Tag Archive | Books
La familia del aire: Entrevistas con cuentistas españoles (The Family of the Air: Interviews with Spanish Short Story Writers) by Miguel Ángel Muñoz – A review
La familia del aire: Entrevistas con cuentistas españoles (The Family of the Air: Interviews with Spanish Short Story Writers) Miguel Ángel Muñoz Páginas de Espuma, 2011, 474 pg. The Spanish short story writer Miguel Ángel Muñoz’s La familia del aire: Entravistas con cuentistas españoles (The Family of the Air: Interviews with Spanish Short Story Writers) [...]
Bonsai – The Movie of Alejandro Zambra’s Novel – A Review
While I thought Bonsai was well written and showed some inventiveness, I thought it was a little juvenile at times. Still I was curious how such a literary novel would be turned into a movie, especially all the references to writing and reading. I’ve long since gotten over the truism that the book and the [...]
The Last Work of Carlos Fuentes (or the First of the Posthumous to Come Out)
El Pais has an excerpt of a novel he was working on when he passed away. It is called Federico en su balcón and you can read an excerpt of it at El Pais. Given his last works, I’m not sure really how thrilling it will be, but you can be the judge. Sesenta y [...]
My Appreciation of Mexican Author Carlos Fuentes, RIP
Carlos Fuentes was one of the first writers who I can really remember inspiring my interest in writing. I was not a reader of literature before I got to college. I read history, but fiction wasn’t something I thought much about. It took sometime for literature to interest me. The first author I can remember [...]
El corazón de los caballos (The Heart of the Horses) by Miguel Ángel Muñoz – A Review
El corazón de los caballos (The Heart of the Horses) Miguel Ángel Muñoz Alcalá, 2009, 145 pg El corazón de los caballos is the Spanish short story writer Miguel Ángel Muñoz’s first novel. A refreshingly short novel, it is a continuation of a story that first appeared in his collection Quédate donde estás (Stay Where [...]
Traveler of the Century (El viajero del siglo) by Andrés Neuman – A Review
Traveler of the Century Andrés Neuman Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012, 564 pg El viajero del siglo Andrés Neuman Alfaguara, 2009, 531 pg Andrés Neuman’s Traveler of the Century (El viajero del siglo) is a broad novel of ideas that takes place in post a Napoleonic Europe that at first seems distant, but as he [...]
Alejandro Zambra Interviewed in El Pais – How the Cost of Books Shape His Desire for E-Books
El Pais has an interview with Alejandro Zambra on the publishing of his book of criticism, No leer, in Spain. What is interesting about the article, especially in context of some recent articles questioning the structure of the publishing industry in the Spanish speaking world, is that he says he read most of his books [...]
Is The Center of Spanish Language Publishing Returning to Latin America?
El Pais had an article recently about La Feria del LIbro de Buenos Aires and a group of Latin American authors who gave their thoughts on where the power base of Spanish publishing is. Historically it has gone back and forth. While Spain was under Franco Latin America was the publishing center. When Spain became [...]
José Ovejero Wins the 40º Anagrama Prize for the Essay
José Ovejero has won the 40th Anagrama Prize for the Essay. It is a work about cruelty in art, such as the work of Cormak McCarthy or Onetti.You can read the full post at El Pais. Si bien Ovejero (Madrid, 1958) aborda ese aspecto en ámbitos como el cine y el teatro (como la obra [...]
The Women of the Boom – Why Is It Only Men Are Mentioned
Ivan Thays has a recent article in El Pais about the forgotten writers of the Boom, especially the women. I have mentioned many times before in the pages of this blog about the seeming paucity of women in the best of lists and various literary pantheons that exist. Here Thays contemplates some reasons why the [...]
Five New Argentine Novels (in English!) – Via Argentina Independent
The Argentina Independent has a list of five new Argentine novels that have come out in English recently. I have heard of two of the authors, Sergio Chejfec and César Aira and I am currently reading Andrés Neuman’s Viajero del siglo (Traveler of the Century). Hopefully, Ill finish it soon. It is enjoyable if a [...]
Fernando Iwasaki’s Newest Collection of Short Stories – Papel Carbón – With Excerpt
The Peruvian author Fernando Iwasaki has release a new book of short stories which collects his early works in one volume. The stories were written between 1987 and 1993 and published in two volumes. The ever interesting Paginas de Espuma has just reissued them. An excerpt from the publisher is available here. The story, in [...]
The Crime Novel Boom In Latin America
El Pais had a short little bit on the crime novel in Latin America. Unsurprisingly, it is now a field of academic study. While I haven’t followed all the developments within the genre I have found it interesting to see the books develop a following. I don’t believe as I’ve heard some crime writers say [...]
Eraclio Zepeda’s New Chiapan Tetralogy Profiled in La Jornada
La Jornada has an interesting write up of Eraclio Zepeda’s last installment of in his tetralogy of Chiapas. I’m unfamiliar with his work but if you are interested in family/historical epics this sounds perfect. Algunos años antes de terminar el siglo, Zepeda ya tenía en mente la escritura de una saga chiapaneca y sabía que [...]
Mexican Novelist Juan Villoro’s New Novel Profiled
Mexican novelist Juan Villoro has published his newest book and El Pais has a profile of the book and author, and a review. The Profile is the much more interesting piece of the two. Juan Villoro is not too well known in the English speaking world, but is well respected for his writing that often [...]
Fernando Iwasaki’s Ajuar funerario (Funeral Dress) Profiled in El Pais
El Pais has a profile of Fernando Iwasaki’s Ajuar funerario, a collection of short stories that has sold the relatively phenomenal 60,000 copies over multiple printings. The stories are in the horror genre, but with Iwasaki there is always humor, and so I doubt the stories are particularly gruesome. If his España, a parte de [...]
