tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26346066914234313622024-03-05T19:22:31.220-08:00Bookishly WittyA place for literary humor, commentary, reviews, & recommendationsRachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.comBlogger539125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634606691423431362.post-87113360558684598182017-10-04T19:27:00.001-07:002017-10-04T19:47:16.340-07:00Review: Fade to Black by Zoë Beck, translated by Rachel Hildebrandt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqZ9by-Dq4tiN5Nib8DsjPUCzeGzyoAOOqz4VwRAMmihOehyKDrqzyvQ1fkTvjN4OgiAS9cslZBUnwblAkgSG64oqnh8ICoh4BlJFhjHAoDvAp3w1uGm1IkoxIodcx0wlvc9c0nc2UnXC3/s1600/review.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="814" data-original-width="509" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqZ9by-Dq4tiN5Nib8DsjPUCzeGzyoAOOqz4VwRAMmihOehyKDrqzyvQ1fkTvjN4OgiAS9cslZBUnwblAkgSG64oqnh8ICoh4BlJFhjHAoDvAp3w1uGm1IkoxIodcx0wlvc9c0nc2UnXC3/s200/review.jpg" width="125" /></a></div>
<a href="https://weysis.com/fade-to-black/" target="_blank"><i><b>Fade to Black</b></i></a><b> by Zoë Beck, translated by Rachel Hildebrandt (Weyward Sisters Publishing, forthcoming 2017)</b><br />
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It isn't often that you encounter a novel brave enough to take on difficult and current political and social issues head on. That's what makes <i>Fade to Black</i> stand out- here, Zoë Beck weaves the threat of terrorism, war, and conspiracy in modern-day London into a gripping narrative that doesn't let the reader take a breath until the very end. And thanks to a flawless translation by Rachel Hildebrandt, us English-language readers can jump right in, without even realizing that it was originally written in German.<br />
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When documentary filmmaker Niall Stuart happens to notice some men walking around the city carrying machetes one afternoon, he has no idea that within minutes he'll be drawn in to a horrific scene, get thrown in prison, and then become a pawn in one politician's scheme to grab the reins of power. The two machete-carrying men declare themselves followers of IS and attack an off-duty soldier in the middle of a park, ultimately killing him in a gruesome way staged to attract maximum attention. Niall, who witnesses the attack, gets pulled in by one of the killers and ordered to film everything on his phone and post it to the internet. When the police arrive, Niall is mistakenly thought to be connected to the terrorists and languishes in prison for days without a lawyer or any access to a phone.<br />
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After he is finally released, Niall is contacted by his father (Leonard Huffman), a war photographer who had only come into Niall's life a few years before. Leonard wants Niall to make a documentary about the two terrorists, who mysteriously die just days after being captured. As Niall and his team start investigating the radicalization of Cemal Bayraktar and Farooq Kaddumi al-Engeltra (formerly Frank Holeywell), they learn some disturbing things. First, neither man had seemed to have much interest in religion (whether Islam or Christianity) until they suddenly declared themselves committed to jihad just a few months before. Further, Farooq seemed to be placed in Cemal's way just to radicalize him, when Farooq himself had been raised in a Christian family and had no previous ties to terrorism. Both men, however, had felt left out of English society, telling friends and family that their skin color and features had, they believed, barred them from fully participating.<br />
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British and American involvement in the Middle East, tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, the threat of terrorism, the omnipresence of technology, and the complex social and political realities of 21st-century London are all woven together in this dramatic work of crime fiction by one of Germany's most talented contemporary crime writers.Rachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634606691423431362.post-1250277593741626092017-01-16T20:31:00.001-08:002017-01-16T20:32:23.117-08:00Review: Threads in Dew and Other Stories by Katja Bohnet, translated by Rachel Hildebrandt<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katja Bohnet</td></tr>
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<i><b>Threads in Dew and Other Stories</b></i><b> by Katja Bohnet, translated by Rachel Hildebrandt </b>(Weyward Sisters Publishing, forthcoming 2017)<br />
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From <a href="https://weysis.com/" target="_blank">Weyward Sisters Press</a> comes another powerful collection of stories, this time by German author Katja Bohnet. Gritty, hard-edged, and abrupt, these pieces explore the nooks and crannies of "noir," veering toward speculative fiction at times, careening toward horror at others.<br />
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The title story, along with "Asia, Mid-Flight" and "Indonesian Ping Pong," feature travelers encountering terrifying situations: getting stabbed in a cheap hostel, (imagining) getting sucked out of an airplane via the bathroom, dealing with shady characters on sparsely-populated islands. Bohnet's sentences are short and precise, like the stories themselves, taking us to the point without any fuss while leaving us lost in thought at each conclusion.<br />
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Even as Bohnet hones this rough, curt style, she manages to bring out moments of lyricism, too. Take this description in "Indonesian Ping Pong": "The salty film on our skin crackled, whenever we moved. It smelled of sky and stars, cumin, dampness, and fish." Now, I don't know about you, but I could almost <i>feel</i> that crackling and <i>smell</i> that uneasy combination of scents. This is language at its most material, and Rachel Hildebrandt has expertly translated it for our enjoyment and appreciation. I look forward to reading much more by Katja Bohnet.Rachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634606691423431362.post-24421013581205497972016-08-26T21:48:00.003-07:002016-08-26T21:49:19.726-07:00Review: A Contented Man and Other Stories by Zoë Beck, translated by Rachel Hildebrandt<a href="https://weysis.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/zoe-beck_a-contented-man_lweyward-sisters-publishing-07-2016.jpg?w=573&h=860" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="https://weysis.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/zoe-beck_a-contented-man_lweyward-sisters-publishing-07-2016.jpg?w=573&h=860" border="0" height="200" src="https://weysis.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/zoe-beck_a-contented-man_lweyward-sisters-publishing-07-2016.jpg?w=573&h=860" width="133" /></a><b><i>A Contented Man and Other Stories</i> by Zoë Beck, translated by Rachel Hildebrandt</b> (Weyward Sisters Publishing, 54 pages, August 7)<br />
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Zoë Beck's dark, haunted collection is Weyward Sisters Publishing's second offering (see my review of the first- <a href="http://bookishlywitty.blogspot.com/2016/07/review-snow-flurries-by-romy-folck.html" target="_blank"><i>Snow Flurries and Other Stories</i></a>), and it will make you clamor for more.<br />
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Each of the four stories- "A Contented Man", "Rapunzel", "Still Waters", and "Flann, the <span class="_Tgc">Púca"- showcases Beck's talent for crafting quietly horrifying tales, be they stories of obsession, blood feuds, or creatures out of folklore. They are told without embellishment, building up slowly but inexorably to disturbing ends.</span><br />
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<span class="_Tgc">The first, and I think strongest, of the collection is the title story, in which a seemingly-normal man's obsession with a dancer turns deadly. Beck sets us up from the first innocuous sentence ("Joachim Hartmann was a contented man"), challenging us to imagine just what would unsettle someone who has "everything"- a good marriage, a good job, etc. Turns out, all it takes for Joachim is a glimpse of a ballerina who reminds him of Renoir's painting <i>La danseuse. </i>Having stared at this, his favorite painting, for years, Joachim is primed to launch into a full-scale obsession with Helene. The fact that we never learn her last name, and that, in Joachim's mind, she's usually just "the girl," emphasizes how little she matters as a person to Joachim. And while each step he takes as he stalks and terrorizes her in person and over email seems to stem from the last, cumulatively they add up to something horrifying.</span><br />
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<span class="_Tgc">"Still Waters," too, is a story about seemingly ordinary people driven to extremes by other people in their community through rumor, gossip, and spite. Beck then puts a modern spin on folktales in "Rapunzel" and "</span>Flann, the <span class="_Tgc">Púca," demonstrating her flexibility across multiple genres and skill with narrative tone.</span><br />
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<span class="_Tgc">This masterful translation, by Rachel Hildebrandt, of yet another collection of contemporary German noir should be on your list of books to read this year.</span>Rachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634606691423431362.post-64595292517809208962016-08-26T20:08:00.001-07:002016-08-26T20:08:38.887-07:00In Translation: July Fiction and PoetryI’m very excited about the fiction and poetry out in translation this
month: we have the first book of Mongolian poetry to be published in
the U.S. (thank you, Phoneme Media!), fiction from Jordan about the
aftermath of the Arab Spring, a new novel by award-winning Mexican
author Carmen Boullosa, and a work of experimental fiction by Chile’s
Alejandro Zambra. It’s going to be a good month, guys.<br />
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<a href="http://bookriot.com/?attachment_id=101501" rel="attachment wp-att-101501" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Boullosa" class="alignleft wp-image-101501" height="200" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Boullosa.jpg" width="127" /></a><b><i> Before</i> by Carmen Boullosa, translated by Peter Bush </b>(Deep Vellum Publishing, 120 pages, July 26)</div>
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A bildungsroman, ghost story, and revenge novel all rolled into one, <i>Before</i> has won <i>Reforma’s</i>
“Best Novel Published in Mexico” award and the Xavier Villarutia Prize
for Best Mexican Novel. Here, Boullosa explores the end of innocence
through one woman’s return to the scenes of her childhood.<br />
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<a href="http://bookriot.com/?attachment_id=101502" rel="attachment wp-att-101502" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Naji" class="alignleft wp-image-101502" height="200" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Naji.jpg" width="133" /></a><b><i> </i></b><br />
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<b><i>In the Hope of Virgins</i> by Jamal Naji, translated by Paula Haydar</b> (Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing, 400 pages, July 26)</div>
Like <i>Before</i>, <i>In the Hope of Virgins</i> is in one sense
a coming-of-age novel, but Naji’s focuses more on his protagonist’s
choices as an adult: witnessing the Arab Spring, leaving the university,
and ultimately fighting the Syrian regime. Naji is well-known
throughout the Arab world as an award-winning and prolific novelist and
short-story writer.<br />
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<a href="http://bookriot.com/?attachment_id=101503" rel="attachment wp-att-101503" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Oidov" class="alignleft wp-image-101503" height="200" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Oidov.jpg" width="133" /></a><b><i> </i></b><br />
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<b><i>The End of the Dark Era </i>by Tseveendorjin Oidov, translated by Simon Wickhamsmith </b>(Phoneme Media, 168 pages, July 12)<br />
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Oidov, an acclaimed poet and painter,
offers us here a collection populated by horses, eagles, and intangible
things like darkness and empathy. Included in this volume are 32 of
Oidov’s abstract line drawings.<br />
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<a href="http://bookriot.com/?attachment_id=101504" rel="attachment wp-att-101504" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Zambra" class="alignleft wp-image-101504" height="200" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Zambra.jpg" width="146" /></a><b><i> </i></b><br />
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<b><i>Multiple Choice </i>by Alejandro Zambra, translated by Megan McDowell</b> (Penguin Books, 128 pages, <span class="subtle" title="This title may not be sold to consumers before the stated date.">July 19)</span><br />
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Award-winning Chilean writer Alejandro
Zambra wishes to give us a test: we’re asked in this book to complete
language exercises and analyze narrative passages (all via multiple
choice). And yet, it is about much more than that: Zambra meditates
(through these questions) on love and family, the past, and how we are
trained to obey and repeat.<br />
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(first posted on <a href="http://bookriot.com/2016/07/18/in-translation-july-fiction-and-poetry/" target="_blank">Book Riot 7/18/16</a>) </div>
Rachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634606691423431362.post-20870826444576870272016-08-26T20:04:00.003-07:002016-08-26T20:05:17.761-07:00Goodbye, Elie Wiesel, and Thank You<a href="http://www.myjewishlearning.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/elie-wiesel1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://www.myjewishlearning.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/elie-wiesel1.jpg" border="0" src="http://www.myjewishlearning.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/elie-wiesel1.jpg" height="200" width="153" /></a>Yes, 2016 has felled many well-known writers, musicians, and other cultural icons, but the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/03/world/europe/elie-wiesel-auschwitz-survivor-and-nobel-peace-prize-winner-dies-at-87.html?_r=0">recent death of Elie Wiesel</a>
is, for me, particularly upsetting. I don’t know why, but I’d always
assumed that he would be around forever, reminding us of our better
natures and the strength and hope of basic human morality.<br />
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You’ll find many remembrances of and interviews with the Auschwitz
survivor, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and prolific author in the coming
days, so this post will focus on his most well-known works. After all,
Wiesel is no longer physically with us, but his words live on, and that
is crucial when we remember the millions of victims of the Holocaust.<br />
