Category: History

DSC Prize Shadow Jury, Fiction, History

A God In Every Stone: A Novel by Kamila Shamsie

The city of Peshawar is located in Pakistan, 59.1 kilometers (approximately 36 miles) from the Torkham-Border Crossing into Afghanistan. It is at the end of the Khyber Pass which cuts through the Spin Ghar mountain range and connects the two nations. Until 1947 it was a part of British India. Go back even farther, c. 515 B.C., and the Persian Empire claimed the city. Kamila Shamsie layers over two thousand years of Peshawar’s history into her novel: A God In Every Stone. Continue reading A God In Every Stone: A Novel by Kamila Shamsie

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Fiction, History, Translation

The Last Days by Laurent Seksik, translated from French by Andre Naffis-Sahely

Historical fiction is strange. We approach it with the understanding that what we are reading both is and is not true.  We contract with the writer to accept her interpretation of events without requiring she take on the burden of proof.  The situation become even more complicated when we’re deal with historical figures, versus fictional characters placed in historical settings. For better or worse,  Philippa … Continue reading The Last Days by Laurent Seksik, translated from French by Andre Naffis-Sahely

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Advance Review Copy, Fiction, History, Translation

His Own Man by Edgard Telles Ribeiro, translated from the Portuguese by Kim M. Hastings

It is the late 1960’s and Max is embarking on what will be a remarkable career in the Brazilian Foreign Service. A career that will span some of the most tumultuous decades in Latin American history. Through the coups and purges, the government shifts from left to right and back again, the making & breaking of political alliances – he thrives… Continue reading His Own Man by Edgard Telles Ribeiro, translated from the Portuguese by Kim M. Hastings

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Fiction, Film, History, Translation

The Days of the Rainbow by Antonio Skármeta & the film NO

In 1988 Chilean President and General Augusto Pinochet, after a 14-year dictatorship that began with the 1974 military coup which deposed then President Salvador Allende and in an attempt to legitimize his regime in the eyes of Western governments, called for a plebiscite.  Citizens of Chile would vote – Yes or No – to Pinochet.  “Yes” for Pinochet to remain in power and “No” for … Continue reading The Days of the Rainbow by Antonio Skármeta & the film NO

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Fiction, History, Mystery, Translation

The Corpse Reader by Antonio Garrido (translated from the Spanish by Thomas Bunstead)

The Corpse Reader (another historical whodunnit in the same vein as The Hangman’s Daughter series) is published through Amazon Crossing, Amazon’s international/translation imprint.  I bought it because it was advertised on my Kindle as the “Daily Deal”.  Not so much for the low price – though I am surprised to admit that did play a small part – but mainly because it caught my eye … Continue reading The Corpse Reader by Antonio Garrido (translated from the Spanish by Thomas Bunstead)

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