| This is an archived issue of Belletrista. If you are looking for the current issue, you can find it here |
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Caitlin Fehir interviews Cristina Rivera-Garza, Winner of the 2009 Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize.
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16 Reviews of Classic and Contemporary Latin American & Brazilian Novels!
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Ceri Evans reports from the recent International PEN "Free the Word!" event in London.
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Reviews
Click on 'Reviews' to see the full list of this issue's reviews...
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WILDLIVES
Monique Proulx
Translated from the French by David Homel and Fred A. Reed
Monique Proulx's narrative is saturated with a gorgeous combination of words and images making up foliage as dense as a Canadian forest. Ants and mosquitoes bite at her prose while wild mushrooms tempt the reader's emotions, but not without their hidden poisons.
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Reviewed by C. Lariviere
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THE CHALK CIRCLE MAN
Fred Vargas
Translated from the French by Siân Reynolds
Unusual, unorthodox, and uncanny is how I might sum up the detective we are introduced to in Fred Vargas's first "Commissaire Adamsberg" mystery. And if you are a seasoned reader of detective fiction, this novel—this detective—may cause you to question the very reasons you read in this genre.
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Reviewed by Kate Morgan
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FROM WŎNSO POND
Kang Kyŏng-ae
Translated from the Korean by Samuel Perry
What a journey this book has taken! In order to fully appreciate this treasure of Korean literature, you will need some background information before you start to read. From Wŏnso Pond first appeared in serialised form in a daily newspaper in Korea. Although published as a novel in 1940, the book did not pick up a wide readership in Korea until 1953. It was another fifty-six years before it would be translated into English.
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Reviewed by Amanda Meale
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THE SONG HOUSE
Trezza Azzopardi
The Song House once again revives the theme of past secrets. Maggie Nix turns up at Earl House in a freakish heatwave, interviewing for a job as assistant to the elderly Kenneth Earl. Increasingly aware of the shortcomings of his own memory, Kenneth has decided he needs to create a memoir, constructed around his voluminous library of recordings. Charmed by Maggie, he offers her the job…
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Reviewed by Rachael Beale
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HOTEL IRIS
Yoko Ogawa
Translated from the Japanese by Stephen Snyder
Hotel Iris was published in Japan in 1996 and only now, 14 years later, is it finally available in English. Fortunately, thanks to the efforts of Stephen Snyder, it is worth waiting for.
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Reviewed by Andy Barnes
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Closing Escape Hatches and Emerging Humor
Jean Hughes Raber looks at post-millennium dystopian novels by women.
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Trio: Clarice Lispector
Rachel Hayes reviews three books by the internationally acclaimed Brazilian author.
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Listening to Nawal el Saadawi
Coming from the International PEN "Free the Word!" festival, Charlotte Simpson introduces us to Egyptian
writer, psychiatrist and political activist Nawal el Saadawi.
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Awards & Nominations
Looking for a great book to read? Here we present some of the recent award-winning or award-nominated books
by women writers from around the world.
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