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(You can find a complete list of Wiesel’s books <a href="http://www.eliewieselfoundation.org/booksbyeliewiesel.aspx">here</a>.)<br />
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<a href="http://bookriot.com/?attachment_id=101163" rel="attachment wp-att-101163" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Night-Wiesel" class="wp-image-101163 alignleft" height="200" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Night-Wiesel.jpg" width="125" /></a><i><b>Night</b></i><b> (1960)-</b> Wiesel’s first book (a memoir), <i>Night</i>
focuses on how he survived the death camps of Auschwitz and Buchenwald
and raises fundamental questions about the nature of evil, human
suffering, and the existence of God. At just over 100 pages, it is short
but powerful.<br />
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<a href="http://bookriot.com/?attachment_id=101161" rel="attachment wp-att-101161" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Dawn-Wiesel" class="alignleft wp-image-101161" height="200" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Dawn-Wiesel.jpg" width="131" /></a><i><b>Dawn</b></i><b> (1961)</b>–
This novel tells the story of Elisha, a Holocaust survivor and Israeli
freedom-fighter in British-controlled Palestine. Set to kill a British
officer captured in retaliation for the death of a fellow fighter,
Elisha struggles with his past and his present situation- questions of
death and human cruelty- as he waits for dawn.<br />
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<a href="http://bookriot.com/?attachment_id=101162" rel="attachment wp-att-101162" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="JewsofSilence-Wiesel" class="wp-image-101162 alignleft" height="200" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/JewsofSilence-Wiesel.jpg" width="130" /></a><i><b> </b></i><br />
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<i><b>The Jews of Silence</b></i><b> (1966)-</b> Written after Wiesel was sent by the Israeli newspaper <i>Haaretz</i>
to the Soviet Union (in 1965) to report on the lives of the Jews living
behind the Iron Curtain, this testimonial reveals what it was like to
cling to one’s Jewish heritage at great personal risk.<br />
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<a href="http://bookriot.com/?attachment_id=101164" rel="attachment wp-att-101164" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Wiesel-Forgotten" class="wp-image-101164 alignleft" height="200" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Wiesel-Forgotten.jpg" width="131" /></a><i><b> </b></i><br />
<i><b>The Forgotten</b></i><b> (1992)-</b> A novel about memory and how it binds together multiple generations, <i>The Forgotten</i>
introduces us to Elhanan Rosenbaum, a psychotherapist and Holocaust
survivor. When a disease threatens to destroy his memory, Elhanan passes
on his life story to his son, whose subsequent trip to the ancestral
Romanian town reveals a disturbing chapter in the family’s history.<br />
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(first posted on <a href="http://bookriot.com/2016/07/12/goodbye-elie-wiesel-and-thank-you/" target="_blank">Book Riot 7/12/16</a>)Rachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634606691423431362.post-25934111570634870782016-08-10T20:13:00.000-07:002016-08-10T20:13:13.955-07:00Review: The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes<a 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" width="139" /></a><i><b>The Noise of Time</b></i><b> by Julian Barnes</b> (Knopf, 224 pages, May 10)<br />
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I've been a Shostakovich fan for a long time, but not entirely because of his oeuvre (I love some of his music, but not all). It was also the Shostakovich <i>mystique</i> that intrigued me- that aura surrounding the composer's life and the questions that dogged him even after death.<br />
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And then I heard about Julian Barnes's biographical novel based on Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich's life under Soviet terror and I knew I needed to grab a copy immediately.<br />
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This might surprise some of you, but <i>The Noise of Time </i>is my first Barnes novel. I know, I know- I've been on the verge of reading him before several times, but he always got bumped back by something on my TBR pile. But boy am I glad I read this- it has made me want to read everything <i>else</i> that Barnes has written.<br />
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Why? Let me start with the first third of the book, which takes place in Shostakovich's head as he stands by the elevator, suitcase at his feet, waiting to be taken away by the police and executed? tortured? exiled to Siberia? Night after night he stands there, wanting to be prepared for when the time comes. It never does, but that's just his lucky break, since many of his colleagues and friends weren't so lucky.<br />
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That image- of the composer broken in spirit by the terror engulfing the Soviet Union under Stalin, waiting alone by the elevator to spare his family the horror of his arrest- is full of pathos and despair. Barnes brilliantly captures Shostakovich's darkening, ironic mood as the composer realizes that, despite official Party hatred of his opera <i>Lady Macbeth of Mtensk</i>, he won't actually be arrested. And yet, the terror remains.<br />
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Barnes tells Shostakovich's story through the composer's memories: of his first love, his tumultuous career, his hatred of the Communist Party's contradictory ideas and persistent humiliation of those whom it deems its "enemies." Sent on tours, given speeches to read, forced to join the Communist Party, Shostakovich often contemplates suicide, despising himself for not standing up to Power but knowing that that would mean a certain- and possibly very painful- death, for him and his family and friends.<br />
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And yet, Shostakovich tries to walk the fine line between following the Party rules and staying true to his art. He agonizes again and again over how to compose music that reflects how he really feels when listeners may never get the message. He must just trust that it will rise above the "noise of time" and take its place in history.<br />
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<i>The Noise of Time</i> really forces us to consider what we would do under the same circumstances. Go into exile? Risk denunciation, arrest, and death? Become a willing Party agent? I don't think we can ever truly answer this question without living under these conditions, but I can honestly say that I see myself in Shostakovich. I too would probably try to walk that fine line between fearful obedience and quiet defiance, and I'd hate myself for not speaking my mind. So did I mention that this novel left me pretty depressed? Yeah. But it's still <i>so good</i>.Rachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634606691423431362.post-31327391551325954332016-08-06T21:07:00.001-07:002016-08-06T21:07:07.043-07:00Review: Before by Carmen Boullosa, translated by Peter Bush<a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51ULFwpumSL._SX316_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51ULFwpumSL._SX316_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" border="0" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51ULFwpumSL._SX316_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" width="127" /></a><i><b>Before</b></i><b> by Carmen Boullosa, translated by Peter Bush</b> (Deep Vellum Publishing, 120 pages, August 2)<br />
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First published in 1989,<i> Before</i> is the kind of novel that constantly points back to itself, emphasizing its own hyper-real narration and downplaying, if not outright obfuscating, important "facts." For instance, <i>is</i> the narrator dead? Is Esther actually her mother (seems so), but then why won't the narrator refer to her as her mother for most of the book? I could go on..<br />
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Not having certain answers, though, doesn't matter here- it doesn't matter if the narrator is dead because her words are extraordinarily <i>alive</i>. Take this passage in which she reflects on "memory":<br />
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I wouldn't dare live through what I experienced as a child because, once recollected, the facts turn into dangerous needles that could sew up my heart, sear my soul, and turn my soul into strips of dead flesh. As we live we hardly realize that we are alive...To relive what we've seen by the lucid light of memory would be unbearable and, as far as I'm concerned, I wouldn't be brave enough. (68)</blockquote>
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Throughout the novel, the narrator explains that she is gripped by fear, hounded by it even, and her world is not the stable world of objects and people that are what they seem. Rather, as in this passage, even the act of remembering is fraught with danger, because something as intangible as that can transform itself into threatening needles. She constantly hears footsteps and roams the house at night searching for their source (but to no avail). At times, she encounters other girls who also hear these steps, but one disappears and the other never discusses it.<br />
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And then, without warning but nonetheless seamlessly woven into the plot, the magical realist elements emerge: a dresser that can transform drawn objects into tangible ones, shadows without corresponding objects, magical stones that take away the narrator's dreams...<br />
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Everything is in flux and in motion in <i>Before</i>, corresponding to the narrator's emotional and psychological state leading up to and including the twin traumas of losing her mother and achieving puberty. A nameless, shapeless Fear embodies this sense of hyper-reality for the narrator:<br />
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I was afraid, this time afraid of everything and everybody. Not only what pursued me was a threat, what surrounded me was too: my white bedroom curtains, curtains alive like insects, like animals caged in a zoo I wouldn't want to visit, slumbering beasts awoken and enraged by my presence. And the curtains were nothing by the side of the stormy sea, the sea of the floor of the house! (101)</blockquote>
Not to get too autobiographical here, but this shapeless, indeterminate fear reminded me of my own childhood in some ways, where anything I encountered that didn't fit into my understanding of the world terrified me. I'm pretty sure that most kids experience this in one way or another, but at the time (age 6-12), I was scared of the most random things: revolving dioramas, certain paintings, examples of new technology...It could pounce at any moment, and despite being surrounded by family or friends, I'd feel helpless and alone, trapped in my own brain. This kind of unexpected, nameless fear is probably a holdover from our ancestors, who had to be ready for everything from wild animals to natural disasters and poisonous plants. <br />
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Anyway, I look forward to reading more of Boullosa's work (and there is a <i>lot</i> of it, which is good), and I urge you to check out <i>Before</i>.Rachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634606691423431362.post-91909199577255864942016-07-23T20:47:00.002-07:002016-07-23T20:52:35.122-07:00Review: Snow Flurries and Other Stories by Romy Fölck, translated by Rachel Hildebrandt<a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51GBEApAWYL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51GBEApAWYL.jpg" border="0" height="200" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51GBEApAWYL.jpg" width="146" /></a><i><b>Snow Flurries and Other Stories</b></i><b> by Romy Fölck, translated by Rachel Hildebrandt</b> (Weyward Sisters Publishing, 45 pages, July 12)<br />
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This compact, gut-punching collection is the first release from the new <a href="https://weysis.com/" target="_blank">Weyward Sisters Publishing</a>, which focuses on international noir and crime fiction by women writing in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. After all, what better way to announce yourself than by giving the world four stories that turn questions of morality, revenge, war, and memory on their heads?<br />
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<i>Snow Flurries</i> is relentlessly bleak without being depressing as Romy Fölck introduces us to the world of the former East Germany. Taken over by the Soviet Union at the close of World War II, it became the site of repression, shortages, and terror. In Fölck's stories ("Snow Flurries," "The St. Paul's Pact," "Elbe Glimmers," and "Old Guilt"), we witness the collision of past and present as old resentments are handed down across generations and past crimes return to haunt their perpetrators.<br />
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In each story, the personal is political: a chance encounter brings together a former prison guard and one of the political prisoners she brutalized; a man denounces his friends to the state police and is killed by his enraged girlfriend; an accidental murder turns out to be anything but; and an older man who experienced first-hand the brutality of the Russian soldiers after the war confronts a Russian emigrant who assaulted his grandson.<br />
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Fölck writes with restraint and care, the better to let the horrors and memories she offers us sink into our brains until we feel like we know this world for ourselves. And Rachel Hildebrandt's graceful translation leaves us feeling like <i>Snow Flurries</i> was always already in English. I look forward to much more from Weyward Sisters, and I urge you to check them out.Rachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634606691423431362.post-80038349860852684592016-07-14T19:37:00.002-07:002016-07-14T19:37:11.769-07:00Hard-Core Bookish InsultsYou may have seen this <a href="http://theboywhoreadsbooks.tumblr.com/post/141427681010/bookish-insults">blog post of bookish insults</a> floating around the internet, and they’re pretty amusing. But we here at the Riot figured that we’d try our hand at some <em>really mean</em>
bookish insults- like, the kind of insults that would make your
professors visibly cringe and send most well-adjusted people crying for
their mommies. Now, Brenna recently gave us a new installment of <a href="http://bookriot.com/2016/05/27/25-literary-yo-mama-jokes/">literary Yo Mama jokes</a>, but we’d like to add some more insults to the mix here. Enjoy, and only use when necessary because they leave scars.<br />
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“You so ugly, John Donne wouldn’t EVER write a love poem to you.”<br />
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“If Hawthorne had known you were gonna read his stuff, he’d’ve given up writing and become a sailor.”
