~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. With so much concentration on books, I thought it would be unique and fun to put together a selection of books from around the world in hopes of spreading the love of international literature. It's not high-falutin', it's just good stuff. It covers books put out throughout the year...some forgotten and worth mentioning and some that might not even be on the shelves yet.
The majority of the picks are fiction, but there is a healthy non-fiction representation as well as some stocking stuffer ideas and some bigger gifts. Also, 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.
Please enjoy!
Happy Holidays~
Monica Carter, Curator of Salonica
This is the time of year when the onslaught of Best of and Holiday lists are in high demand and supply. With so much concentration on books, I thought it would be unique and fun to put together a selection of books from around the world in hopes of spreading the love of international literature. It's not high-falutin', it's just good stuff. It covers books put out throughout the year...some forgotten and worth mentioning and some that might not even be on the shelves yet.
The majority of the picks are fiction, but there is a healthy non-fiction representation as well as some stocking stuffer ideas and some bigger gifts. Also, 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.
Please enjoy!
Happy Holidays~
Monica Carter, Curator of Salonica
Fiction
Sweeping Epics
Sweeping Epics
The Calligrapher's Secret~Rafik Schami(trans. Anthea Bell)~Germany: Set in Damascus, the capital city of Syria, this saga tells of the forbidden love story between a Muslim woman and a Christian man. Hamid, a talented calligrapher in a revered art, challenges the traditions that came before him and goes underground to reform the system of calligraphy. A love story and a lesson in an ancient art, this is a novel of passion told in a classic style.
Stone Upon Stone~Wieslaw Mysliwski(tran. Bill Johnston)~Poland: 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.
Illustrado~Miguel Syjuco~Phillipines: Although written in English, Syjuco was born in Manila and set this novel in the Philippines. Make no mistake about his strong debut, it is worth it. Beginning with a murder and retracing a family's history through four generations, this is a fast-paced novel that uses all sorts of literary tricks to tell a story. From poetry to interviews, we experience all the feelings that envelop fatherhood, choices, and what it means to live and sometimes survive a revolution.
The Brothers Ashkenazi~I. J. Singer(trans. Joseph Singer)~Poland: Well, it must run in the family. I. J. Singer is the older brother of Isaac Bashevis Singer and no less talented when it comes to penning a family saga. This is a classic of modern Yiddish literature and a damn good story. All it takes is money hungry, intelligent older brother and a younger, handsome, genial brother with no direction, a little narrative magic and some culture clash and you have got yourself a spellbinding read.
To the End of the Land~David Grossman(trans. Jessica Cohen)~Israel: There's not much to say about this that hasn't already been said, but it is one of the best and most searing portraits of daily life during wartime. A life lived that has always been surrounded by war and sees no end in sight, it is told from the point-of-view of the mother, Ora, who has two lovers and two sons. It's painful, exquisite and erotic, a saga that says no to war.
Dark Comedies
Comedy in a Minor Key~Hans Keilson(trans. Damion Searls)~Germany: Described as a 'dark comedy of wartime errors', Keilson is the only author whom appears twice in the Holiday gift guide. He is that good. Set during the Nazi occupation(can you see the humor?), a Dutch couple agrees to hide a Jew named Nico who then dies of pneumonia. They must get rid of the body. Who knew that a novella of the Nazi Occupation could be this slyly humorous as well as incredibly ironic. A modern tale that will delight those who laugh at life whether in good times or bad.
The Sleepwalker~Margarita Karapanou(trans. Karen Emmerich)~Greece: If Amanda Michalopoulou likes it, then so should you. If you don't know who that is, she is a wonderful Greek Author(whom I have interviewed and reviewed) who wrote a stunning collection of short stories and she is blurbing this satirical novel by compatriot writer, Margarita Karapanou. The premise is funny enough--God, sick of mankind, vomits up a new messiah named Manolis to set things straight. Manolis doesn't know of his powers and thus, we have some comedy. We have magic realism. We have mayhem and absurdity. We have a Holiday winner.
