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Belletrista - A site promoting translated women authored literature from around the world
photo of Sigrid Nunez Photo of Kamila Shamsie Photo of cupcake with one candle

US author Sigrid Nunez discusses her new novel with Joyce Nickel

TRIO: Three remarkable works by Kamila Shamsie by
Caitlin Fehir

Belletrista turns one! A brief retrospective and a look ahead

With this issue, Belletrista completes its first year. We at Belletrista would like to thank those of you spread across this great blue planet who read our little 'zine and also use it as a resource for your personal reading, your bookclubs, or your classes. May we continue to endeavor to deserve your attention in the coming year! With this issue, we debut a new feature we are calling "Conversations" and also our Belletrista blog, "If Written by a Woman," an exciting venture we hope you will all be part of. There are more exciting things ahead!

Reviews
Click on 'Reviews' to see the full list of this issue's reviews...
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MANAZURU
Hiromi Kawakami
Translated from the Japanese by Michael Emmerich

Kei Yanagimoto's husband walked out without explanation and without a breath of further contact with her or their three year old daughter, leaving her in a strange limbo for twelve years …
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Reviewed by Tui Menzies
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SHADOW
Karin Alvtegen
Translated from the Swedish by McKinley Burnett

A child of four is found abandoned in an amusement park with little more than some crumbs, an empty juice bottle, a tape recorder, and a Bambi book by his side. There's also a note …
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Reviewed by Akeela Gaibie-Dawood
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THE FROZEN HEART
Almudena Grandes
Translated from the Spanish by Frank Wynne

Since the World Cup Final, all Spaniards will be proud of the victory of their team; Spaniards across the world have celebrated for weeks, basking in their glory. Yet, for many Spaniards they will also hesitate at the sight of their flag, which carried the black eagle until 1981, to many, the symbolism of the Franco state, a reminder of outcome of the Spanish Civil War.
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Reviewed by Ceri Evans
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SONG OVER QUIET LAKE
Sarah Felix Burns

Sylvia is a troubled twenty-something student, and Lydie is an eighty-two year old Tlingit woman from the Yukon who knows exactly where she stands in her life. When the two women meet …
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Reviewed by Joyce Nickel
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LIMESTONE
Fiona Farrell

Although the latest novel by award winning New Zealand writer Fiona Farrell seems slight and fairly unassuming in appearance, within its pages Farrell dwells on the "big" issues—why are we here, who made us, what are we and where are we going.
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Reviewed by Dorothy Vinicombe


CONVERSATIONS:
Book Cover: Sky Burial
A discussion of Xinran's Sky Burial between three Belletrista readers.
AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS
Three floral square image
Looking for a great book? Check out these recent award-winners!
If Written By a Woman
Visit our new Belletrista blog!
The Caine Prize for African Writing 2011 – shortlist announced

The shortlist for this year’s Caine Prize has just been announced and three women are in the running for the prestigious award. This is always an exciting time of year – the Prize is a great way to discover short stories by excellent writers. Lucky for us, the Prize’s website links to a copy of …Read the Rest