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“If you were a bird, not even Jonathan Franzen would be interested in you.”<br />
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“Hemingway and Orwell didn’t go to Spain to fight in its civil war; they went to get away from your ugly-ass face.”<br />
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“Raskolnikov wouldn’t waste the energy on you, even if you were the landladiest of landladies.”<br />
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“Even Joyce Carol Oates wouldn’t tweet about you.”<br />
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“You so lame, Stephen King would come to your house and take all of his books back.”<br />
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“You so laughably ignorant, Jane Austen would write a 10-volume series about you.”<br />
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“Ralph Ellison would happily throw you into the underground bunker, but he’d also remove all of the 1,369 lightbulbs.”<br />
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“You make Don Quixote look like he’s got his sh*t together.”<br />
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“You so obnoxious, Dante would’ve written in an entirely new circle of hell just to put you in it.”<br />
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“You know those really nasty Shakespearean insults? Yeah, they were all written for you.”<br />
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“H. G. Wells started writing about aliens because he met you and was
so disgusted with humanity that he wanted nothing more to do with it.”<br />
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(first posted on <a href="http://bookriot.com/2016/07/01/hard-core-bookish-insults/" target="_blank">Book Riot 7/1/16</a>) Rachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634606691423431362.post-60343608213614518392016-07-06T21:28:00.004-07:002016-07-06T21:28:49.498-07:00Books to Look For (July): Biography<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Rachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634606691423431362.post-81125188945480420292016-07-06T21:17:00.001-07:002016-07-06T21:18:51.386-07:00100 Must-Read Works of Speculative Fiction in Translation<a href="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/100-Must-Read-Works-of-Speculative-Fiction-in-Translation-683x1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="100 Must-Read Works of Speculative Fiction in Translation" border="0" class="aligncenter wp-image-100470" height="200" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/100-Must-Read-Works-of-Speculative-Fiction-in-Translation-683x1024.jpg" width="133" /></a>There’s a great big world out there, filled with accomplished authors
writing in every language. Speculative fiction is an especially vibrant
genre, and with works like Cixin Liu’s award-winning <i>Three-Body Problem</i>
garnering much-deserved applause here in the U.S., and multiple
anthologies of Spanish-language fiction becoming available, there’s
never been a better time to build your TBR list.<br />
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<b>Argentina</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802130305/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0802130305" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Ficciones</a></i> by Jorge Luis Borges, translated by Anthony Kerrigan.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1931520054/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1931520054" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Kalpa Imperial</a></i> by Angélica Gorodischer, translated by Ursula K. Le Guin.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1618730320/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1618730320" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Trafalgar</a></i> by Angélica Gorodischer, translated by Amalia Gladhart.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010MQHWMK/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=B010MQHWMK" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Memory</a> </i>by Teresa P. Mira de Echeverría, translated by Lawrence Schimel.<br />
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<b>Austria</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0929497562/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0929497562" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Sphere of Glass</a> </i>by Marianne Gruber, translated by Alexandra Strelka.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1573449067/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1573449067" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Wall</a></i> by Marlen Haushofer, translated by Shaun Whiteside.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/156478794X/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=156478794X" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Awakening to the Great Sleep War</a></i> by Gert Jonke, translated by Jean M. Snook.<br />
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<b>Belgium</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312156367/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0312156367" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Red Queen</a></i> by Dirk Draulans, translated by Sam Barrett.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0380731819/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0380731819" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">I Who Have Never Known Men</a></i> by Jacqueline Harpman, translated by Ros Schwartz.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374278431/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0374278431" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Tonguecat</a></i> by Peter Verhelst, translated by Sherry Marx.<br />
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<b>Brazil</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0380896249/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0380896249" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Sambaqui: A Novel of Pre-History</a></i> by Stella Carr Ribeiro, translated by Claudia van der Heuvel.<br />
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<b>Czech Republic</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1564785785/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1564785785" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Golden Age</a> </i>by Michal Ajvaz, translated by Andrew Oakland.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1564784916/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1564784916" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Other City</a></i> by Michal Ajvaz, translated by Gerald Turner.<br />
<span data-ved="0ahUKEwiTrMCNjpDNAhVVSlIKHZZDAoIQ2koIjAEoAjAL"><i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0803264593/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0803264593" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Absolute at Large</a> </i>by </span><span data-ved="0ahUKEwiTrMCNjpDNAhVVSlIKHZZDAoIQ2koIjAEoAjAL">Karel </span><span data-ved="0ahUKEwiTrMCNjpDNAhVVSlIKHZZDAoIQ2koIjAEoAjAL">Čapek</span><span data-ved="0ahUKEwiTrMCNjpDNAhVVSlIKHZZDAoIQ2koIjAEoAjAL">, translator not credited.</span><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006AJLUY/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=B0006AJLUY" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Krakatit</a></i> <span data-ved="0ahUKEwiTrMCNjpDNAhVVSlIKHZZDAoIQ2koIjAEoAjAL">by </span><span data-ved="0ahUKEwiTrMCNjpDNAhVVSlIKHZZDAoIQ2koIjAEoAjAL">Karel </span><span data-ved="0ahUKEwiTrMCNjpDNAhVVSlIKHZZDAoIQ2koIjAEoAjAL">Čapek, </span>translated by Lawrence Hyde.<br />
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<b>China</b><br />
<i>The Magic Flute of Tianjialin</i> by Tong Enzheng, translated by Shaoxian Wen<br />
<i>Folding Beijing</i> by Hao Jinfang, translated by Ken Liu.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0765382032/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0765382032" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Three-Body Problem</a></i> by Cixin Liu, translated by Ken Liu.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/076537708X/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=076537708X" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Dark Forest</a> </i>by Cixin Liu, translated by Joel Martinsen.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0765377101/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0765377101" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Death’s End</a> </i>by Cixin Liu, translated by Ken Liu.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143208128/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0143208128" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Cat Country</a></i> by Lao She, translated by William A. Lyell.<br />
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<b>Cuba</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CHODFS/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=B001CHODFS" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Island of Eternal Love</a></i> by Daína Chaviano, translated by Andrea Labinger.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1632060353/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1632060353" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">A Legend of the Future</a></i> by Agustín de Rojas, translated by Nick Caistor.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1632060515/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1632060515" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Year 200</a> </i>by Agustín de Rojas, translated by Nick Caistor.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1632060361/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1632060361" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">A Planet for Rent</a></i> by Yoss, translated by David Frye.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1632060566/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1632060566" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Super Extra Grande</a></i> by Yoss, translated by David Frye.<br />
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<b>Denmark</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0815306067/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0815306067" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Virtue and Vice in the Middle Time</a> </i>by Svend Ǻge Madsen, translated by James M Ogler.<br />
<br />
<b>Egypt </b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1612195164/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1612195164" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Queue</a></i> by Basma Abdel Aziz, translated by Elisabeth Jaquette.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9774163915/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=9774163915" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Time-Travels of the Man Who Sold Pickles and Sweets</a></i> by Khairy Shalaby, translated by Michael Cooperson.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9992142677/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=9992142677" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Utopia</a></i> by Ahmed Khaled Towfik, translated by Chip Rossetti.<br />
<br />
<b>Finland</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/125006192X/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=125006192X" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Rabbit Back Literature Society</a></i> by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen, translated by Lola M. Rogers.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/080212464X/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=080212464X" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Core of the Sun</a> </i>by Johanna Sinisalo, translated by Lola Rogers.<br />
<br />
<b>France</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1612271928/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1612271928" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">In a Thousand Years</a> </i>by Émile Calvet, translated by Brian Stableford.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0151014221/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0151014221" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Please, Mr. Einstein</a></i> by Jean-Claude Carriere, translated by John Brownjohn.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679751750/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0679751750" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Texaco</a></i> by Patrick Chamoiseau, translated by Rose-Myriam Rejouis and Val Vinokurov.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1582434476/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1582434476" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Noir</a></i> by Olivier Pauvert, translated by Adriana Hunter.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0553214209/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0553214209" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">From the Earth to the Moon</a></i> by Jules Verne, translated by Lowell Bair.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/140272599X/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=140272599X" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">20,000 Leagues Under the Sea</a></i> by Jules Verne, translator not credited.<br />
<br />
<b>Germany</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/147782751X/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=147782751X" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Elven</a></i> by Bernhard Hennen and James A. Sullivan, translated by Edwin Miles.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0765314908/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0765314908" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Carpet Makers</a></i> by Andreas Eschbach, translated by Doryl Jensen.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CSURRAQ/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=B00CSURRAQ" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Between Earth and Moon</a></i>by Otfrid von Hanstein, translated by Francis Currier.<br />
<br />
<b>Hungary</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0394724828/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0394724828" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">1985: A Historical Report</a></i> by Gyorgy Dalos, translated by Stuart Hood and Estella Schmid.<br />
<br />
<b>India</b><br />
<i>Travels to Venus</i> by Jagadananda Roy, translated by ?<br />
<i>The Cosmic Explosion </i>by Jayant Narlikar, translated by Sujata Godbole.<br />
<br />
<b>Israel</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/184863675X/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=184863675X" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Sunburnt Faces</a></i> by Shimon Adaf, translated by Margalit Rodgers & Anthony Berris.<br />
<br />
<b>Italy</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PQZH4MG/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=B00PQZH4MG" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Black Tea and Other Tales</a></i> by Samuel Marolla, translated by Andrew Tanzi.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012K84C9O/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=B012K84C9O" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Eternal War: Armies of Saints</a></i> by Livio Gambarini, translator not credited.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1921134909/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1921134909" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Nexhuman</a></i> by Francesco Verso, translated by Sally McCorry.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0156453800/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0156453800" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Invisible Cities</a> </i>by Italo Calvino, translated by William Weaver.<br />
<br />
<b>Japan</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679733787/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0679733787" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Woman in the Dunes</a> </i>by Kobo Abe, translated by E. Dale Saunders.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1421549360/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1421549360" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Self-Reference ENGINE</a></i> by Toh EnJoe, translated by Terry Gallagher.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1421580276/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1421580276" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Gene Mapper</a></i> by Taiyo Fujii, translated by Jim Hubbert.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1604865911/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1604865911" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">We, The Children of Cats</a></i> by Tomoyuki Hoshino, translated by Brian Bergstrom and Lucy Fraser.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193428730X/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=193428730X" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Biogenesis</a></i> by Tatsuaki Ishiguro, translated by Brian Watson & James Balzer.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0486802922/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0486802922" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Japan Sinks</a></i> by Sakyo Komatsu, translated by Michael Gallagher.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679743464/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0679743464" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World</a></i> by Haruki Murakami, translated by Alfred Birnbaum.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1421571730/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1421571730" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Dendera</a></i> by Yuya Sato, translated by Nathan Collins & Edwin Hawkes.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1421578573/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1421578573" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Red Girls: The Legend of the Akakuchibas</a></i> by Kazuki Sakuraba, translated by Jocelyn Allen.<br />
<br />
<b>Libya</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019TM1JGS/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=B019TM1JGS" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Anubis: A Libyan Novel</a></i> by <span class="author notFaded" data-width="">Ibrahim Al-Koni <span class="contribution"><span class="a-color-secondary">, translated by William M. Hutchins.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<b>The Netherlands</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1559705302/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1559705302" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Wedding by the Sea</a></i> by Abdelkander Benali, translated by Susan Massotty.<br />
<br />
<b>Norway</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1580051251/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1580051251" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Daughters of Egalia</a></i> by Gerd Brantenberg, translated by Louis McKay<br />
<br />
<b>Poland</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UTUMM3E/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=B00UTUMM3E" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Old Axolotl: Hardware Dreams</a></i> by Jacek Dukaj, translated by Stanley Bill.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1908876034/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1908876034" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">On the Hill of Roses</a></i> by Stefan Grabinski, translated by Miroslaw Lipinski.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1909232041/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1909232041" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Dark Domain</a> </i>by Stefan Grabinski, translated by Miroslaw Lipinski.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HV1FK2E/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=B00HV1FK2E" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Nest of Worlds</a></i> by Marek S. Huberath, translated by Michael Kandel.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0156027607/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0156027607" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Solaris</a></i> by Stanislaw Lem, translated by Joanna Kilmartin and Steve Cox.<br />
<br />
<b>Romania</b><br />
<i>Recipearium</i> by Costi Gurgu, translated by the author.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1619760258/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1619760258" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Squaring the Circle: A Pseudotreatise of Urbogomy: Fantastic Tales</a></i> by Gheorghe Săsărman translated by Ursula le Guin (from the Spanish of Mariano Martín Rodríguez).<br />
<br />
<b>Russia</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143108271/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0143108271" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Master and Margarita</a></i> by Mikhail Bulgakov, translated by Diana Burgin and Katherine O’Connor.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/097539701X/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=097539701X" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Those Who Survive</a></i> by Kirill Bulychev, translated by John H. Costello.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007PFD74E/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=B007PFD74E" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">In Concert Performance</a></i> by Nikolai Dezhnev, translated by Mary Ann Szporluk.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1473204305/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1473204305" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Metro 2034</a></i> by Dmitry Glukhovsky, translated by Andrew Bromfield.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0688099785/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0688099785" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">No Return</a></i> by Aleksandr Kabakov, translated by Thomas Whitney.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1590173198/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1590173198" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Memories of the Future</a></i> by Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky, translated by Joanne Turnbull with Nikolai Formozov.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062310097/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0062310097" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Nightwatch</a></i> by Sergei Lukyanenko, translated by Andrew Bromfield.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1473213037/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1473213037" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">S.N.U.F.F.</a></i> by Victor Pelevin, translated by Andrew Bromfield.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/147321307X/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=147321307X" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Empire V: The Prince of Hamlet</a></i> by Victor Pelevin, translated by Anthony Phillips.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1590173864/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1590173864" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Ice</a></i> by Vladimir Sorokin, translated by Jamey Gambrell.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YDJ63ZK/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=B00YDJ63ZK" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Dead Mountaineer’s Inn: One More Last Rite for the Detective Genre</a></i> by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky, translated by Josh Billings.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1613743416/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1613743416" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Roadside Picnic</a></i>by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky, translated by Olena Bormashenko.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1590171969/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1590171969" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Slynx</a></i> by Tatyana Tolstaia, translated by Jamey Gambrell.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0156621657/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0156621657" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Moscow 2042</a></i> by Vladimir Voinovich, translated by Richard Lourie.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140185852/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0140185852" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">We</a></i> by Yevgeny Zamyatin, translated by Natasha S. Randall.<br />
<br />
<b>Saudi Arabia</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9948205820/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=9948205820" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">HWJN</a></i> by Ibraheem Abbas, translated by <span class="author notFaded" data-width="240"><span class="a-declarative" data-a-popover="{"closeButtonLabel":"Close Author Dialog Popover","name":"contributor-info-B00CLE8QRW","position":"triggerBottom","popoverLabel":"Author Dialog Popover","allowLinkDefault":"true"}" data-action="a-popover">Yasser Bahjatt.</span></span><br />
<br />
<b>Serbia</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1892389657/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1892389657" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Fourth Circle</a></i> by Zoran Živković, translated by Mary Popovic.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/4902075334/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=4902075334" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Library</a></i> by Zoran Živković, translated by Alice Copple-Tošić.<br />
<br />
<b>Spain</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LSX509Y/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=B00LSX509Y" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Goldsmith’s Secret</a></i> by Elia Barceló, translated by David Frye.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LSX58UK/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=B00LSX58UK" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Heart of Tango</a></i> by Elia Barceló, translated by David Frye.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005LPUCX4/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=B005LPUCX4" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Tokyo Doesn’t Love Us Anymore</a></i> by Ray Loriga, translated by John King.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KWM7HYI/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=B00KWM7HYI" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Last Passenger</a></i> by Manel Loureiro, translated by Andrés Alfaro.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004G8QNL2/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=B004G8QNL2" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Map of Time</a></i> by Félix J. Palma, translated by Nick Caistor.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1841958832/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1841958832" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Cold Skin</a></i> by Albert Sanchez Pinol, translated by Cheryl Leah Morgan.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061193712/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0061193712" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Zig Zag</a></i> by José Carlos Somoza, translated by Lisa Dillman.<br />
<br />
<b>Sudan</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9927101899/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=9927101899" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Telepathy</a></i> by Amir Tag Elsir, translated by William M. Hutchins.<br />
<br />
<b>Sweden</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1590513134/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1590513134" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Unit</a></i> by Ninni Holmqvist, translated by Marlaine Delargy.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0985790407/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0985790407" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Jagannath</a></i> by Karin Tidbeck, translated by the author.<br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0299038947/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=0299038947" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Kallocain</a></i> by Karin Boye, translated by Gustaf Lannestock.<br />
<br />
<b>Switzerland</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JSD7Y2/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=B002JSD7Y2" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Nile Gold: a Legend of Modern Egypt</a></i> by John Knittel, translator unknown<br />
<br />
<b>Turkey</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9944424498/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=9944424498" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">The Book of Madness</a></i> by Levent Senyurek, translated by Feyza Howell.<br />
<br />
<b>Ukraine</b><br />
<i><a class="butter" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1941920306/ref=as_li_tf_il?ie=UTF8&tag=boorio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1941920306" rel="nofollow" title="Buy from Amazon">Voroshilovgrad</a></i> by Serhiy Zhadan, translated by Reilly Costigan-Humes and Isaac Wheeler.<br />
<br />
For a constantly-updated list, along with related reviews and interviews, check out the <a href="http://www.sfintranslation.com/">Speculative Fiction in Translation site</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
(first posted on <a href="http://bookriot.com/2016/06/22/100-must-read-works-of-speculative-fiction-in-translation/" target="_blank">Book Riot 6/22/16</a>) Rachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634606691423431362.post-86987997517166567862016-07-06T21:13:00.004-07:002016-07-06T21:14:31.634-07:00In Translation: June Fiction and PoetryIt’s summertime here in ‘Murica, so if you’re headed to the beach, be
sure to bring these fantastic books from Iran, France, Cuba, and Israel
with you. Also if you’re headed to the pool. Or the park. Or the cafe.
