Belletrista

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


Andy Barnes tells us why Hanan al-Shaykh is "one of the Middle East's finest contemporary writers"	Don't Stop the Presses! Women's and Feminist Presses	Ways of Seeing: Two Novels by Australian author Gail Jones

Welcome, readers, to our eighth issue. Like all previous issues we have stuffed this one full of great books and authors for you to discover. Whether you would like to read a book written by an author from places far from where you are or one close to home, we have a book here for you! We've featured Lebanese author Hanan al-Shaykh and Australian author Gail Jones in this issue, and also have highlighted ten women's or feminist presses publishing in English. Three of our readers take part in the 2nd of our "Conversations", discussing the novel Touch by Palestinian author Adania Shibli. And please check out our blog (link further down on the page) and talk to us!

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

THE SAGA OF GÖSTA BERLING

Selma Lagerlöf

Translated from the Swedish by Paul Norlen

The Saga of Gösta Berling moves freely from lyrical celebrations of nature to harshly realistic descriptions of industry, and on into the realms of folklore and fairytale. Were the book published today, we might …
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Reviewed by Jane A. Jones

CECILIA

Linda Ferri

Translated from the Italian by Ann Goldstein

Inspired by the legend of Cecilia, Linda Ferri's novel is set in second century Rome under the rule of Caesar and the ancient Roman gods. In a society where men dominate, and women are meant to be silent and submissive, we meet …
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Reviewed by Akeela Gaibie-Dawood

AM I A REDUNDANT HUMAN BEING?

Mela Hartwig

Translated from the German by Kerri Pierce

Am I a Redundant Human Being?traces the innermost thoughts of Aloisia Schmidt. Aloisia thinks of herself as mediocre in almost every regard. She is neither pretty nor ugly, clever nor stupid, and is unremarkable in …
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Reviewed by Andy Barnes

CITY OF THE QUEEN

Shih Shu-Ching

Translated by Sylvia Li-chun Lin and Howard Goldblatt

Hong Kong in the cyclone season: intense humidity; wooded mountains stretching steeply upwards, encircling the harbour, shrouded in a grey soupy mist; star ferries and sampans anchored in the stormy waters. Stepping onto land …
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Reviewed by Ceri Evans

TWILIGHT FOREVER RISING

Lena Meydan

Translated from the Russian by Andrew Bromfield

Lena Meydan's novel Twilight Forever Rising (originally titled Blood Brothers in Russian, perhaps changed in translation to capitalize on the Twilight phenomenon)—the first installment of a best-selling fantasy series in Russia—depicts a world in which humans unknowingly coexist with vampires who are the real forces behind politics, art, and war.
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Reviewed by F. P. Crawford

CONVERSATIONS:

Three Belletrista readers discuss Touch by Palestinian author Adania Shibli.

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

Belletrista - Issue 8
Nov/Dec 2010

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Archived Issues
Missed an issue? No problem!
- Issue 7 Sept/Oct 2010
- Issue 6 July/Aug 2010
- Issue 5 May/June 2010
- Issue 4 Mar/Apr 2010
- Issue 3 Jan/Feb 2010
- Issue 2 Nov/Dec 2009
- Issue 1 Sept/Oct 2009

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