Tag: Columbia

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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Fiction, Translation

Brace for Impact

Title:  The Sound of Things Falling Author: Juan Gabriel Vásquez Translator: Anne McLean The Sound of Things Falling takes a little while to get rolling.   Or perhaps I should say that the story builds slowly.  Either way, it is a book that relies on the reader’s willingness to gather the loose pieces of the plot together and examine the sad, fragmented picture they form. Antonio … Continue reading Brace for Impact

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Book Festival, Translation

Reading Assignments for the 2013 Brooklyn Book Festival

Fall is here… more or less.  The weather is still closer to 80 than 70 degrees.  And the view from my window looks nothing like the cover of the L.L. Bean catalog that just arrived in the mail (a couple sitting on the tailgate of an old pick-up truck, a lake surrounded by pines, fall leaves covering the grass).  But it is September and in … Continue reading Reading Assignments for the 2013 Brooklyn Book Festival

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