Or really anywhere. Enjoy!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://bookriot.com/?attachment_id=99712" rel="attachment wp-att-99712" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Fremon" class="alignleft wp-image-99712 " height="200" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Fremon-225x300.jpg" width="149" /></a><b><i>Proustiennes </i>edited & abridged by Jean Frémon, translated by Brian Evenson</b> (Fence Books, 80 pages, June 21)<br />
<br />
Here Frémon distills some of Marcel Proust’s most beautiful prose
into “Proustiennes,” inviting us to delve (back) into the extraordinary <i>À la recherche du temps perdu</i> and belle époque Paris.<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://bookriot.com/?attachment_id=99713" rel="attachment wp-att-99713" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Yadali" class="alignleft wp-image-99713 size-medium" height="200" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Yadali-197x300.jpg" width="131" /></a><b><i></i></b><b><i>Rituals of Restlessness</i> by Yaghoub Yadali, translated by Sara Khalili</b> (Phoneme Media, 192 pages, June 7)<br />
<br />
Iranian author and essayist Yaghoub Yadali brings us a novel of
disillusionment and deceit, in which an engineer seeks to escape from
his boring job and disintegrating marriage. And while <i>Rituals</i>
won the 2004 Golshiri Foundation Award for the best novel of the year
and was named one of the ten best novels of the decade by the Press
Critics Award in Iran, Yadali was sentenced to one year in prison for
depicting an adulterous affair.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://bookriot.com/?attachment_id=99714" rel="attachment wp-att-99714" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Yehoshua" class="alignleft wp-image-99714 size-medium" height="200" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Yehoshua-199x300.jpg" width="132" /></a><b><i> </i></b><br />
<b><i>The Extra</i> by A. B. Yehoshua, translated by Stuart Schoffman</b> (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 256 pages, June 7)<br />
<br />
In <i>The Extra</i> we find Noga, a divorcée and harpist living in
the Netherlands. Her father’s death brings her back to Jerusalem and a
host of memories and relationships she thought that she had left behind
for good.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://bookriot.com/?attachment_id=99715" rel="attachment wp-att-99715" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Yoss" class="alignleft wp-image-99715 size-medium" height="200" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Yoss-199x300.jpg" width="132" /></a><b><i> </i></b><br />
<b><i>Super Extra Grande</i> by Yoss, translated by David Frye</b> (Restless Books, 160 pages, June 7)<br />
<br />
I’ve been a Yoss fan since last year when Restless Books brought out <i>A Planet for Rent</i>. <i>Super Extra Grande</i>,
too, showcases Yoss’s deft sardonic humor and rollicking imagination. I
mean, who else could write about a veterinarian who examines massive
alien creatures…<i>from the inside</i>? I’ve written more of m’thoughts on this short but hilarious novel <a href="http://www.sfintranslation.com/?p=186">here,</a> and <a href="http://www.sfintranslation.com/?p=17">here</a>‘s an interview with Yoss, too, just because I like you.<br />
<br />
<br />
(first posted on <a href="http://bookriot.com/2016/06/15/translation-june-fiction-poetry-2/" target="_blank">Book Riot 6/15/16</a>) Rachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634606691423431362.post-22039533539167412302016-07-06T21:07:00.000-07:002016-07-06T21:07:22.335-07:00The Genius of the Dark Tower<a href="https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/dark-tower-books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/dark-tower-books.jpg" border="0" class="shrinkToFit" height="153" src="https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/dark-tower-books.jpg" width="200" /></a><i>*warning: here be spoilers*</i><br />
<br />
You’ve probably heard that a <a href="http://www.geek.com/news/stephen-king-made-the-dark-tower-movie-interesting-again-with-one-tweet-1655721/">Dark Tower film</a>
is actually in the works, starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey
(slated for next February). Are you excited? BECAUSE I’M EXCITED. I only
just finished listening to the entire series, a journey that took 10
months. Why so long? I started it just after my daughter was born, and
listened in bits and pieces almost every night while I washed dishes or
folded laundry. What an experience.<br />
<br />
But for those of you who’ve read the entire series, you know what I’m
talking about. This is old news to you. But the fact that this movie
news came out <i>just</i> as I was finishing the series seemed particularly <i>ka</i>-ish, if you know what I mean.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Now, I wrote a somewhat comical <a href="http://bookriot.com/2016/02/24/8-reasons-im-loving-stephen-kings-dark-tower-series/">piece</a>
recently about the series, but today I’m here to tell you
(specifically, those of you who haven’t read it, or only read part of
it, or read it and didn’t like it) why the series is a <i>masterpiece</i>.
I’ve read a lot of Stephen King over the years, but this…this is truly
his magnum opus, as King himself knows. It has followed him through the
years and through his other novels, just as Roland followed the Man in
Black and the road to the Dark Tower. And it is that interweaving of the
Dark Tower story and King’s own life and writing that gives the series
added weight.<br />
<br />
Other reasons why it’s genius? I have many. First of all, King
created a new dialect of English called “High Speech,” which Roland and
the people of Gilead, among others, use. It’s a formal, elaborate kind
of speech, setting Roland apart from the rest of his group (ka-tet), all
of whom (except for Oy) come from mid-to-late-20th-century America.
Such a way of speaking lends him a magisterial, almost regal air. King
draws it through the entire series, elaborating on it here and there,
introducing new words and expecting the reader/listener to incorporate
the language into her own brain in order to understand the story.
Basically, King makes the reader work.<br />
<br />
Next, King weaves his own experience getting hit by a truck on a road
in Maine in 1999 into the fabric of the series, thus adding yet another
layer to the already complicated tapestry of the tale. We already had
to deal with the weird ways in which time works (slowing down and
speeding up, depending on where one is at the time), as well as the fact
that the characters come from different time periods <i>and</i>
different universes (i.e. Roland is from one universe, while the rest of
his ka-tet is from another- 20th century America). So when King writes
about Jake saving his life by jumping in front of the oncoming truck in
Maine, thus saving King from getting completely slammed, the reader’s
brain starts to smoke. Ok, <i>my</i> brain started to smoke. And when Roland visits King and hypnotizes him…well, that was some crazy sh*t.<br />
<br />
Some people might not like King inserting himself into the story, but
I found that it added an extra dimension that was intriguing. How <i>do</i>
writers view their characters, especially characters that they’ve
developed over several years? Do these individuals become almost
tangible, and a part of the writer’s own life? Seems quite possible to
me, but I’ve never written a novel, so who am I to say.<br />
<br />
And then you have a character like Susannah, a black woman from the
1960s who lost her legs years earlier, kicking ass and taking names in
every book of the series, and did I mention that she does this all
without legs? She’s unbelievably tough and determined, and puts many of
the other characters with all of their limbs to shame. Oh, and she also
harbors at least one other personality in her brain at all times
(Detta), a more violent, sadistic individual who emerges at key moments.
