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...

WHAT YOU CALL WINTER

Nalini Jones

Nalini Jones' short story collection opens a door into an India you may never have encountered before. Yes, you will still encounter the saris, the curries, the streets full of rickshaws and bullocks, but this special world has another delicious flavor all its own.
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Reviewed by Kathleen Ambrogi

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

INDELIBLE INK

Fiona MacGregor

Indelible Ink is like a time capsule. Topical references abound including the recent global financial crisis as it affects these Sydneysiders. Mostly, though, this is a very Australian novel.
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Reviewed by Amanda Meale

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

THERE ONCE LIVED A WOMAN WHO TRIED TO KILL HER NEIGHBOR'S BABY: SCARY FAIRY TALES

Ludmilla Petrushevskaya

Translated from the Russian by Keith Gessen and Anna Summers

Wow! Ludmilla Petrushevskaya is big news in Russia, but was little known in the English-speaking world before the publication of this collection by Penguin in 2009. I hope much more of her work is published in English, because, on the evidence of this collection, she is a stunningly good writer.
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Reviewed by Tim Jones

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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