2011 Holiday Guide

~virtual salon dedicated to promoting international literature~

Hello Holiday Fans!

This is the time of year when the onslaught of Best of and Holiday lists are in high demand and supply. I have chosen what I would give to my friends and family, co-workers and anyone you want to impress. All superbly written, I hope you think about purchasing a few from your local bookstore.

The links will lead you to the Indiebound site which will hook you up with an independent bookstore near you or one that can ship to you. Please shop local. It means so much at the Holidays and all year round.

Read and give wisely as always.

Please enjoy!

Happy Holidays~

Monica Carter, Curator of Salonica

The Read-a- Page a Day Book

Stone Upon Stone~Wieslaw Mysliwski(trans. Bill Johnston)~Poland: Okay, I recommended this last year, but it is just that good. The main character of this novel, Szymek Pietruszka, has done it all--a guerrilla soldier, wedding official, barber, policeman, lover, drinker and caretaker. A novel that is pastoral, humorous, poignant and full of philosophical lessons learned from a life well-lived, this is story that reaches out to every reader who wants more than a good story. Give this to those who demand more from their literature than a book that will be a movie soon.

1Q84~Haruki Murakami(trans. Jay Rubin and Phillip Gabriel)~Japan: What can you possibly say? It's Murakami. Me and every other anyone is recommending this. The reason is because he is just that good. Also, it will please practically any type of booklover on your list. Fantasy? Covered. Romance reader? Covered. Highbrow reader? Covered. Dystopian fanatic? Covered. He had me at "The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo." After you spend enough time in Murakami's parallel existence, watch Lost in Translation to bring your mind back to center.

Apricot Jam and Other Stories~Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn(Kenneth Lantz and Stephan Solzhenitsyn)~Russia: Never before published in English! Nobel Prize winner! Set during and after the Soviet Regime! Creator of the "binary" method, Solzhenitsyn employs two narratives that oppose or contrast each other in most of these nine short stories for a powerful effect. Whether a man who loves history, a woman who lives fiction or a kid about to join the underground, Solzhenitsyn is a perfect gift.

I Am A Writer. Really.

The Secret History of Costaguana~Juan Gabriel Vasquez(trans. Anne McLean)~Columbia: First of all, this guy is funny. I mean, in an 'International Algonquin Round Table witty-type funny' kind-of-a-way. It's 1924 and Jospeh Conrad has just died. Obits everywhere are regaling his masterwork, Nostromo. But as it turns out, years earlier, Jose Altamirano, has told his life story to Conrad which became Nostromo. Out for cosmic justice, Altamirano 'must write himself back into existence.' Altamirano gives us exotic locales, desperation of a writer and the perspicacity of a man who has seen it all.

I Am A Japanese Writer~Dany Laferriere(trans. David Homel)~Haiti: As Mary Kay Ash said, "Fake till you make it." The narrator refuses categorization by ethnicity and simply states that he 'takes on the nationality of the reader.' A black writer living in Montreal gets a huge advance based on the title of his next book, I Am a Japanese Writer. Unable to write any of it, he declares that he is a Japanese writer in a mall. This goes viral which brings on bizarre, surreal and nightmarish results. What is the meaning of art and who makes it? Great for the thinker, philosopher or writer on the list.

Never Any End to Paris~Enrique Vila-Matas(trans. Anne McLean)~Spain: Living in Marguerite Duras's garret? Heaven or Hell? You decide. It's the seventies and you don't have any money. You're hobnobbing with Duras and her intellectual compatriots like Beckett and Perec. Even if you weren't a writer, you would have sense enough to write about it. Thus it goes. Years later the protagonist, a "lecturer" who is obviously the author, chronicles his time with Duras. Well-written, wry and teeming with Parisian intellectual cache, Vila-Matas is what you give terminal English major.

Lunar Savings Time~Alex Epstein(trans. Becka Mara McKay)~Israel: We all know someone who likes either Kafka or Borges or both. More than likely, they've exhausted their canons. Never fear! Alex Epstein is here to save the day. Not only is he here to save the day, but he does it with the tiniest of microfictions, little gems to slip in the back pocket of your mind. A woman finds a piano in the forest, a graphomaniac's nightmare, a black angel gets shot are a few of the highly imaginative scenarios for his microfictions. Read the collection in one sitting or savor one before moving on to the next, this the perfect gift for the modernist who has a busy schedule.