(Mia only stays for a little while). Susannah must keep Detta in check
at all times, and that’s not easy. But she does it, all while throwing
sharpened dishes and climbing around unforgiving terrain and falling in
love with Eddie Dean and jumping back and forth between universes. NOT
BAD.<br />
<br />
Also, you have stories within stories throughout the series,
contributing to the almost material heft of the tale. It stretches out
across space and time, both within its own world and in ours. Roland’s
own back-story is even its own book (<i>Wizard and Glass</i>– one of my least favorites in the series, but whatever). And then there are the stories of Calla Bryn Sturgis….<br />
<br />
But the ending, guys. It wraps around on itself, like that episode of <i>Star Trek TNG</i>
where they get stuck side-swiping another starship and exploding over
and over again until they can send a message to their future selves
about how to escape. Even though Roland is doomed, within the series, to
repeat his quest forever, each time someone reads the Dark Tower
series, it’s like that <i>reader</i> has escaped. I think about another <i>TNG</i>
episode- where the holographic Professor Moriarty is convinced that he
has been brought into the real world and flies off to the stars in a
shuttlecraft, but <i>we</i> know that he’s still a hologram, trapped inside a continuously running program that the crew of the <i>Enterprise</i> can peek in on whenever they want.<br />
<br />
King even interrupts the conclusion to directly address the reader,
asking why he or she insists on a more “satisfying” ending- why do we
want to know what’s inside the Dark Tower? Don’t we understand that it’s
the journey, not the destination, that counts? But then, figuratively
throwing up his hands, King obliges and explains what Roland saw, only
to throw us back to the first line: “The man in black fled across the
desert, and the gunslinger followed.”<br />
And there’s just something about the juxtaposition of
post-apocalyptic civilizations and decrepit technology that gets me all
a-twitter.<br />
<br />
The cycle of life and death; multiple universes; the mixing of genres
(western, fantasy, science fiction, myth)- these elements help make the
Dark Tower series the masterpiece that it truly is.<br />
<br />
Let’s hope the film does it justice.<br />
<br />
<br />
(first posted on <a href="http://bookriot.com/2016/05/26/genius-dark-tower/" target="_blank">Book Riot 5/26/16</a>) Rachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634606691423431362.post-51713075743704000182016-06-22T18:16:00.000-07:002016-06-22T18:16:20.028-07:00Books to Look For (June): History<br />
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<img alt="http://images.abovethetreeline.com/ea/CM/images/jacket_covers/original/9780231175685_8d77a.jpg?width=1000" class="shrinkToFit" src="http://images.abovethetreeline.com/ea/CM/images/jacket_covers/original/9780231175685_8d77a.jpg?width=1000" height="320" width="212" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjZybJvSEATVuLns0iNp8IPvNcbLHxtXwcZhBeoFs4MvgVff5HnuH7SrDKYgF5TSoB2VF-lCxb84IFtzqo_i2UqFew8JPy7s0WzX0yWXLOm89exuQoJOfife48aAaL6dUyrCXpCnlRLmx6UjytGOxQN90qLwkBb2xKTyl4862AGAk1eDgYjOW61lJ7zb9GeWingFJKANuAf_GJPl_AKLGKHox9g6VJxsgiX=" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://images.abovethetreeline.com/ea/HC/images/jacket_covers/original/9780062323774_b8e07.jpg?width=1000" border="0" src="http://images.abovethetreeline.com/ea/HC/images/jacket_covers/original/9780062323774_b8e07.jpg?width=1000" height="320" width="211" /></a></div>
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<img alt="http://images.abovethetreeline.com/ea/NB/images/jacket_covers/original/9781493015702_33bf4.jpg?width=1000" class="shrinkToFit" height="320" src="http://images.abovethetreeline.com/ea/NB/images/jacket_covers/original/9781493015702_33bf4.jpg?width=1000" width="211" /><br />
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.abovethetreeline.com%2Fea%2FHC%2Fimages%2Fjacket_covers%2Foriginal%2F9780062323774_b8e07.jpg%3Fwidth%3D1000&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjZybJvSEATVuLns0iNp8IPvNcbLHxtXwcZhBeoFs4MvgVff5HnuH7SrDKYgF5TSoB2VF-lCxb84IFtzqo_i2UqFew8JPy7s0WzX0yWXLOm89exuQoJOfife48aAaL6dUyrCXpCnlRLmx6UjytGOxQN90qLwkBb2xKTyl4862AGAk1eDgYjOW61lJ7zb9GeWingFJKANuAf_GJPl_AKLGKHox9g6VJxsgiX=" -->Rachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634606691423431362.post-66259194969279848872016-06-16T20:33:00.003-07:002016-06-16T20:34:19.229-07:00Totally Legitimate Literary ExcusesYou know when someone accuses you of something, or criticizes you, or rakes you over the coals, and you can only come up with a <i>really lame</i>
excuse to cover your derrière? Well, today is your lucky day because
I’ve written out some great literary excuses for you to use in such
situations. Simply print out this list or write it/tattoo it on your arm
and voilà! People will stop giving you sh#t. Ok, this is not
guaranteed, but at least it’s better than nothing, right?<br />
<br />
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<b>1.</b> If your gym teacher yells at you for not jogging fast enough, YOU say: <b>Look,
a damn whale took my leg and I’m basically just getting by with this
wooden one, plus I’m overwhelmed by feelings of rage and frustration so
I’m just going to sit out the rest of the week, m’kay?</b><br />
<br />
<br />
2. If your mom yells at you to clean up your room, YOU say: <b>Listen,
mom, every time I start cleaning up and making noise in my room, I hear
this loud ba-BOOM ba-BOOM coming from beneath the floor. It kinda
sounds like a beating heart. When I stop cleaning up, the beating stops.
Please don’t make me clean my room. Better yet, can we move? Please?</b><br />
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3. If your grandma starts giving you crap about not being married yet, YOU say: <b>I
understand your worries, grandma dear, but my four sisters and I are
all trying to find men at the same time and there’s pride and there’s
some prejudice and Colin Firth and I just need to clear my head so I’m
taking a break from dating for a while. But don’t worry. I’ll start back
up just as soon as I return from my tour of England.</b>
</div>
<br />
<br />
4. If your professor nags you about studying abroad, YOU say: <b>Thanks
for your concern, prof, but I have this fear of traveling to another
country and getting sucked in and forgetting who I am and then I might
start collecting skulls to decorate my little hovel and you might send
another student to find me and they’ll have a really rough time of it
and…maybe I should just stay here and do an independent study or
something.</b><br />
<br />
<br />
5. If your Aunt Mabel gets on your back again about not having kids yet, YOU say: <b>Sure, kids <i>sound</i>
great on paper, but what if I give birth to a kid who looks just fine
and starts nursing and then suddenly turns into a giant spider and sucks
the life out of me until I turn into a gross, dusty mummy-thing? I
think I’ll just stick with my chocolate lab for now thanks.</b><br />
<br />
<br />
6. If your landlord gets all up in your business about paying your rent late, YOU say: <b>I
completely understand, ma’am, but you see I get nervous walking up to
your door to give you the rent because there’s this big axe that’s
always leaning against the wall and sometimes I hear it talking to me
and telling me to pick it up, so I usually have to take a couple of days
to get my courage up and then I run past your door and wing the
envelope into the mail slot and keep going so the axe doesn’t make me
pick it up. My apologies for the inconvenience.</b><br />
<br />
You’re welcome.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
(first posted on <a href="http://bookriot.com/2016/05/22/totally-legitimate-literary-excuses/" target="_blank">Book Riot 5/22/16</a>) Rachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634606691423431362.post-31309503969255217282016-06-16T20:31:00.001-07:002016-06-16T20:31:31.060-07:00Authors I Love to Hate<a href="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/angry_books-e1462144630488-270x142.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/angry_books-e1462144630488-270x142.png" border="0" height="105" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/angry_books-e1462144630488-270x142.png" width="200" /></a>You know what I’m talking about. Someone mentions their favorite
writer and you’re all like EYE ROLLLLL. Of course, everyone has their
own literary taste, and we shouldn’t judge one another, but we should
understand that one person’s favorite is another’s
nails-on-the-chalkboard.<br />
<br />
Now you know me and how I get very emotional about my favorite
writers and books (i.e. just say “Thomas Mann” in my presence and I melt
into a puddle of devoted awe). Not surprisingly, I have equally strong
emotions when it comes to those works that…irritate me.<br />
<br />
Below are some authors who make me impatient, irritable, or just downright <em>tired</em>. I know this list will anger some people, so just direct all of your hate-mail to rachel@fakeemailaddress.blah. Thanks!<br />
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<strong>D. H. Lawrence</strong><br />
<br />
I’ve read most of what this man has written and OHMYGOD if I could
grab him by the shoulders and shake him for an hour straight I would
because LOVE DOESN’T HAVE TO BE SO COMPLICATED. Yesss, I appreciate his
in-depth exploration of sensuality, sexuality, and love-angst in
general, but after reading <em>Women in Love, Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow, </em>and <em>Lady Chatterley’s Lover</em>
all within a few years, I was so very very tired. And confused. And
tired. He’s definitely worth reading, don’t get me wrong. But you have
to be in the mood.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
<strong>James Joyce</strong><br />
<br />
Let’s all just admit that the man really enjoyed f-ing with his
readers’ brains. He must have gotten a kind of sick thrill from it. Now,
I read <em>Ulysses</em> on my own when I was about 17 and I understood
exactly none of it. I then took a course in grad school devoted mostly
to that novel, and after reading the bazillion annotations and going
through the text word by word with my professor and fellow <del>tortured souls</del>
classmates, I understood just how brilliant and rich it really is. I
also really love Leopold Bloom’s cat. But really, if it takes months and
tons of annotations and a lot of tormented brain cells to read ONE
BOOK, I don’t know, do <em>you</em> think it’s worth it? I do love <em>Dubliners</em>– good stuff. But <em>Finnegan’s Wake?</em>
I’d rather feed myself to a crocodile than deal with that monster. Or
maybe I should just feed the book itself to a crocodile. Do crocodiles
like paper?<br />
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<strong>Emily Dickinson</strong><br />
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Uuuuuuuuuuuuuugggggghhhhh- woman and her slant rhymes! For me,
hearing her poems read out loud is like listening to atonal “music” and I
despise atonal “music.” I acknowledge her wit and brilliance, and some
of her poems are so perfectly pithy, but I wish she would have
elaborated on some of her ideas in, you know, <em>more</em> than 10
words or whatever. And you seriously can’t get away from her when you
flip through an anthology. It’s like the editors say “hey who do we
include in this anthology, oh, Dickinson of course cause her poems are
short and we can fit like 500 of ’em in there. Cool.” And some of these
poems are so depressing you just want to bang your head against a very
solid brick wall. Or is that just me?<br />
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<strong>Samuel Beckett</strong><br />
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Yeah, I just <em>really</em> hate Beckett. Period.<br />
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<strong>Gertrude Stein</strong><br />
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Resurrect her and ask her if <em>she</em> knows what the heck she’s writing about. Geez.<br />
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(first posted on <a href="http://bookriot.com/2016/05/14/authors-love-hate-2/" target="_blank">Book Riot 5/14/16</a>)Rachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634606691423431362.post-48281558583866315052016-05-24T20:15:00.003-07:002016-05-24T20:15:39.581-07:00Review: One of Us is Sleeping by Josefine Klougart, translated by Martin Aitken<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Q4ORIcnZL._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Q4ORIcnZL._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" border="0" height="200" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Q4ORIcnZL._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" width="129" /></a><i><b>One of Us is Sleeping</b></i><b> by Josefine Klougart, translated by Martin Aitken</b> (Open Letter, 260 pages, July 12)<br />
<br />
<br />
The second novel in Open Letter's Danish Women Writers Series (the first is <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Naja
Marie Aidt's <i><a href="http://bookishlywitty.blogspot.com/2015/09/review-rock-paper-scissors-by-naja.html" target="_blank">Rock, Paper, Scissors</a>)</i></span></span>, <i>One of Us is Sleeping</i> is not so much a book as a doorway into one woman's brain.<br />
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The narrator's two main preoccupations- the disintegration of an intense romantic relationship and her mother's cancer diagnosis- are woven together in a tight coil of regret, doubt, and nearly-crippling anxiety. Just as many of us cannot help but rethink and rehash certain details of our lives, questioning our actions and others' motives until we nearly drive ourselves crazy, so the narrator jumps around in her memory to try to figure out where her relationship went wrong. Old conversations, silences, separations- all swirl around in her mind, often marked by brief but intense reflections on the nature of time, colors, home, love, and more.<br />
<br />
Klougart deftly transports us into another person's mind while simultaneously showing us our own. <i>One of Us is Sleeping</i> is a novel about missed connections, lost opportunities, and the trap of standing still instead of moving forward. It's haunting, but the only ghosts are in the narrator's own memory.Rachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634606691423431362.post-75751542223169262852016-05-22T01:20:00.000-07:002016-05-22T01:20:17.878-07:00A Virtual Reality Anne Frank Film? NOPE<a href="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTa5clLcRaY7obVtHMy6f7TqDCIVCoCyNZ1EGTzixdJ4ZmH5N1E" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTa5clLcRaY7obVtHMy6f7TqDCIVCoCyNZ1EGTzixdJ4ZmH5N1E" border="0" height="200" src="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTa5clLcRaY7obVtHMy6f7TqDCIVCoCyNZ1EGTzixdJ4ZmH5N1E" width="200" /></a>According to <i>The Guardian</i>, a <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/may/04/anne-frank-film-virtual-reality-secret-amsterdam-annex-hirsch-abrahms">virtual reality film</a>
