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Explore Africa! Click here to go to reviews of 20 great books written by African women.
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We interview Najat El-Hachmi, author of The Last Patriarch.
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Specters by Egyptian author Radwa Ashour, Chapter One
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Reviews
Click on 'Reviews' to see the full list of this issue's reviews...
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SMUGGLED
Christina Shea
This is a story about getting lost and being found. It begins in the perfect time and place for a tale of identity stolen, transformed and rediscovered: 1943, in the midst of the Holocaust. You might think you can imagine what comes next, but that's unlikely. The story is surprising yet realistic, one that has not been told often enough. What happened to the Holocaust survivors who ended up trapped behind the Iron Curtain…
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Reviewed by Kathleen Ambrogi
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THIS TOO SHALL PASS
S. J. Finn
I inhale. Realign my chair, which slides a little too easily under me. I do have one niggling concern (there are several but this is the one that comes to mind): while I will go on feeling as transparent as air, what I'm about to put in writing will show itself in a dense hue, one that might even shock me. —With these thoughts we are introduced to Jen, now known as Monty, who goes on to simply and honestly recount the changes that have occurred in her life.
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Reviewed by Judy Lim
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MY SISTER CHAOS
Lara Fergus
This fine novel grows out of the tension between order and chaos. Civil war brings chaos to previously orderly lands, and maps bring order and a finite structure to an endlessly disordered world. Yet seeking perfect order in life can itself bring a sort of chaos. These tensions play out in the lives of two sisters, refugees from a country destroyed by war.
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Reviewed by Michael W. Matthew
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THE COOKBOOK COLLECTOR
Allegra Goodman
The Cookbook Collector is one of those instantly engaging books that makes you want to tell all your friends that they must read it even when you are only half way through the novel yourself. Author Allegra Goodman did herself a disservice when she described her new novel as "Sense and Sensibility for the digital age", particularly given the number of outraged responses that subsequently appeared on Jane Austen fan pages. Goodman deals with much bigger issues than Jane Austen ever aspired to write about in her novels, however exquisite those classics might be.
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Reviewed by Dorothy Dudek Vinicombe
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THE SKIN OF THE SKY
Elena Poniatowska
Translated from the Spanish by Deanna Heikennen
The Skin of the Sky follows the life of Lorenzo de Tena, one of Mexico's most celebrated astronomers. His childhood bond with his doting mother is shattered by her early death, leaving him to be raised by an apathetic father. His mother's …
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Reviewed by Andy Barnes
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Ali Smith's
There But For the
An extended review by Rachael Beale
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If Written By a Woman
Visit our new Belletrista blog!
The Caine Prize for African Writing 2011 – shortlist announcedThe 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
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