The Sixty-Five Years of Washington~Juan Jose Saer(trans. Steve Dolph)~Argentina: Argentina. The sixties. A mathematician and an accountant. Yes, you read that right. A brilliant comedy about a conversation between two guys about a party that neither of them went to, but spurs on a sprawling narrative of memory and time. Whether someone's memory is good or bad, this novel will entertain the concept of memory through two minds. All this while chronicling an Argentina that has a historical knack for avoiding implosion.
The Sleepwalker~Margarita Karapanou(trans. Karen Emmerich)~Greece: If Amanda Michalopoulou likes it, then so should you. If you don't know who that is, she is a wonderful Greek Author(whom I have interviewed and reviewed) who wrote a stunning collection of short stories and she is blurbing this satirical novel by compatriot writer, Margarita Karapanou. The premise is funny enough--God, sick of mankind, vomits up a new messiah named Manolis to set things straight. Manolis doesn't know of his powers and thus, we have some comedy. We have magic realism. We have mayhem and absurdity. We have a Holiday winner.
The Sixty-Five Years of Washington~Juan Jose Saer(trans. Steve Dolph)~Argentina: Argentina. The sixties. A mathematician and an accountant. Yes, you read that right. A brilliant comedy about a conversation between two guys about a party that neither of them went to, but spurs on a sprawling narrative of memory and time. Whether someone's memory is good or bad, this novel will entertain the concept of memory through two minds. All this while chronicling an Argentina that has a historical knack for avoiding implosion.
One Man's Journey
What Holiday with be complete without a little self-examination, without trying to understand how we relate to our own family? Enter Per Petterson and his accessible literary journey through his own life and the relationship with his mother, whom is now dying of cancer. It's 1989 in Norway and our fearless narrator, Arvid is reminiscing and taking some serious personal inventory on the tails of a divorce. He looks back fondly on his Communist youth and how the decision to stay in the factory and not go to college affected not only his relationship with his mother but his entire life. Petterson does human foibles with the best of them and this is a solid crowd-pleaser.
Zone~Mathias Enard(trans. Charlotte Mandell)~France: Don't let the fact that this stunner is only one sentence frighten you. You don't even notice it after awhile. A captivating look at a the single day journey of Francis Servain Mrkovic, a French-born Croat, on a train ride from Milan to Rome. A long, rambling train ride is the perfect time to reflect at the horrors and small triumphs of your last fifteen years serving the French Intelligence Services, isn't it? Mirkovic is going to sell to the Vatican all he knows about his field of expertise which covers Spain, Algeria, Italy and Lebanon, also known as the Zone. Can he escape the terror of his violent history with the only woman he has left? Propelled by urgency and fraught with anxiety, this novel explores the Mediterranean lands like no other. Wrap it up.
The Death of the Adversary~Hans Keilson(trans.Ivo Jarosy)~Germany: This book is a taut and intense look at Berlin in the 1930s. Keilson was in hiding when he wrote this and it is the dark underbelly of the satire of Comedy in a Minor Key. There is an narrator who is not identified as a Jew who is obsessed with an unnamed despot who rises to power in 1930s Germany. Sound familiar? Keilson is gifted and must be read whether a book is satirical or depressing, they both ask the right questions. A gift for those who like Kafka et. al.
Georg Letham: Physician and Murderer~Ernst Weiss(trans. Joel Rotenberg)~Austria: This novel is on of my faves of all time. A must read. Sick and twisted, filled with poignancy. Georg Letham is a scientist who goes to prison for a murder he committed and tries desperately to not have emotions but it turns out--he does. He's human, after all! I can't go in to how great this novel is, but you can read my review here to get the full story.