Let's Talk About Love, Baby

age

Enough About Love~Herve Le Tellier(trans.Adriana Hunter)~France: Ah, the French. They love a good affair. Even more than Beaujolais. You have two married women, Louise and Anna, and two single men, Yves and Thomas. Anna and Yves. Louise and Thomas. Two, two affairs for the price of one. Besides short, incisive chapters and creativity abounding, it's an honest portrayal of true love when you thought you'd already married it. It makes you want to fall in love over and over again. Jackpot for the romantics on your list.

Fair Play~Tove Jansson(trans.Thomas Teal)~Finland: Tove Jansson is a master of the understated and finely strung relationship. Her prose is never overt, gaudy or blatant; it is the kind of prose that leaves the story to the reader. She doesn't tell us what to think of this long-lasting creative between artist, Jonna, and writer, Mari, she presents the relationship without judgment or agenda. An elegant exploration of what intimacy means past the physical and constraints of new love.

Seven Years~Peter Stamm(trans. Michael Hofmann)~Switzerland: This is no surprise that this was one of my favorite novels of the last year. Trust me. I can't gush more than I did here. A romance novel for men. Also, Stamm is akin to a Swiss Hemingway: sparse, heavy-lifting prose minus the sentimentality.

All Our Worldly Goods~Irene Nemirovsky(trans.Sandra Smith)~France: A twentieth century version of the Capulets and the Montagues. For any romantic, it doesn't get much better than the storytelling style of Irene Nemirovsky. Pierre and Agnes marry against the wishes of practically everyone and thus begins a serious family feud that spans generations. This novel was all written before Suite Francaise which shows she is not a one hit wonder. For moms and Austen lovers.

This is Where I Live

Kornel Esti~Dezso Kosztolanyi(trans. Bernard Adams)~Hungary: Here is another one that I have reviewed in the past year and feels that it deserves your attention during the season of gift giving. It is poignant and surreal. If you have a Hungarian friend or a family member who longs for the ole country, this is a sure winner. If you want to learn about the Hungarian people, this is a must read. Really. It's one man's alter ego and himself who write a book of where they have both been and what they have both scene. It will make you laugh; it will make you cry. It will be a perfect gift.

Scenes from a Village Life~Amos Oz(trans. Nicholas de Lange)~Israel: Israeli writer Amos Oz's collection of stories about the secrets of village that live among the dirt and ruins will hit a note with anyone who knows the effects of war whether it be city, town or village. Very similar to the cinematic tone of Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon, there is a feeling of desolation and doom among the ravages of a small village. Quiet and powerful, this is a literary collection who like their reads raw, brutal and beautiful.

The Brummstein~Peter Adolphsen(trans. Charlotte Barslund)~Denmark: A slim but mighty read, Adolphsen's novel is for the poor friend that is amidst an existential dilemma. Let's say it's 1907 and you find a rock in a cave that buzzes and hums. You don't run with fear, you pick it up and take it home. Then when you expire, you will it to your nephew. Through the hands of people through time, this rock travels a journey full of highs and lows. Touching and a deep contemplation on the meaning of life, it's sure to calm even the most neurotic of readers.

The Walls Have Ears

Fatale~Jean-Patrick Manchette(trans. Donald Nicholson-Smith)~France: You have a knock-out, cold professional killer who moves to a small town. She's there to avenge some business and ends up losing her killing instinct because she falls in love. Hey, professional killers need love, too. This slim, farcical noir spy novel will make you think twice about the next person you date. If you wonder how you got somebody so smart and good-looking, remember that he/she could be a killer. You have to draw a line somewhere. Look for the next Julia Roberts/Garry Marshall product about the killer with a heart of gold. Calling all LA Femme Nikita fans.

Passage of Tears~Abdourahman A. Waberi(trans. David and Nicole Ball)~Republic of Djibouti: There's a young man named Djibril who has exiled from Djibouti to Canada, but now returns for important business - prepping an economic report for an American intelligence firm. And that's not it. There is also an evil prisoner who has somehow been forced to take down the random preachings of his cellmate. Only the words that come out just happen to be the life story of Walter Benjamin, Djibril's favorite author. How this all connects is mind-blowing and Waberi has concocted with his magical alchemy a tale that blends political thriller, legends, spy novel, and the diary of a man tailor made for the know-it-all. Not to mention the fact that being able to casually toss off, "He just so happens to be one of the preeminent French-Djiboutian authors out there" to the surprised giftee.

