This is an archived issue of Belletrista. If you are looking for the current issue, you can find it here
Belletrista - A site promoting translated women authored literature from around the world
Photo of Herta Muller photo of beribboned books imagedescription

In Praise of Herta Müller: Winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize for Literature

Holiday shopping? Let us help you with the readers on your list!

Carolyn Kelly Muses about the Booker, the Frankfurt Book Fair, and the German Book Prize.

Welcome to the second issue of Belletrista! After the heady response to our launch issue, we're thrilled to be back to celebrate more astonishingly diverse works from talented women the world over. In this issue, you'll find alluring reviews of books from Mexico, Iceland, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Russia, and more. Don't miss the informative feature on the Ugandan women writers' association, Femrite, and the enlightening companion article profiling meritorious Ugandan authors. We've also, in our unique way, endeavored to shed some light on the Booker, Nobel and Giller Prizes. Finally, with the holidays in mind, we offer a host of gift suggestions to help you find the best picks for yourself, and the book-loving folk in your life. Happy (armchair) travels!

Reviews
Below are a tantalizingly small selection of this month's reviews....
Book cover
SOME DREAM FOR FOOLS
Faiza Guene
Translated from the French by Jenna Johnson

This mostly-optimistic young lady is not your typical youth. She is a streetwise tomboy who has learned to take care of herself...
READ MORE

Reviewed by Akeela Gaibie-Dawood
Book cover
ZUBAIDA'S WINDOW: A NOVEL OF IRAQI EXILE
Iqbal Al-Qazwini
Translated from the Arabic by Azza El-Kholy and Amira Nowaira

In her sitting room in Berlin, Zubaida watches in horror as her homeland is ravaged publicly on the TV screen during the 2003 invasion of Iraq...
READ MORE

Reviewed by Akeela Gaibie-Dawood
Book cover
THE BRIDGE OF THE GOLDEN HORN
Emine Sevgi Ozdamar
Translated from the German by Martin Chalmers and John Berger

The Bridge of the Golden Horn is the story of Turkey and ultimately the story of every struggle, oppression and revolution.
READ MORE

Reviewed by Andrew Stancek
Book cover
BOOK OF CLOUDS
Chloe Aridjis

Over its brief span, Book of Clouds explores "the phenomenology of space", the accommodation of the past by the present, and the uneasy relationship between nature and the built environment.
READ MORE

Reviewed by F. T. Huffkin
Book cover
WHERE THE LINE BLEEDS
Jesmyn Ward

Jesmyn Ward's debut novel is set in the world she herself grew up in – small-town Mississippi, right on the Gulf of Mexico. It's not an area of the world I knew much about...
READ MORE

Reviewed by Rachel Hayes


FEMRITE and Ugandan Women Writers
Map of Uganda A peek into an dynamic organization created to nurture women writers and a deeper look at five of its splendid writers.
Women Writers Dominate the Giller Prize
Photo of Kim Echlin, Annabel Lyon and Alice Munro An unprecedented ten of the twelve long-listed books were written by women writers. Three remain on the shortlist. Joyce Nickels takes us on a whirlwind tour of the authors and their books...
New Biographies of Women Authors
Photo of actor representing the Alcott family 2009 has been a great year for biographies (and at least one documentary). Check out our list.
New and Notable Books
Photo of a pile of books Our latest collection of intriguing titles for November and December.

Belletrista - Issue 2
November/December 2009

Keep up with the latest
news from Belletrista!

Sign up for emails:

Celebrate women writers from around the world with us! Receive this thank you gift when you donate $50 or more.



Links we like Archived Issues
Missed an issue? No problem!
- Issue 1
Bookmark and Share
Twitter logo Follow us on Twitter!
@Belletrista Librarything logo

[Copyright/Privacy/Terms of Service] Site by W2 Solutions