is in the works that will bring viewers “into” the Amsterdam annex
where Anne Frank hid with her family from the Nazis from 1942-1944.<br />
<br />
I think I speak for many people when I say to Jonathan Hirsch (the producer): just….just don’t.<br />
Anne Frank’s story is undoubtedly one of the most compelling to come
out of the brutality and carnage of World War II. I read her diary many
years ago, and was moved by its honesty and optimism, even as Anne was
forced to live in hiding for years.<br />
<br />
But the ways in which people have pounced on this tragic story over
the years is shameful, in my opinion. Aren’t there enough freakin’ plays
and films about the Frank family’s experiences? Do we really need
another one, and one that is so voyeuristic? Thankfully (and hopefully),
we will never know what it’s like to have to live cramped and silent
for years, terrified at the slightest noise because it might mean that
we’ve been discovered and will be dragged out to be sent to a camp or
shot. So let’s not pretend that we can understand.<br />
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If you really are interested in seeing the annex, you can always go
to Amsterdam and take a tour. I could have taken this tour several years
ago when my husband and I were visiting that city, but we didn’t have
much time to sightsee and there was the Rijksmuseum to visit and I
already had Anne-overload from my years learning about the Holocaust at
school. Plus, it just felt CREEPY to go prowling about the place where
this poor girl and her family lived in terror. But maybe that’s just me.<br />
<br />
You know what? If you’re interested in learning more about Anne Frank, I have some other ideas, and they involve BOOKS:<br />
<br />
First, if you haven’t already, do read <i>The Diary of a Young Girl</i>. Just do it.<br />
Also, you need to check out <i>Anne Frank Remembered: The Story of the Woman Who Helped to Hide the Frank Family</i>
by Miep Gies. Trust me. My mom raved about it and basically insisted
that I read it, and though I really didn’t want to immerse myself yet
again in Holocaust history, I read it and realized just how important
Miep’s story is, too. You learn not just what it was like for her to
risk her life helping the Frank family, but how difficult it was for the
Dutch people in general during the war- the food shortages, the Nazi
bullying and brutality, the constant fear and dread.<br />
<br />
There are many things you can do to learn more about Anne Frank and
her family’s experiences. But a virtual reality film about it is just
GROSS. Period.<br />
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(first posted on <a href="http://bookriot.com/2016/05/06/virtual-reality-anne-frank-film-nope/" target="_blank">Book Riot 5/6/16</a>) Rachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634606691423431362.post-13217592559476296372016-05-22T01:17:00.000-07:002016-05-22T01:17:36.443-07:00In Translation: May Fiction and PoetryI say this every month, but I’m <i>really</i> excited about these
new translations, you guys. We have some Tamil poetry co-translated by
Ravi Shankar (RAVI SHANKAR!), a work of fiction-not-fiction from Spain, a
novel by a Romanian Nobel laureate, and the story of a troubled
childhood in Morocco. Dig in!<br />
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<br />
<a href="http://bookriot.com/?attachment_id=95836" rel="attachment wp-att-95836" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="andal" class="alignleft wp-image-95836 size-medium" height="200" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/andal-165x300.jpg" width="110" /></a><i><b> The Autobiography of a Goddess</b></i><b> by Andal, translated by Priya Sarukkai Chabria and Ravi Shankar</b> (Zubaan Books, 176 pages, May 15)<br />
<br />
This is an exciting new collaborative translation of the work of
8th-century Tamil poet Andal. A “powerful expression of female sexuality
in the Indian spiritual tradition,” <i>Autobiography of a Goddess</i> includes the <i>Thiruppavaii, </i>thirty pasuram sung before Lord Vishnu, and the erotic <i>Nacchiyar Thirumoli</i>.<br />
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<i><b>The Sky Over Lima</b></i><b> by Juan Gómez Bárcena, translated by Andrea Rosenberg</b> (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 288 pages, May 17)<br />
<br />
Gómez Bárcena’s debut novel is about deception and inspiration. Based on actual events, <i>The Sky Over Lima</i> recounts two young poets’ attempt to get Nobel laureate Juan Ramón<b> </b>Jiménez to send them his latest work. To do this, they write to him, pretending to be a beautiful woman. Ramón<b> </b>Jiménez
responds by writing one of his greatest love poems: “Letter to Georgina
Hübner in the Sky Over Lima.” I can’t wait to get my hands on this
book.<br />
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<a href="http://bookriot.com/?attachment_id=95838" rel="attachment wp-att-95838" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="muller" class="alignleft wp-image-95838 size-medium" height="200" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/muller-199x300.jpg" width="132" /></a><i><b>The Fox Was Ever the Hunter</b></i><b> by Herta Müller, translated by Philip Boehm </b>(Metropolitan Books, 256 pages, May 10)<br />
<br />
Nobel laureate Herta Müller’s 1992 novel takes on the terrors of
totalitarianism during the last months of Ceausescu’s regime. When
someone begins reporting on their group of friends to the secret police,
the targets begin receiving threats and feel trapped by the specters of
violence and retaliation. A survivor herself of the police state during
this period in Romania, Müller won the Nobel Prize in 2009.<br />
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<a href="http://bookriot.com/?attachment_id=95839" rel="attachment wp-att-95839" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="taia" class="alignleft wp-image-95839 size-medium" height="200" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/taia-200x300.jpg" width="133" /></a><i><b> </b></i><br />
<i><b>Infidels</b></i><b> by Abdella Taïa, translated by Alison Strayer</b> (Seven Stories Press, 144 pages, May 3)<br />
<br />
From acclaimed novelist and filmmaker Abdella Taïa comes the story of Jallal, the son of a prostitute witch doctor in <span class="src-ems">Salé</span>, Morocco. Over the course of many monologues, the characters in <i>Infidels</i> tell us about their dreams and failures, and we witness Jallal’s journey toward Jihad.<br />
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(first posted on <a href="http://bookriot.com/2016/05/01/translation-may-fiction-poetry-2/" target="_blank">Book Riot 5/1/16</a>) Rachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634606691423431362.post-90934759803680748622016-05-22T01:14:00.002-07:002016-05-22T01:15:08.516-07:00In Translation: April Fiction and PoetryYes, April <i>is</i> the cruelest month because I have a list of
new translations here for you, which means that your TBR
pile/shelf/bookcase is going to get larger and more unwieldy. You’re
going to have to live until you’re 800 or so just to read all the books
you <i>already</i> have (don’t worry, I feel your pain). And so,
without further ado, I bring you fiction from Japan, Portugal, and
Cameroon, and poetry from Austria.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://bookriot.com/?attachment_id=95405" rel="attachment wp-att-95405" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="queiros" class="alignleft wp-image-95405 size-medium" height="200" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/queiros-200x300.jpg" width="133" /></a><i><b>The Yellow Sofa</b></i><b> by José Maria de Eça de Queirós, translated by John Vetch</b> (New Directions, 128 pages, April 18)<br />
<br />
Acclaimed Portuguese writer and diplomat Eça de Queirós (1845-1900) wrote twenty books in his lifetime, among them <i>The Yellow Sofa</i>,
a story about marriage and forgiveness in the face of betrayal. His
work has been compared to that of Dickens, Flaubert, and Tolstoy.<br />
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<a href="http://bookriot.com/?attachment_id=95404" rel="attachment wp-att-95404" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="nganang" class="alignleft wp-image-95404 size-medium" height="200" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/nganang-200x300.jpg" width="133" /></a><i><b> </b></i><br />
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<i><b>Mount Pleasant</b></i><b> by Patrice Nganang, translated by Amy Reid</b> (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 384 pages, April 12)<br />
<br />
From this award-winning writer comes a story of
early-twentieth-century Cameroon and the destructive forces of
colonization. Through multiple settings and storytellers, Nganang offers
us a glimpse into a world of sultans and artists, students and spirits.
<i>Mount Pleasant</i> promises to be a compelling read from a talented author.<br />
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<a href="http://bookriot.com/?attachment_id=95406" rel="attachment wp-att-95406" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="soseki" class="alignleft wp-image-95406 size-medium" height="200" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/soseki-200x300.jpg" width="133" /></a><i><b> </b></i><br />
<i><b>Light and Dark</b></i><b> by Natsume Soseki, translated by John Nathan</b> (Columbia University Press: Weatherhead Books on Asia, 464 pages, April 5)<br />
<br />
Soseki (1867-1916), considered the inventor of the modern Japanese novel, never managed to finish <i>Light and Dark</i>,
his masterpiece about upper-class culture and marriage on the eve of
World War I. Nevertheless, this novel of familial friction and
sought-after dreams will hold the reader’s attention until the very end.<br />
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<a href="http://bookriot.com/?attachment_id=95407" rel="attachment wp-att-95407" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="trakl" class="alignleft wp-image-95407 size-medium" height="200" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/trakl-176x300.jpg" width="117" /></a><i><b> </b></i><br />
<i><b>Sebastian Dreaming</b></i><b> by Georg Trakl, translated by James Reidel</b> (Seagull Books: The German List, 72 pages, April 15)<br />
<br />
Trakl (1887-1914), who committed suicide following his commitment to a
military hospital during World War I, stands as an important early
modern poet writing in German. <i>Sebastian Dreaming</i> is the second in Seagull Books’s series of Trakl’s works in translation.<br />
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(first posted on <a href="http://bookriot.com/2016/04/11/in-translation-april-fiction-and-poetry/" target="_blank">Book Riot 4/11/16</a>) Rachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634606691423431362.post-39478347486337407352016-05-22T01:12:00.000-07:002016-05-22T01:12:28.673-07:005 Bizarre 19th Century American NovelsI’ve read a lot of books so far in my time here on Earth, so I can
say pretty confidently that there are some novels out there that are so
unbelievably wierd/nutty/cuhrazy, you have to pause every twenty pages
or so just to stare at a wall and wonder “<i>did I just read that??!</i>”<br />
<br />
So when were some of the most bizarre American novels written, you
ask? The twentieth century? NOPE. The nineteenth, you guys (for the
purposes of this post, the “long” nineteenth century, as they say in
academia when things fall a little outside the date boundaries). That
was one wacked-out hundred years. I mean, civil war and railroads all
over the place and imperialism and financial crises every five seconds
and all kinds of new-fangled inventions…people’s heads were a-spinnin’.
Makes sense that they wrote the following novels:<br />
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<a href="http://bookriot.com/2016/04/10/5-bizarre-19th-century-american-novels/brown-3/" rel="attachment wp-att-95344" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="brown" class="alignleft wp-image-95344 " height="200" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/brown.jpg" width="125" /></a><b><i>Wieland: or, The Transformation: An American Tale</i> (1798) by Charles Brockden Brown</b><br />
<br />
I was first introduced to this interesting gentleman’s work during my
first semester of grad school and DAMN but his stuff is freaky. He has
one novel about a yellow fever outbreak, one about a sleepwalker, and a
few others. <i>Wieland</i> was based on the true story of a farmer’s
murder of his entire family because “voices” told him to do it. In
Brockden Brown’s version, the “voices” are actually all from the same
man, a ventriloquist named Carwin who’s been hanging around the Wieland
estate and stirring up trouble. It’s gothic and Poe-ishly dark and this
ventriloquist guy is pretty unique.<br />
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<a href="http://bookriot.com/2016/04/10/5-bizarre-19th-century-american-novels/melville-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-95347" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="melville" class=" wp-image-95347 alignleft" height="200" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/melville.jpg" width="132" /></a><b><i>Pierre: or, The Ambiguities</i> (1852) by Herman Melville</b><br />
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Ambiguous? Nope, nothing ambiguous about how twisted this book is. Like <i>Wieland</i>, it has its gothic elements, it’s murder, and its strange haunting vibe. In <i>Pierre</i>,
though, you’ve also got a brother’s incestuous feelings for his
maybe-perhaps-long-lost-sister. Add to that the main character’s failed
attempt to write an intelligent novel that is also popular and beloved
even by critics (wink wink nod nod, says Melville), and you have a
head-spinning read on your hands.<br />
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<b><i>The Hidden Hand, or Capitola the Madcap</i> (1859) by E. D. E. N. Southworth</b><br />
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First published in serial form in the <i>New York Ledger</i>, <i>The Hidden Hand</i>
pulls out all the stops, drawing on issues and events that had found a
home in the American imagination. One of these is the plight of exiled
French families who had fled to America to escape the bloody Revolution.