Sorry~Zoran Dvenkar(trans.Shaun Whiteside)~Croatia: Take a group of four disaffected youths who have nothing better to do than form an agency named Sorry that helps the cowards do their dirty work like dump a lover or fire an employee and there you have a perfect scenario for some really heinous things to go down. If there is someone on your list that is into raw, gruesome, imaginative and compelling thrillers, DO NOT PASS THIS UP! This is a must-give for a tough guy, a wanna-be tough guy, or a woman with dreams of vengeance. I doubt your granny will find this a delight to read in her flannel nightie sipping some tea late eves by the fire, but then again, this would scare the flannel nightie off anyone.

I Am Not Who You Think I Am

Montecore~Jonas Hassin Khemiri(tran. Rachel Willson-Broyles)~Sweden: You ever have one of those moments where you learn something about one of your parents that completely astounds and mystifies you? Maybe they were a special agent or a trapeze artist or a rabbit breeder, but it is something that you couldn't ever imagine them doing. Or how about a father who is a world renowned photographer that you have no relationship with and really had no idea who he was. That is, of course, until a friend of his, Kadir, writes to you and tells you the real story of his friend Abbas, your father. Jonas, a novelist, learns about all his father's inner-most thoughts and emotional depth through a emotional and humorous correspondence with Kadir. This opens up to him the past of Tunisian orphan, full of vulnerability and mad creative passion, who kturns out to be his father. This is perfect for adult children who think they know their mother and father. When they finish this book, they will realize that they did quite a bit besides become their parents. Go ahead, give this to anyone who needs to be reminded that their parents are people, too.

Lightning~Jean Echenoz(trans. Linda Coverdale)~France: Is there anyone better at the fictionalized biography than Jean Echenoz? No, I dare say. Yes, I reviewed this and fell in love with it. I choose it as a gift for those who love a good biography. The one who always asks the questions but never reveals anything she doesn't want you to know. Echenoz takes the life of Nikola Tesla and renders it a tale of rags to riches and back to rags again through the life of a man called Gregor. The nosy Nelly will thank you profusely and might even reveal a secret to you;)

The Mirador: The Dreamed Memories of Irene Nemirovsky by Her Daughter~Elisabeth Gille(trans. Marina Harss)~France: You got me. I am a sucker for Irene Nemirovsky. Also a sucker for stories about mothers the children never really knew. Nemirovsky's daughter, Elisabeth(who was five years old at the time), last saw her mother when Irene was taken off to the concentration camp. When Elisabeth was older, she re-imagines her mother's childhood. Spanning decades and Nemirovsky's trials and tribulations, Gille paints a troubling and harrowing portrait of her mother, a woman who wanted to write and whose success outlasted her brief life. For those who like history and stories filled with love, strength and empathy, this is a winner.

Stocking Stuffers

The Hall of the Singing Caryatids~Victor Pelevin(trans. Andrew Bromfield)~Russia: If there is a scyfy freak on your list, pick up the hilarious Pelevin. Full of sex and politics, it's a great parody on consumerism and politics. If a story about frozen singing women working in a high-class bordello catering to affluent Russian men and Russian politicos, I don't know what will. But here is my review to entice you further.

The Seamstress and the Wind~Cesar Aira(trans. Rosalie Knecht)~Argentina: It's Aira. It's wild and wacky. It's imaginative and mind-boggling. It's about a seamstress residing in Buenos Aires who, in the midst of sewing a wedding dress, is overcome with paranoia that her son has been kidnapped. She abandons the wedding dress to hop in a cab and find her son. Sure, there is Aira's signature unique sense of humor and invention, but he takes us all over the world and through the gamut of emotions. Ultimately, it comes down to love, though, doesn't it? Stuff it!

An Empty Room~Mu Xin(Trans. Toming Jun Liu)~China: This exquisite collection of short stories is mournful and profound. Reminiscent of traditional Chinese short story structure, it is a meaningful gift for the acupuncturist/yogi or the meditative tai chi devotee or even the spiritual wise elder. They are graceful and moving. Ideal for any zen master. Namaste.

Gifts that Give All Year Round

Archipelago Books: There is a hidden agenda here. I volunteer for their cause and can't imagine a better gift than a year subscription of the works they publish. They are chosen with impeccable taste and can be shipped anywhere in the world. Ten books for a small amount would be great for the international lit reader, a college, school or university or a non-profit organization.

Absinthe: New European Writing: A fantastic lit journal dedicated to translated works. Great covers, too. Not too deep for the pocketbook, but worth every penny and then some.

NYRB Book Club: One book a month for the year. NYRB is one of the best publishers of international literature out there and seeing this in your mailbox is always a treat.

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