Belletrista

This is an archived issue of Belletrista. If you are looking for the current issue, you can find it here


TRIO! Ceri Evans discusses three books by Egyptian author Ahdaf Soueif.	"Seven Little Rooms" - original fiction by notable Hindi author Mridula Garg.	Who Has the Power? Reading Arab Women in English by M. Lynx Qualey

Welcome, readers, to our sixth issue! Besides our regular review section featuring an array of intriguing books, and the tantalizing previews of new books in our New & Notable section, we have provided you with a compelling mix of fascinating articles this issue. There is a thought-provoking piece on reading the work of Arab Women in translation, one of our "Trios" explores three books by Ahdaf Soueif, and we report back from the splashy Book Expo America. In this issue we are honored to introduce to our readers the eminent Indian author Mridula Garg with two pieces: the first is an original short story translated from the Hindi by the author herself, and a second piece by Sunita Jain on Ms. Garg's place in literature.

We hope you enjoy this wonderful issue and with it we complete our first year of celebrating literature written by women all over the world! Thank you for being a part of our reading community.

Reviews
Click on 'Reviews' to see the full list of this issue's reviews...

THE CONFESSIONS OF NOA WEBER

Gail Hareven

Translated from the Hebrew by Dalya Bilu

If you expect fiction to have plot, then this award-winning novel by Israeli author Gail Hareven is probably not the book for you! However, if you wish to experience living in someone else's head, reading The Confessions of Noa Weber will offer you very rare insights into …
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Reviewed by Dorothy Dudek Vinicombe

NO PLACE FOR HEROES
/ DEMASIADOES HÉROES

Laura Restrepo

Mateo Iribarren addresses his mother, Lorenza, about what happened during the dark period; the period when his father kidnapped him, leaving his mother behind. And thus she begins:You were two and a half years old. It was a Thursday afternoon, and you, your Father and I, were in Independence Park in Bogotá.
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Reviewed by C. Lariviere

WHO FEARS DEATH

Nnedi Okorafor

Nnedi Okarafor's fanciful and furious novel Who Fears Death is a truly strange hybrid, combining "ripped from the headlines" details of genocide, rape, and female genital mutilation with lyrical descriptions of African deserts and fantastical elements like dueling sorcerers and shape-shifting. It shouldn't work—but it does, and I was drawn in…
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Reviewed by F. P. Crawford

THAT MAD ACHE

Françoise Sagan

Translated from the French by Douglas Hofstadter

That Mad Ache takes us to glamorous 1960s Paris, a world of money, parties and passions. Lucile, a restless young woman, lives with her older, rich lover Charles. They enjoy a tranquil relationship, he responding to her frequent whims as one might indulge a child. . .
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Reviewed by Charlotte Simpson