Zone~Mathias Enard(trans. Charlotte Mandell)~France: Don't let the fact that this stunner is only one sentence frighten you. You don't even notice it after awhile. A captivating look at a the single day journey of Francis Servain Mrkovic, a French-born Croat, on a train ride from Milan to Rome. A long, rambling train ride is the perfect time to reflect at the horrors and small triumphs of your last fifteen years serving the French Intelligence Services, isn't it? Mirkovic is going to sell to the Vatican all he knows about his field of expertise which covers Spain, Algeria, Italy and Lebanon, also known as the Zone. Can he escape the terror of his violent history with the only woman he has left? Propelled by urgency and fraught with anxiety, this novel explores the Mediterranean lands like no other. Wrap it up.
The Death of the Adversary~Hans Keilson(trans.Ivo Jarosy)~Germany: This book is a taut and intense look at Berlin in the 1930s. Keilson was in hiding when he wrote this and it is the dark underbelly of the satire of Comedy in a Minor Key. There is an narrator who is not identified as a Jew who is obsessed with an unnamed despot who rises to power in 1930s Germany. Sound familiar? Keilson is gifted and must be read whether a book is satirical or depressing, they both ask the right questions. A gift for those who like Kafka et. al.
Georg Letham: Physician and Murderer~Ernst Weiss(trans. Joel Rotenberg)~Austria: This novel is on of my faves of all time. A must read. Sick and twisted, filled with poignancy. Georg Letham is a scientist who goes to prison for a murder he committed and tries desperately to not have emotions but it turns out--he does. He's human, after all! I can't go in to how great this novel is, but you can read my review here to get the full story.
Paths that Cross
Visitation~Jenny Erpenbeck(trans. Susan Bernofsky)~Germany: Take one house and its history and you have a lyrical and sophisticated panorama of Germany's last century, warts and all. Frank and sensual, there are twelve stories that hopscotch through space and time concentrating on the people who have lived in a house on a Brandenburg Lake which is located outside of Berlin. These stories haunt the reader with their depth and pay homage to landscape that silently witnesses the atrocities and pleasures of the human condition.
To Hell with Cronje~Ingrid Winterbach(trans. Elsa Silke)~South Africa: Hard enough to find material translated from Afrikaans and even more difficult to find good material, but look no further. This novel has been lauded as the South African Heart of Darkness and with good reason. We follow the fate of two scientists, Steyn and Maritsz who are captured during the Boer War. What follows is a gripping story of friendship and the birth of South Africa. It's voice is immediate and reads almost like a war diary. So engaging and tense that it is tempting to read it all in one sitting. So good.
C~Tom McCarthy~Britain: Ham radio! Turn of the century England! A boy name Serge Carrefax who becomes a man! Ham radio! I love any novel that includes ham radio and who wouldn't? This could be considered on man's journey, but its post-modern approach makes it feel more like quick videos of different parts of Serge's life that somehow all tie together. Nominated for the Booker and the one of the only books on the list not translated, it is one of my faves this year because it doesn't spoon feed you a feeling but introduces you to a highly imaginative and wonderful character, Serge, who leads an adventuresome life with panache. This is a f-u-n read.
A Life on Paper~Georges-Olivier Chateaureynaud(trans. Edward Gauvin)~France: Ah, humanity. Often called the French Kurt Vonnegut, Chateaureynaud takes a regular short story and ups the ante with a little magical realism. We are talking extremes here. These stories are so compelling and bizarre that you will want to tell someone else about them as soon as you read them. It will be hard to keep quiet about them, honestly. An obsessive father, a man who carries a head, a man with wings--some disturbing, some wry, all believable. Evocative and unflinching, this is the stuff of good literature.
To Hell with Cronje~Ingrid Winterbach(trans. Elsa Silke)~South Africa: Hard enough to find material translated from Afrikaans and even more difficult to find good material, but look no further. This novel has been lauded as the South African Heart of Darkness and with good reason. We follow the fate of two scientists, Steyn and Maritsz who are captured during the Boer War. What follows is a gripping story of friendship and the birth of South Africa. It's voice is immediate and reads almost like a war diary. So engaging and tense that it is tempting to read it all in one sitting. So good.