Another is the frightening ease by which people could have relatives,
spouses, or children committed to insane asylums. In doing research for a
conference paper I was giving on this novel, I found numerous
early-19th-century newspaper clippings about the practice of committing
someone to the asylum and then taking all of their money. <i>The Hidden Hand</i> was pretty popular in its time.<br />
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<a href="http://bookriot.com/2016/04/10/5-bizarre-19th-century-american-novels/lippard/" rel="attachment wp-att-95346" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="lippard" class="wp-image-95346 size-medium alignleft" height="200" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/lippard-204x300.jpg" width="136" /></a><b><i> </i></b><br />
<b><i>The Quaker City, or, The Monks of Monk Hall </i>(1845) by George Lippard</b><br />
<b><i><br />
</i></b><br />
It’s lurid, it’s over-the-top (you’ll find phrases like “heaving
bosoms” and “bright red lips” throughout), and it’s based on a true
story of seduction and murder. Lippard used this novel as a vehicle to
criticize what he saw as the corrupt Philadelphia elite of his time. <i>The Quaker City</i>
isn’t a book, really, so much as an experience- it’s so unbelievably
messed up that you just can’t look away. I remember coming in to class
to discuss it and asking the professor if the book had been written as a
joke.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://bookriot.com/2016/04/10/5-bizarre-19th-century-american-novels/hopkins-3/" rel="attachment wp-att-95345" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="hopkins" class="size-full wp-image-95345 alignleft" height="200" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/hopkins.jpeg" width="122" /></a><b><i> </i></b><br />
<b><i>Of One Blood, or The Hidden Self </i>(1902-3) by Pauline Hopkins</b><br />
<b><i><br />
</i></b><br />
More fascinating than freaky, this novel by a prolific African
American writer explores theories of a “lost race” in Ethiopia and
argues against late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century white
American claims of Anglo-Saxon cultural and racial superiority. The
head-spinning part comes in when the American doctor (who is black but
passes as white) discovers a hidden city with advanced technology. Never
mind his research into “volatile magnetism” to bring people back from
death, or clandestine marriages, or even references throughout to the
popular opera <i>Aida</i>. Let’s just say that <i>Of One Blood</i> is quite the adventure.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
(first posted on <a href="https://www.blogger.com/I%E2%80%99ve%20read%20a%20lot%20of%20books%20so%20far%20in%20my%20time%20here%20on%20Earth,%20so%20I%20can%20say%20pretty%20confidently%20that%20there%20are%20some%20novels%20out%20there%20that%20are%20so%20unbelievably%20wierd/nutty/cuhrazy,%20you%20have%20to%20pause%20every%20twenty%20pages%20or%20so%20just%20to%20stare%20at%20a%20wall%20and%20wonder%20%E2%80%9Cdid%20I%20just%20read%20that??!%E2%80%9D%20%20So%20when%20were%20some%20of%20the%20most%20bizarre%20American%20novels%20written,%20you%20ask?%20The%20twentieth%20century?%20NOPE.%20The%20nineteenth,%20you%20guys%20(for%20the%20purposes%20of%20this%20post,%20the%20%E2%80%9Clong%E2%80%9D%20nineteenth%20century,%20as%20they%20say%20in%20academia%20when%20things%20fall%20a%20little%20outside%20the%20date%20boundaries).%20That%20was%20one%20wacked-out%20hundred%20years.%20I%20mean,%20civil%20war%20and%20railroads%20all%20over%20the%20place%20and%20imperialism%20and%20financial%20crises%20every%20five%20seconds%20and%20all%20kinds%20of%20new-fangled%20inventions%E2%80%A6people%E2%80%99s%20heads%20were%20a-spinnin%E2%80%99.%20Makes%20sense%20that%20they%20wrote%20the%20following%20novels:%20%20brownWieland:%20or,%20The%20Transformation:%20An%20American%20Tale%20(1798)%20by%20Charles%20Brockden%20Brown%20%20I%20was%20first%20introduced%20to%20this%20interesting%20gentleman%E2%80%99s%20work%20during%20my%20first%20semester%20of%20grad%20school%20and%20DAMN%20but%20his%20stuff%20is%20freaky.%20He%20has%20one%20novel%20about%20a%20yellow%20fever%20outbreak,%20one%20about%20a%20sleepwalker,%20and%20a%20few%20others.%20Wieland%20was%20based%20on%20the%20true%20story%20of%20a%20farmer%E2%80%99s%20murder%20of%20his%20entire%20family%20because%20%E2%80%9Cvoices%E2%80%9D%20told%20him%20to%20do%20it.%20In%20Brockden%20Brown%E2%80%99s%20version,%20the%20%E2%80%9Cvoices%E2%80%9D%20are%20actually%20all%20from%20the%20same%20man,%20a%20ventriloquist%20named%20Carwin%20who%E2%80%99s%20been%20hanging%20around%20the%20Wieland%20estate%20and%20stirring%20up%20trouble.%20It%E2%80%99s%20gothic%20and%20Poe-ishly%20dark%20and%20this%20ventriloquist%20guy%20is%20pretty%20unique.%20%20%20%20%20melvillePierre:%20or,%20The%20Ambiguities%20(1852)%20by%20Herman%20Melville%20%20Ambiguous?%20Nope,%20nothing%20ambiguous%20about%20how%20twisted%20this%20book%20is.%20Like%20Wieland,%20it%20has%20its%20gothic%20elements,%20it%E2%80%99s%20murder,%20and%20its%20strange%20haunting%20vibe.%20In%20Pierre,%20though,%20you%E2%80%99ve%20also%20got%20a%20brother%E2%80%99s%20incestuous%20feelings%20for%20his%20maybe-perhaps-long-lost-sister.%20Add%20to%20that%20the%20main%20character%E2%80%99s%20failed%20attempt%20to%20write%20an%20intelligent%20novel%20that%20is%20also%20popular%20and%20beloved%20even%20by%20critics%20(wink%20wink%20nod%20nod,%20says%20Melville),%20and%20you%20have%20a%20head-spinning%20read%20on%20your%20hands.%20%20%20%20%20southworthThe%20Hidden%20Hand,%20or%20Capitola%20the%20Madcap%20(1859)%20by%20E.%20D.%20E.%20N.%20Southworth%20%20First%20published%20in%20serial%20form%20in%20the%20New%20York%20Ledger,%20The%20Hidden%20Hand%20pulls%20out%20all%20the%20stops,%20drawing%20on%20issues%20and%20events%20that%20had%20found%20a%20home%20in%20the%20American%20imagination.%20One%20of%20these%20is%20the%20plight%20of%20exiled%20French%20families%20who%20had%20fled%20to%20America%20to%20escape%20the%20bloody%20Revolution.%20Another%20is%20the%20frightening%20ease%20by%20which%20people%20could%20have%20relatives,%20spouses,%20or%20children%20committed%20to%20insane%20asylums.%20In%20doing%20research%20for%20a%20conference%20paper%20I%20was%20giving%20on%20this%20novel,%20I%20found%20numerous%20early-19th-century%20newspaper%20clippings%20about%20the%20practice%20of%20committing%20someone%20to%20the%20asylum%20and%20then%20taking%20all%20of%20their%20money.%20The%20Hidden%20Hand%20was%20pretty%20popular%20in%20its%20time.%20%20%20%20%20lippardThe%20Quaker%20City,%20or,%20The%20Monks%20of%20Monk%20Hall%20(1845)%20by%20George%20Lippard%20%20It%E2%80%99s%20lurid,%20it%E2%80%99s%20over-the-top%20(you%E2%80%99ll%20find%20phrases%20like%20%E2%80%9Cheaving%20bosoms%E2%80%9D%20and%20%E2%80%9Cbright%20red%20lips%E2%80%9D%20throughout),%20and%20it%E2%80%99s%20based%20on%20a%20true%20story%20of%20seduction%20and%20murder.%20Lippard%20used%20this%20novel%20as%20a%20vehicle%20to%20criticize%20what%20he%20saw%20as%20the%20corrupt%20Philadelphia%20elite%20of%20his%20time.%20The%20Quaker%20City%20isn%E2%80%99t%20a%20book,%20really,%20so%20much%20as%20an%20experience-%20it%E2%80%99s%20so%20unbelievably%20messed%20up%20that%20you%20just%20can%E2%80%99t%20look%20away.%20I%20remember%20coming%20in%20to%20class%20to%20discuss%20it%20and%20asking%20the%20professor%20if%20the%20book%20had%20been%20written%20as%20a%20joke.%20%20%20%20%20hopkinsOf%20One%20Blood,%20or%20The%20Hidden%20Self%20(1902-3)%20by%20Pauline%20Hopkins%20%20More%20fascinating%20than%20freaky,%20this%20novel%20by%20a%20prolific%20African%20American%20writer%20explores%20theories%20of%20a%20%E2%80%9Clost%20race%E2%80%9D%20in%20Ethiopia%20and%20argues%20against%20late-nineteenth%20and%20early-twentieth%20century%20white%20American%20claims%20of%20Anglo-Saxon%20cultural%20and%20racial%20superiority.%20The%20head-spinning%20part%20comes%20in%20when%20the%20American%20doctor%20(who%20is%20black%20but%20passes%20as%20white)%20discovers%20a%20hidden%20city%20with%20advanced%20technology.%20Never%20mind%20his%20research%20into%20%E2%80%9Cvolatile%20magnetism%E2%80%9D%20to%20bring%20people%20back%20from%20death,%20or%20clandestine%20marriages,%20or%20even%20references%20throughout%20to%20the%20popular%20opera%20Aida.%20Let%E2%80%99s%20just%20say%20that%20Of%20One%20Blood%20is%20quite%20the%20adventure." target="_blank">Book Riot 4/10/16</a>) Rachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634606691423431362.post-88625862883928131032016-05-22T01:08:00.003-07:002016-05-22T01:08:53.565-07:00More Bookish Ideas for James Patterson<a href="http://bookriot.com/2016/04/04/more-bookish-ideas-for-james-patterson/drone/" rel="attachment wp-att-95030" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="drone" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-95030" height="112" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/drone.gif" width="200" /></a>It seems that there’s nothing James Patterson won’t do to promote
books. In recent years, he’s given a ton of money to libraries and
independent booksellers, and now he’s trying to turn more people into
readers through “<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2016/mar/25/why-james-pattersons-fiction-factory-is-lining-up-more-books-in-short-shots">BookShots</a>“- short movie-like pieces that are faced-paced and easy to read.<br />
<br />
Well. We here at the Riot decided to brainstorm even MORE ideas for
James Patterson, in order to help him with his quest(?) to turn every
person on the planet into a reader:<br />
<br />
Patterson invents a brain implant that transmits books directly into your mind.<br />
<br />
Patterson rides around on drones, throwing books through people’s windows.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>James Patterson sets up a free sample table at your local grocery store, handing out chapters to unsuspecting shoppers.<br />
<br />
James Patterson becomes an Uber driver, handing out tiny bottles of water and chapters of his books to his fares.<br />
<br />
James Patterson starts a podcast that’s just a continuous loop of him telling people to read.<br />
<br />
James Patterson becomes a candy-striper, handing out Alex Cross
novels to everyone in the ICU and whispering “It could be worse. Just
wait until chapter 24.”<br />
<br />
James Patterson stands outside movie theaters trying to talk people
out of buying tickets. “Here, take this book, go home and read it
instead.”<br />
<br />
James Patterson will come tuck your kids into bed and read them a book so they will learn the value of reading books.<br />
<br />
James Patterson will call anyone too busy to read and read them one
page from a book each day until they’ve read the entire novel.<br />
<br />
James Patterson will interrupt your local programming to read you a short<br />
story.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://bookriot.com/2016/04/04/more-bookish-ideas-for-james-patterson/tv-read-a-book/" rel="attachment wp-att-95031" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="tv-read-a-book" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-95031" height="216" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/tv-read-a-book.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Instead of singing the National Anthem, James Patterson will open sporting events by reading a chapter out of his latest book.<br />
<br />
James Patterson will make books the prize in cereal boxes.<br />
<br />
James Patterson writes chapters in ketchup and mustard on hot dogs at baseball games.<br />
<br />
James Patterson writes six-word stories in the foam of lattes and other gourmet espresso beverages at boutique coffeehouses.<br />
<br />
James Patterson starts a line of temporary tattoos that allow you to write books across your body.<br />
<br />
James Patterson takes over major corporations to implement mandatory silent reading hours.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://bookriot.com/2016/04/04/more-bookish-ideas-for-james-patterson/chandler-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-95032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="chandler" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-95032" height="258" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/chandler.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
James Patterson buys all the advertisements on the L and subways and fills them with words.<br />
<br />
James Patterson hacks into Facebook and replaces all posts with entire chapters of books.<br />
<br />
James Patterson glues chapters above urinals in the men’s room.<br />
<br />
James Patterson develops a commercial virtual reality counsel and
markets it as a gamer’s delight, then secretly all of the games are just
reading exercises.<br />
<br />
James Patterson takes up flying and then pilots a biplane to write novels across the sky.<br />
<br />
James Patterson gives you your Chipotle guac for free if you listen to a story.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
(first posted on <a href="http://bookriot.com/2016/04/04/more-bookish-ideas-for-james-patterson/" target="_blank">Book Riot 4/4/16</a>) Rachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634606691423431362.post-56863815992642703862016-05-22T01:04:00.001-07:002016-05-22T01:05:12.278-07:00An Absolutely Serious Analysis of TOOTLE<a href="http://bookriot.com/?attachment_id=94524" rel="attachment wp-att-94524" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="tootle" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-94524" height="200" src="https://2982-presscdn-29-70-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/tootle.jpg" width="165" /></a>I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but <i>Tootle</i>, far from being a cute children’s book about a curious baby train, is actually virulent fascist propaganda.<br />
<br />
Now, my 3-year-olds are a little obsessed with it, and that’s fine.
It’s pretty amazing that they’ll sit through such a relatively lengthy
book right before bed. The content, though? Well, it’s really
problematic, but if my husband and I were to try reading a different
book while surreptitiously dropping <i>Tootle</i> into an industrial shredder, the twins would drop <i>us</i> into the industrial shredder instead so…<br />
<br />
But seriously, people. According to the story, this baby train named
“Tootle” goes to train school and takes classes in stopping for red
flags, staying on the rails (NO MATTER WHAT), and all kinds of other
things. But Tootle, being a curious, rambunctious creature, takes
off-rail romps through meadows, racing horses, making daisy-chains, and
generally having a helluva time. But the citizens of the town realize
that Tootle is breaking the cardinal rule (staying on the rails) and
they get together to teach him his lesson: i.e. do what you’re told and
stay on the straight and narrow or we’ll make you cry.<br />
<br />
<div class="inside-content-ad-container" id="inside-content-ad-94523">
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="inside-content-ad-container" id="inside-content-ad-94523">
So I ask you, what does <i>that</i> teach our children, hmm? First
of all, there are no “baby” trains. I mean, how would that even work?
Ok, maybe if we’re talking about organic machines or something, but
Tootle is not that. And even if trains were self-aware, why <i>and how</i>
would one jump off the rails to frolic in a field and then jump back
on? It’s called GRAVITY, people. Trains can’t just hop and skip like
they weigh nothing. Geez. This isn’t the f$#%ing moon.<br />
<br />
But this whole thing about STAYING ON THE RAILS NO MATTER WHAT. So
what if staying on the rails meant that Tootle would run over a poor
damsel in distress who was tied to the tracks by an evildoer man in a
bandanna? <i>Hmmmm?</i> Well, “no matter what” means no matter what.
