Category: Novella

Fiction, Horror, Novella, Translation

Such Small Hands by Andrés Barba, tr. Lisa Dillman – a #BTBA2018 flashlight

***This Review Contains Spoilers*** I’m surprised more people haven’t made the Lord of the Flies comparisons between William Golding’s classic book and Andrés Barba’s Such Small Hands. Perhaps it’s a little too obvious? And yet, Barba explores the power dynamics of female relationships using girls in the same way Golding did with young boys – with equally horrifying results. A 7-year old girl arrives at an … Continue reading Such Small Hands by Andrés Barba, tr. Lisa Dillman – a #BTBA2018 flashlight

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Fiction, Novella, Suspense, Translation

Captive by Claudine Dumont, tr. David Scott Hamilton #WITMonth

The plot of Claudine Dumont’s debut novel, Captive, is fast-moving. We’re given just a glimpse of the protagonist’s, Emma’s, life before she’s ripped out of it. “I’m afraid of the dark. That’s what happens when I drink too much. And I drink too much. Often. And for some time now, even on weeknights. I can’t get to sleep without it. I can’t forget the empty … Continue reading Captive by Claudine Dumont, tr. David Scott Hamilton #WITMonth

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Advance Review Copy, Fiction, Novella, Translation

Quiet Creature on the Corner by João Gilberto Noll (tr. Adam Morris)

Title:  Quiet Creature on the Corner Author:  João Gilberto Noll Translator:  Adam Morris Publisher: Two Lines Press, San Francisco (2016) ISBN:  978 1 931883 51 1 Quiet Creature on the Corner is a weird tale told from the point of view of an adolescent boy being punished for the rape of a young girl.  The assault occurs in an abandoned lot behind the slum-like apartment building where they both live and the boy describes the … Continue reading Quiet Creature on the Corner by João Gilberto Noll (tr. Adam Morris)

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Fiction, Horror, Literary Awards, Mystery, Novella, Translation

Spring Crime Spree: Murder Most Serene by Gabrielle Wittkop (tr. Louise Rogers Lalaurie)

Title:  Murder Most Serene Author:  Gabrielle Wittkop Translator:  Louise Rogers Lalaurie Publisher:  Wakefield Press, Cambridge (2015) ISBN:  978 1 939663 14 6 Murder Most Serene is a study in contrasts.  It is a tale of two cities, one above and one below, during the month and years preceding Napoleon’s invasion of the then Republic of Venice. The inhabitants, fully cognizant that history is catching up … Continue reading Spring Crime Spree: Murder Most Serene by Gabrielle Wittkop (tr. Louise Rogers Lalaurie)

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Fiction, Novella, Translation

The Diving Pool: Three Novellas by Yoko Ogawa, tr. Stephen Snyder (a #WITMonth post)

Title:  The Diving Pool – Three Novellas Author:  Yoko Ogawa Translator:  Stephen Snyder Publisher: Picador, New York (2008) ISBN:  978 0 312 42683 5 The quality of mercy is not strain’d. The compassion Yoko Ogawa shows her protagonists, despite their flaws, consistently surprises me. These three early novellas – and novella seems a bit of a grandiose term for what are, essentially, three unrelated short stories – … Continue reading The Diving Pool: Three Novellas by Yoko Ogawa, tr. Stephen Snyder (a #WITMonth post)

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