C~Tom McCarthy~Britain: Ham radio! Turn of the century England! A boy name Serge Carrefax who becomes a man! Ham radio! I love any novel that includes ham radio and who wouldn't? This could be considered on man's journey, but its post-modern approach makes it feel more like quick videos of different parts of Serge's life that somehow all tie together. Nominated for the Booker and the one of the only books on the list not translated, it is one of my faves this year because it doesn't spoon feed you a feeling but introduces you to a highly imaginative and wonderful character, Serge, who leads an adventuresome life with panache. This is a f-u-n read.
A Life on Paper~Georges-Olivier Chateaureynaud(trans. Edward Gauvin)~France: Ah, humanity. Often called the French Kurt Vonnegut, Chateaureynaud takes a regular short story and ups the ante with a little magical realism. We are talking extremes here. These stories are so compelling and bizarre that you will want to tell someone else about them as soon as you read them. It will be hard to keep quiet about them, honestly. An obsessive father, a man who carries a head, a man with wings--some disturbing, some wry, all believable. Evocative and unflinching, this is the stuff of good literature.
Noir and Fairy Tales
Zift~Vladislav Todorov(trans. Joseph Benatov)~Bulgaria: This is a one sitting read that will rock your stocking. Serious pulp noir meets Communist Bulgaria. Moth spends twenty years in the clink for a murder he didn't commit only to be released in the nightmarish city of Sofia that is under the spell of Communism. He spends the night meandering the streets of this dark city meeting people stranger than the ones from prison. Quick and harsh, this novel explores socialism and communism in the dark corners of a lost city.
Moscow Noir~Ed. Natalia Smirnova and Julia Goumen~Russia: If there was ever city made for noir, it was Moscow. And this anthology of short stories by Russian authors is one of the best of this illustrious series. Perhaps the reason being is that all the stories were chosen by two lit agents who represent Russian authors worldwide. Or perhaps it's just because they are also writers at the top of their game giving us the darkest and bleakest side of Moscow we can find. Eerie is as eerie does. Give this with a bottle of Stoli.
Purge~Sofie Oksanen(trans. Lola Rogers)~Finland: A mix of noir, thriller and fairy tales, Purge is bitter and vital. Set during the Soviet occupation in the Estonian countryside, Zara and Aliide's paths come together in a tragic way. Zara is a sex trafficking victim and Aliide is the woman who takes her in, but they soon discover that they are somehow connected. This mystery drives the story and unearths a intertwined history of desires and losses. Hard to put down, hard to forget.
Moscow Noir~Ed. Natalia Smirnova and Julia Goumen~Russia: If there was ever city made for noir, it was Moscow. And this anthology of short stories by Russian authors is one of the best of this illustrious series. Perhaps the reason being is that all the stories were chosen by two lit agents who represent Russian authors worldwide. Or perhaps it's just because they are also writers at the top of their game giving us the darkest and bleakest side of Moscow we can find. Eerie is as eerie does. Give this with a bottle of Stoli.
Purge~Sofie Oksanen(trans. Lola Rogers)~Finland: A mix of noir, thriller and fairy tales, Purge is bitter and vital. Set during the Soviet occupation in the Estonian countryside, Zara and Aliide's paths come together in a tragic way. Zara is a sex trafficking victim and Aliide is the woman who takes her in, but they soon discover that they are somehow connected. This mystery drives the story and unearths a intertwined history of desires and losses. Hard to put down, hard to forget.
Poetry and Anthologies
The Horse Has Six Legs~Ed. and Trans. Charles Simic~Serbia: This is a reissue of an anthology that first came out in 1992. It has been expanded and updated to include the new poets writing today in Serbia as well as the oral tradition of Serbian poetry and its post war poetry. Full of Breadth and depth, this anthology stretches the mind and offers vivid images that linger. Serbian poetry is rich and surreal and this reissue gives us the best. Give to it to the lonely poet in the corner. They might just smile.
