It seems to be Farrar, Strauss and Giroux week at BookSexy Review. A completely unintentional turn of events on my part. Down the Rabbit Hole is a monumental first novel – all 75 pages of it. That includes, by the way, both Adam Thirlwell’s introduction and a glossary. Yet what it lacks in word count Juan Pablo Villalobos’ novel more than makes up for in … Continue reading Down the Rabbit Hole, A Novel by Juan Pablo Villalobos (translated from the Spanish by Rosalind Harvey)
1. Juan Pablo Villalobos’ novella Quesadillas* is set in the Mexican backwater of Lado De Moreno, in a house on a hill called Cerro de la Chingada (which roughly translates into “the armpit”) and tells the adventures of a boy named Orestes. “Oreo” for short. This follow-up to last years’ Down the Rabbit Hole is about many things: adolescent angst, class economics and the impact … Continue reading Quesadillas by Juan Pablo Villalobos (translated from Spanish by Rosalind Harvey & with an introduction by Neel Mukherjee)
Remember Björk? The trippy videos, the swan dress, Dancer in the Dark… I used to think of her as an artist marching to the beat of her own drum. In a word: “Quirky”. But as I continue my exploration of Icelandic literature I’ve come to believe that she might be a fairly typical example of the Icelandic population. Really, comparatively tame. Take, for example, Kristín … Continue reading Children in Reindeer Woods by Kristín Ómarsdóttir (translated from Icelandic by Lytton Smith)
As the gears of the Mayan calendar slowly grind to a stop, I find it’s best to keep our minds off the impending apocalypse. And what better distraction than a list of books from around the world – all due to be published before November, of course. (You know, just in case you’re stockpiling early and have some room leftover in your end-of-the-world backpack). February … Continue reading The Review: Looking Forward to Translations in 2012
Afrikaans Agaat – by Marlene Van Niekerk (Michiel Heynes, translator) Elusive Moth, The – by Ingrid Winterbach (Iris Gouws & the author, translator) Albanian Three-Arched Bridge, The – by Ismail Kadare (John Hodgson, translator) Arabic Corpse Washer, The – by Sinan Antoon (translated by the author) Mehlis Report, The – by Rabee Jaber (Kareem James Abu-Zeid, translator) Bulgarian Short Tale of Shame, A – by … Continue reading By Language (Translations)
READER AT LARGE 