He can’t question, he can’t wonder, he can’t explore, he can’t develop
his own unique worldview. NO. He must follow the path that others have
marked out for him.</div>
<br />
Follow those orders, Tootle.<br />
<br />
But it gets worse. At the end of the story, Tootle has not only
internalized the rules, but he is now telling other trains to do the
same thing. Get the kids while they’re young amirite?<br />
<br />
Anyway, you can continue to read <i>Tootle</i> to your kids if you want, but understand that you’ll be warping their malleable little brains. You’ve been warned.<br />
<br />
<hr />
Past Absolutely Serious Analyses:<br />
<i><a href="http://bookriot.com/2015/08/21/absolutely-serious-analysis-click-clack-moo/">Click, Clack, Moo</a></i><br />
<i><a href="http://bookriot.com/2015/08/28/absolutely-serious-analysis-not-hippopotamus/">But Not the Hippopotamus</a></i><br />
<i><a href="http://bookriot.com/2015/09/16/absolutely-serious-analysis-hungry-caterpillar/">The Very Hungry Caterpillar</a></i><br />
<i><a href="http://bookriot.com/2015/11/30/absolutely-serious-analysis-goodnight-moon/">Goodnight Moon</a></i><br />
<i><a href="http://bookriot.com/2015/10/08/absolutely-serious-analysis-tale-peter-rabbit/">The Tale of Peter Rabbit</a></i><br />
<br />
<br />
(first posted on <a href="http://bookriot.com/2016/03/29/absolutely-serious-analysis-tootle/" target="_blank">Book Riot 3/29/16</a>)Rachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634606691423431362.post-7210527604083547232016-05-09T20:27:00.002-07:002016-05-09T20:28:32.502-07:00Waistcoats, Weaponry, and Writing: An Interview with Gail Carriger<a href="http://i0.wp.com/www.sfsignal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Carriger.jpg?resize=251%2C300" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://i0.wp.com/www.sfsignal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Carriger.jpg?resize=251%2C300" border="0" src="http://i0.wp.com/www.sfsignal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Carriger.jpg?resize=251%2C300" height="200" width="167" /></a>Author <a href="http://www.gailcarriger.com/"><b>Gail Carriger</b></a> writes comedic steampunk mixed with urbane fantasy. Her <b>Parasol Protectorate</b> books, their manga adaptations, and the first two books in her YA <b>Finishing School</b> seriesabout Victorian girl spies were all <i>New York Times</i> bestsellers. Her newest book, <b>Waistcoats & Weaponry,</b> is out November 4th. She was once a professional archaeologist and is overly fond of tea.
<br />
Gail was kind enough to answer some questions about her latest novel
and writing in general. So pour yourself some tea, button that
waistcoat, and let’s get started!<br />
<hr />
<br />
<b>Rachel Cordasco: <i>Waistcoats & Weaponry</i> is the third book in your young adult steampunk <i>Finishing School</i> series: can you give us an overview of this latest installment and explain how it fits into the series as a whole?</b><br />
<br />
<b>Gail Carriger:</b> In this book Sophronia and her
friends finally get to spend time away from their school, putting all
their newly leaned spy skills to good use. There is a train heist, an
accidental kidnapping, a renewal of old acquaintances (not all of them
welcome) and, finally, some serious flirting. Also, I suspect someone
throws food at someone else – in my books, they usually do.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>RC: What drew you to the idea of a “finishing school”?</b><br />
<br />
<b>GC:</b> I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of girls’ boarding schools. I blame <b>A Little Princess</b>. However, I realized recently, as I was re-watching the BBC adaptation of Gaskell’s <b>North & South</b>,
that I think this TV series may be to blame. There is a line where Mr.
Bell says, “Have you meet Miss Latimer? Just returned from Switzerland
and very much finished.” Or something like. Mr. Bell is a facetious
character and I think he is meant to be contemptuously dismissing both
the young lady and the very idea of women being made into mere
representations of a minimalistic social ideal. But the line has always
stuck with me. It made me think about the very idea of sending girls
away from home to be finished, and what a powerful thing that could
become, were they to learn a whole new set of social skills.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>RC: How do you approach writing a series? Are all the books
mapped out beforehand and written together, or do you take time between
books?</b><br />
<br />
<b>GC:</b>
In this case, I knew exactly how many books would be in the series from
the start, so I mapped out a full arc. At the beginning, the prototype
seems a throw away plot point but as the series progresses it becomes
more significant. I hope that readers will see that Sophronia has
inadvertently been involved, from the very start, in a technological
revolution that has nation-wide implications. While each books stands
alone with its own story, it is the steampunk aspect of these books that
carries a plot thread from one novel to the next. In the final
installment, readers will get to see how Sophronia is, in part,
responsible for changes to her entire world. It is these changes that
result in the steampunk world of my two adult series.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>RC: What do you think humor adds to steampunk?</b><br />
<br />
<b>GC:</b> I think humor adds to all forms of literature,
not just steampunk. My hope is that it brings the reader joy and makes
reading a pleasure not a chore.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>RC: You’ve described steampunk fashion as “the lovechild of
Hot Topic and a BBC costume drama” (I just love that). What is it about
this kind of clothing that appeals to you?</b><br />
<br />
<b>GC:</b> I think it is the whimsy. Also I’ve never had
the courage to be a Goth, I’m a bit too bubbly to commit to that much
black. But I have always loved the alt-Victorian aspects of Goth attire.
Steampunk seems to be a lighter-hearted alternative. Also I don’t have
to wholly commit every day, I can just wear a bit of a steampunk
accessory here, a hair bob there. In the end, I guess I like it because
I’m lazy. Sad but true.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>RC: On your website you say that you “inadvertently acquired
several degrees in Higher Learning.” Which subjects did you study, and
how have they informed your writing?</b><br />
<br />
<b>GC:</b> I have a BA in Archaeology with minors in
Geology, Anthropology, Theology, Classics, and Philosophy. I have an MS
(MSc in the UK) in Archaeological Materials and an MA in Anthropology
(Archaeological Ceramics focus). Basically I’m an archaeological
scientist who concentrated on ceramic analysis, which meant I spent half
my time in a field lab and the other half in a university lab plopping
priceless antiquities into ridiculously expensive machines with very
long names. I suppose that being a devout academic has helped me in a
number of ways: research skills, respect for deadlines, ability to
outline, time management. Archaeologists are notorious for loving
charts, categories, statistics, and booze. We are a heavily social
science field: managing both stuff and people. Many of these
organizational skills are useful for the business end of writing. Most
of us authors are neurotic, I’m just lucky that my neuroses is mostly
spent obsessing over Excel spreadsheets. I’m proud to say that I have
actually caught mistakes on royalty statements. Yeah, I read them all.
As for the booze, well authors, like archaeologists, invariably end up
at the bar. So, yeah.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>RC: Who are your favorite writers and why?</b><br />
<br />
<b>GC:</b> Interesting, you asked me about writers, not
authors. So I’m going to take this as a query about my peers not my
preferences as a reader. To that end, I’m particularly fond of writers
who reach out and help their community by running blogs or podcasts.
Some of these have really helped me as a professional to weather the
slings and arrows of publishing, from negative reviews to how to format
an ebook. J. Daniel Sawyer of Literary Abominations is one of my best
friends and lifelines. I cannot tell you how many times he has saved my
bacon. (Also, we are also constantly writing each other into our
respective books.) Victoria Strauss and the Writer Beware team kept me
from getting into trouble before, during, and after transitioning to
professional author-doom. Mur Lafferty and her I Should Be Writing
Podcast still keep me sane. Patrick and the SF Signal roundtable peeps
give me much-needed water cooler moment between conventions. Tee Morris
(and later, Phillipa Balentine) started with the Survivor’s Guide
podcast and now has the Shared Desk, light-hearted takes on current
issues. I’ve recently gotten interested in the The Rocking Self
Publishing Podcast. Podcasters often have a certain perspective on
social media management and marketing that I find modern and
progressive. I also appreciate Kristine Kathryn Rusch for her Business
Rusch and Chuck for his ranting on Terribleminds.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>RC: What are you currently working on?</b><br />
<br />
<b>GC:</b> I’ve just handed in the final proofs for <b>Prudence</b>, the first book in my adult <b>Custard Protocol series</b>. That is out next March. Once I get back from World Fantasy and my <b>Waistcoats & Weaponry</b> book tour in DC, Boston, and Chicago, I expect edits on the final Finishing School book, <b>Manners & Mutiny</b>. That should take me through the end of the year.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>RC: Thanks so much for your time!</b><br />
<br />
<b>GC:</b> Thanks for hosting me.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
(first posted on SF Signal 11/4/2014) Rachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634606691423431362.post-16286310922716373952016-05-05T21:08:00.000-07:002016-05-05T21:08:57.815-07:00Review: Super Extra Grande by Yoss, translated by David Frye<a href="http://i1.wp.com/images.amazon.com/images/P/1632060566.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_SL400_.jpg?w=620" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://i1.wp.com/images.amazon.com/images/P/1632060566.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_SL400_.jpg?w=620" border="0" src="http://i1.wp.com/images.amazon.com/images/P/1632060566.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_SL400_.jpg?w=620" height="200" width="136" /></a><i><b>Super Extra Grande</b></i><b> by Yoss, translated by David Frye</b> (Restless Books, 160 pages, June 7) <br />
<br />
<br />
Thanks to Restless Books and translator David Frye, we have yet
another Yoss novel out of Cuba to brighten our year. Remember my review
last year of <a href="http://bookishlywitty.blogspot.com/2015/02/review-planet-for-rent-by-yoss.html" target="_blank"><i>A Planet for Rent</i></a>? Well, <i>Super Extra Grande</i> brings all of
the sardonic humor, unconventional characters, and fast-paced plot we’ve
come to expect. As one of Cuba’s best-known and beloved writers of
speculative fiction, Yoss continually inspires us with his visions of
alternative realities.<br />
<br />
In <i>Super Extra Grande</i>, he introduces us to Dr. Jan Amos Sangan Dongo,
“Veterinarian to the Giants”- that is, the guy who treats the galaxy’s
largest organisms: eighteen-hundred-meter-long tsunamis, titanic amoebae
of the planet Brobdingnag…you get the idea. Luckily, the good doctor
himself is pretty large, for a human, so he can tackle cases other vets
wouldn’t approach with a ten-foot pole.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>But let me step back a little and explain that in this future world,
faster-than-light space travel has finally been achieved, and it’s all
thanks to an Ecuadorian Jesuit priest named Father Salvador González in
2054. Because of this discovery, humans have made contact with several
other intelligent alien species and explored a number of fascinatingly
weird planets. Once in a while, a gigantic creature living on one of
these planets swallows an expensive bracelet, or a manned spacecraft,
and that’s where Dr. Sangan Dongo comes in. It can get pretty messy
sloshing around in all those leviathan intestines.<br />
<br />
When we first meet the doctor, he’s working his way through the
innards of a Nerean tsunami, searching for a bracelet that belongs to
the governor’s wife (she supposedly dropped it into the water). After
much gross rummaging about, Dr. Sangan Dongo retrieves the bracelet and
returns it to its rightful owner. He barely has time to recover, though,
before he’s out on another mission, this time to rescue his two former
female assistants who have been tasked with negotiating peace between a
human colony and an alien race over the right to occupy part of the
planet Urgh-Yhaly-Mhan.<br />
<br />
Apparently, their ship has been swallowed by a
laketon named Cosita: an amoeba almost two hundred kilometers wide. This
is not going to be easy…<br />
You can tell that Yoss had fun writing SUPER EXTRA GRANDE. Dr. Sangan
Dongo’s thoughts on interspecies relations, women, massive intestines,
and other subjects are marked by a mixture of wit and rancor. At once
proud of his own size and his chosen profession, the doctor is also
angsty and easily irritated, his intellect pulled in two different
directions by the radically opposed academic views of his brilliant
parents. And, since it’s always hard to find good help these days, his
newest assistant, a Laggoru named Narbuk, grates on his nerves.<br />
<br />
Just as the plot is over-the-top, the novel’s very structure is quite
playful. Along with straightforward dialogue and commentary by the
narrator, we also have notes toward a hypothetical autobiography, part
of a play, and a series of syllogisms. Oh, and the characters
communicate with one another in a form of “Spanglish.” (For example:
“Boss Sangan, please mira check. Ves now. Si el gobernador spoiled wife
damn bracelet be there, us probablemente nos leave.”)<br />
<br />
So if I haven’t yet convinced you to check out this work of witty
Cuban speculative fiction, then you’re as alien to me as the insides of a
laketon digestive tract.Rachel S. Cordascohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01060335400337208771noreply@blogger.com0