Best European Fiction 2011~Ed. Aleksandar Hemon~Europe: This is a new series from Dalkey Archive that began last year and I am telling you, the stories in these collections are not to be missed. The best of the best. This year's anthology offers selections from authors who represent countries that were not included in the 2010 offering. You'll never find a collection of this many authors of this quality gathered in one place. If you want to introduce yourself or someone else to fiction beyond our borders, this is the book to give or receive.
Some Kind of Beautiful Signal~Ed. Natasha Wimmer and Jeffrey Yang~Latino, Russian, Uyghar:
Russia, Turkey, Argentina and all points beyond. This gem of an anthology in the TWO LINES series takes a different angle by highlighting the work of the translators as well as the writers. It includes fiction, poetry and essays from the likes of Roberto Bolano and Adolfo Bioy Casares. Eclectic and vibrant, I found the essays by the translators fascinating and adding so much to the works themselves. Also, this is a bilingual anthology so you can peep what the pieces looked like in their original languages. Well worth gifting to the globetrotting polyglot!
Best European Fiction 2011~Ed. Aleksandar Hemon~Europe: This is a new series from Dalkey Archive that began last year and I am telling you, the stories in these collections are not to be missed. The best of the best. This year's anthology offers selections from authors who represent countries that were not included in the 2010 offering. You'll never find a collection of this many authors of this quality gathered in one place. If you want to introduce yourself or someone else to fiction beyond our borders, this is the book to give or receive.
Some Kind of Beautiful Signal~Ed. Natasha Wimmer and Jeffrey Yang~Latino, Russian, Uyghar:
Russia, Turkey, Argentina and all points beyond. This gem of an anthology in the TWO LINES series takes a different angle by highlighting the work of the translators as well as the writers. It includes fiction, poetry and essays from the likes of Roberto Bolano and Adolfo Bioy Casares. Eclectic and vibrant, I found the essays by the translators fascinating and adding so much to the works themselves. Also, this is a bilingual anthology so you can peep what the pieces looked like in their original languages. Well worth gifting to the globetrotting polyglot!
Non-Fiction
Essays
Essays
Encounter~Milan Kundera(trans. Linda Asher)~Czechoslovakia: It's Kundera. Do you need to know more? Let's just say that if you know someone who feels the beauty and art are lost on today's culture of immediate gratification and Snooki's cleavage, then this is the book of essays for that special person. With the grace of Old Europe, Kundera waxes intellectual on art in the world and why were are losing our appreciation for it and how dangerous that is. He talks Fellini and Roth and authors and artists that are in danger of losing an audience or those whom have already lost one. Yes to culture! Yes to Kundera!
Seven Conversations with Jorge Luis Borges~Fernando Sorrentino(trans. Clark M. Zlotchew)~Argentina: It helps if your a fan of Borges, but honestly, you don't have to be. These conversations are mini-treatises on what to read and how to read. From politics to literary criticism, this encapsulates all the stuff one is not supposed to bring up during Holiday dinner. Perfect for the dreamers and the bohemians. (Also, he looks like Hitchcock on the cover.)
The Possessed~Elif Batuman~United States: Written by an American, this delightful book of essays follow Ms. Batuamn's search for all things relating to the Russian novel. If you have someone in your life who doesn't know anything about Russian writers, tell them to forget the class and pick this book up. It will give them all they need to know to set them on their path toward Russian literature with excitement.
Seven Conversations with Jorge Luis Borges~Fernando Sorrentino(trans. Clark M. Zlotchew)~Argentina: It helps if your a fan of Borges, but honestly, you don't have to be. These conversations are mini-treatises on what to read and how to read. From politics to literary criticism, this encapsulates all the stuff one is not supposed to bring up during Holiday dinner. Perfect for the dreamers and the bohemians. (Also, he looks like Hitchcock on the cover.)
