August is the official Women in Translation Month, first established by Meytal Radzinski back in 2014 (you can learn more about it here). Like last year, I plan to only review books by women in translation for the whole of August, and I have a few interesting titles lined up—but if anyone out there would … Continue reading 12 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WOMEN IN TRANSLATION MONTH
James and Julie Khoury are in love. When James confesses to Julie that he's developed a serious gambling problem, they decide to move from the city to a small town, in the hopes it'll give him/them a fresh start. They find the perfect house: spacious, near the woods, and near a lake as well. Except—things … Continue reading REVIEW: THE GRIP OF IT, BY JAC JEMC (2017) (OR, HORROR NOVELS vs. HORROR FILMS)
I've been suffering from reader's block recently, so I don't have any fresh new reviews this week, despite having a number of excellent books on the go. However, it's also the mid-point of 2018, more or less, so I figured this would be a good time to look back and take stock of the highlights … Continue reading THE TEN BEST BOOKS I’VE READ IN 2018 (SO FAR)
The year is 1211. Severed heads wash up on the shoreline near the small monastic outpost at Clynnog Fawr, in Wales. The heads have had their hair shaved off at the top and in front, which suggests they're bards. The monks quickly figure out that there must have been a massacre at the Bardic School … Continue reading REVIEW: THE ASSEMBLY OF THE SEVERED HEAD, BY HUGH LUPTON (2018)
Woman at Sea is a novel that wastes no time. When we first meet her, on page 1, Lili has already packed he bags. She's French, she lives in France, in a town she calls "Manosque-les-Sorrow", but she's off to Alaska, "to the ends of the earth, the limitless oceans, to the glassy calm and … Continue reading REVIEW: WOMAN AT SEA, BY CATHERINE POULAIN, TRANSLATED BY ADRIANA HUNTER (2018)
My mind is seldom quiet when I read. Over the past year and two months, I've reviewed at least one book each week, with almost no weeks off. As a result, I've become better at formulating opinions on the books I read. I've learned tricks—like reading part of the book aloud to myself, to get … Continue reading NON-REVIEW: THE WHITE BOOK, BY HAN KANG, TRANSLATED BY DEBORAH SMITH (2018)
Toby Litt is a novelist. His great-great-great grandfather, William Litt, was a novelist and a champion wrestler. William Litt wrote a book titled Wrestliana. It came out in 1823, and it was the first book ever written and published about wrestling—its history, theory, and practice, and why it's better than all other sports. Toby Litt also wrote a book … Continue reading REVIEW: WRESTLIANA, BY TOBY LITT (2018)
When I finished reading Olga Tokarczuk's Flights, I immediately found a spot for it on my shelves, between Season of Migration to the North and Naondel. And suddenly I was truck by how small an object it is. It spans so many topics and countries and centuries that it should be Atlas-sized, or several volumes … Continue reading REVIEW: FLIGHTS, BY OLGA TOKARCZUK, TRANSLATED BY JENNIFER CROFT (2017)
Naples. It's raining, and it doesn't look it'll ever stop. The streets flood, a sinkhole forms in Via Tasso, a building collapses in Via Aniello Falcone. The sinkhole kills two people, the building five. Disquieting sounds (something like this, perhaps) resonate from the castle in the city centre. Creepy dolls appear in the most unexpected … Continue reading REVIEW: MALACQUA, BY NICOLA PUGLIESE, TRANSLATED BY SHAUN WHITESIDE (2017)
Many of the books I read, I end up approaching like puzzles. Why does Michael Donkor's Hold end the way it does? Is there any way I can look past Jhumpa Lahiri's translation when trying to figure out whether Domenico Starnone's Trick is any good? Why are the chapter numbers in Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay's Panty seemingly … Continue reading REVIEW: EAT UP, BY RUBY TANDOH (2018)
