Tag: Mexico

Fiction, Literary Awards, Translation

Faces In the Crowd by Valeria Luiselli, translated from Spanish by Christina MacSweeney

Title:  Faces In The Crowd Author:  Valeria Luiselli Translator:  Christina MacSweeney Publisher:  Coffee House Press, Minneapolis (2014) ISBN:  978 1 56689 354 1 *This review contains spoilers* Subway trains make me think of Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity. Not all the time, obviously. But sometimes a train will be moving in a dark tunnel and a second train will overtake it.  They will run on parallel tracks … Continue reading Faces In the Crowd by Valeria Luiselli, translated from Spanish by Christina MacSweeney

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Fiction, Translation

Quesadillas by Juan Pablo Villalobos (translated from Spanish by Rosalind Harvey & with an introduction by Neel Mukherjee)

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)

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Fiction, Graphic Novel

Mr. Mendoza’s Paintbrush by Luis Alberto Urrea, Artwork by Christopher Cardinale (review copy)

Tucked away in a far corner of  BEA was Cinco Puntos Press – an independent publisher based in El Paso, Texas.  They would have been easy to miss if it weren’t for the cover of this book, which sucked me into their booth even though I had to elbow my way past a few other attendees to get at it.  I glanced through the artwork … Continue reading Mr. Mendoza’s Paintbrush by Luis Alberto Urrea, Artwork by Christopher Cardinale (review copy)

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