The Possessed~Elif Batuman~United States: Written by an American, this delightful book of essays follow Ms. Batuamn's search for all things relating to the Russian novel. If you have someone in your life who doesn't know anything about Russian writers, tell them to forget the class and pick this book up. It will give them all they need to know to set them on their path toward Russian literature with excitement.
History-Straight-Up
Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris~Graham Robb~Britain: I originally found out of Graham Robb by reading his first book, The Discovery of France. A superb writer, Parisians will capture the heart of any Francophile. From the knowns to the unknowns of French history, these true tales will give deliver a Paris hardly known. This book is fun and a joy from beginning to end. Robb is British, true, but he has the heart of a true Frenchman. Bravo!
The Witness House: Nazis and Holocaust Survivors Sharing a Villa during the Nuremberg Trials~Christiane Kohl(trans. Anthea Bell)~Germany: Heartbreaking and disturbing, perpetrators and their victims share a house during the famous trials. It's so spellbinding and mind-boggling that it's a meaningful gift for those who want to comprehend atrocity and the human condition and capacity for understanding. Powerful!
Koeslter: A Literary and Political Odyssey of a Twentieth-Century Skeptic~Michael Scammell~Britain: Got any cynics or bah-humbug'ers on your list? Here's what you do: first buy Darkness at Noon, then buy Koestler. Give them together. Pat yourself on the back for one of the best gifts ever to those who hate the Holidays and only enjoy life a little bit more. Koestler not only wrote one of the greatest books I have ever read, but his life reads something akin to the literary version of Dos Equis' Most Interesting Man in the World.
The Witness House: Nazis and Holocaust Survivors Sharing a Villa during the Nuremberg Trials~Christiane Kohl(trans. Anthea Bell)~Germany: Heartbreaking and disturbing, perpetrators and their victims share a house during the famous trials. It's so spellbinding and mind-boggling that it's a meaningful gift for those who want to comprehend atrocity and the human condition and capacity for understanding. Powerful!
Koeslter: A Literary and Political Odyssey of a Twentieth-Century Skeptic~Michael Scammell~Britain: Got any cynics or bah-humbug'ers on your list? Here's what you do: first buy Darkness at Noon, then buy Koestler. Give them together. Pat yourself on the back for one of the best gifts ever to those who hate the Holidays and only enjoy life a little bit more. Koestler not only wrote one of the greatest books I have ever read, but his life reads something akin to the literary version of Dos Equis' Most Interesting Man in the World.
Beauty and Grace
Mourning Diary~Roland Barthes(trans. Richard Howard)~France: Dedicated to those who find beauty and grace in even in sadness, this lost diary of the French philosopher mourns the death of grief. Reflections on the importance and power of grief are refreshing for those who know that we aren't meant to be happy all the time. There is a profundity to these beautiful reflections.
My Life as a Russian Novel~Emmanuel Carrere(trans. Linda Coverdale)~France: Caught between an obsessive love and the disappearance of his grandfather, Carrere sketches with elegance a journey to avoid himself and how he must pay for doing so. A wonderfully told erotic story, travel narrative and spiritual and emotional road trip, this memoir is the real deal of a man lost and then found. This is the Eat, Pray Love for those who want to get real.
My Life as a Russian Novel~Emmanuel Carrere(trans. Linda Coverdale)~France: Caught between an obsessive love and the disappearance of his grandfather, Carrere sketches with elegance a journey to avoid himself and how he must pay for doing so. A wonderfully told erotic story, travel narrative and spiritual and emotional road trip, this memoir is the real deal of a man lost and then found. This is the Eat, Pray Love for those who want to get real.
