ol’ THANKS NOT REALLY to Stephen King and John Steinbeck for giving me nightmares I totally didn’t need.

Curiosity Killed the Think Piece: We’re Allowed to Wonder Who Ferrante Is

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQKHNbELVtXtd7C9Pz-V0brTvVMxNtkEcyyoeiyRap_t8pZxeIUPeople, I’m tired of the pointless literary thinky-pieces with questions for titles. You know what I’m talking about. “Is the Novel Really Dead?” “Does Anybody Really Read Shakespeare Anymore?” “Is [Author] an Interdimensional Alien?”

Specifically, I was annoyed by the recent Electric Lit piece, “Why Do We Care Who the ‘Real’ Elena Ferrante Is?” Here we’re brought up to date on the latest speculation about the anonymous Italian author’s true identity. The central question of the piece, though, is why “we” would even try to find out who this writer “really” is when ‘Muricans are too boorish too even name an Italian author, much less care about what they write.

In Translation: March Fiction and Poetry

Ahhhhh March. You bring with you the promise of Spring and the hope that we’ve seen the last of that muddy, gross, hard-packed snow staring at us from the gutters. And laughing. Well, laugh no more, abominable snowmen, for here are some great reads in translation (from Italy, Japan, Jordan, and Lebanon) that will generate enough warmth to melt your asses so there, Winter!


petrarchMy Secret Book by Francesco Petrarca, edited and translated by Nicholas Mann (Harvard University Press Series: The I Tatti Renaissance Library, 304 pages, March 28)

We all know Petrarch, but here we have access to some of his most tormented thoughts about his need for fame and love. Written as a dialogue between Franciscus and Augustinius, in the presence of Truth (represented as a beautiful woman), Secretum (My Secret Book) offers us a new perspective on the 14th century poet and his goals as a writer.