I Never Dared Hope for You~Christian Bobin(trans. Alison Anderson)~France
A Little Party Dress~Christian Bobin(trans. Alison Anderson)~France: You buy these two books, wrap them up in a plain brown wrapper and give them to the one philosopher who likes to contemplate about the grace in things big and small while they spend an afternoon in the park. These are exquisite little essays, musings, fictions and memoirs of a sensitive and spiritual man. Better yet, buy both and keep one for yourself.
A Little Party Dress~Christian Bobin(trans. Alison Anderson)~France: You buy these two books, wrap them up in a plain brown wrapper and give them to the one philosopher who likes to contemplate about the grace in things big and small while they spend an afternoon in the park. These are exquisite little essays, musings, fictions and memoirs of a sensitive and spiritual man. Better yet, buy both and keep one for yourself.
Stocking Stuffers
The Screwball Asses~Guy Hocquenghem(trans.Noura Wedell)~France: Got a guy who is hot for Santa? Well, this book is a little book that looms large. Hocquenghem is a leader in queer theory and addresses the idea that the ruling class created homosexuality as a sexual ghetto. Serious, short and trenchant, this doesn't let gender studies fall by the wayside. Perfect for your gay anarchist. Stuff it!
03~Jean-Christophe Valtat(trans. Mitzi Angel)~France: Love this sweet book! Oh, teenage angst...didn't we all have it, still have it? Filled with lyrics from Joy Division and The Smiths, a young, sensitive man becomes obsessed with a young girl he sees every morning on the bus. Weird and touching, this small diamond of a novella is perfect way to remember what it was like to be young and awkward.
Voice Over: A Nomadic Conversation with Mahmoud Darwish~Breyten Breytenbach~South Africa
Intimate Stranger~Breyten Breytenbach~South Africa: Both of these were published in 2009, but it was towards the end and they are so good, they should be in every stocking. It's difficult to describe how good these are because they are so different. Voice Over is a conversation as Breytenbach imagines it would be between himself and Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish in the form of poetry. Darwish was a friend and it is clear through these striking poems how deep that friendship was and how much Breytenbach misses him. Intimate Stranger is a guide for writers and poets who seek to make their writing compassionate toward those around us that we do not understand. Only an activist and a poet could write such valuable yet different works, both filled with wisdom and kindness.
03~Jean-Christophe Valtat(trans. Mitzi Angel)~France: Love this sweet book! Oh, teenage angst...didn't we all have it, still have it? Filled with lyrics from Joy Division and The Smiths, a young, sensitive man becomes obsessed with a young girl he sees every morning on the bus. Weird and touching, this small diamond of a novella is perfect way to remember what it was like to be young and awkward.
Voice Over: A Nomadic Conversation with Mahmoud Darwish~Breyten Breytenbach~South Africa
Intimate Stranger~Breyten Breytenbach~South Africa: Both of these were published in 2009, but it was towards the end and they are so good, they should be in every stocking. It's difficult to describe how good these are because they are so different. Voice Over is a conversation as Breytenbach imagines it would be between himself and Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish in the form of poetry. Darwish was a friend and it is clear through these striking poems how deep that friendship was and how much Breytenbach misses him. Intimate Stranger is a guide for writers and poets who seek to make their writing compassionate toward those around us that we do not understand. Only an activist and a poet could write such valuable yet different works, both filled with wisdom and kindness.
Gifts that Give All Year Round
Archipelago Books: My absolute favorite publisher who produces beautiful books inside and out. Buy the literary lover a year subscription and they will thank you every time they get a book in the mail.
World Literature Today: If you know someone who is serious about world lit, this is the magazine to get. Bi-monthly and full of reviews, excerpts, fictions, essays, interviews and even more stuff I can't even remember, this mag is indispensable to me for pure enjoyment and discovery.
World Literature Today: If you know someone who is serious about world lit, this is the magazine to get. Bi-monthly and full of reviews, excerpts, fictions, essays, interviews and even more stuff I can't even remember, this mag is indispensable to me for pure enjoyment and discovery.