Tag Archive | Books
Celebrating the 100th Birthday of Mexican Novelist Josefina Vicens
La Jornada has a piece on the Mexican writer Josefina Vicens on the occasion of her 100th birthday. She only wrote two novels and one short story, but her work was highly regarded by people such as Octavio Paz. She sounds interesting (and I like a little bit of obscurity). Her last book has been [...]
Words Without Borders 2012 Graphic Novel Edition Out Now
The new Words Without Borders graphic novel edition is out now. by Mazen Kerbaj Letter to the Mother Because of you I fancied killing a hundred times. Translated by Mazen Kerbaj and Ahmad Gharbieh by Nawel Louerrad Demonsterate I’ve been wearing this tutu since I was a kid. Translated by Canan Marasligil by Héctor [...]
Javier Calvo Wins the Biblioteca Breve de novela Prize
Javier Calvo won the Biblioteca Breve de novela prize for his book El jardín colgante, a provocative take on Spain’s Transition to democacy. Escribió El jardín colgante en 2011. “Un año indescriptible y extraño; vi cosas que nunca había visto antes, como la plaza de Catalunya llena de gente llamando a la revolución, un fugaz [...]
Xingu and Other Stories by Edith Wharton – A Review
Xingu and Other Stories Edith Wharton Charles Scribner’s Sons, October 1916, 436 pg Xingu and Other Stories is an uneven collection of stories from a writer in the midst of her most fertile work. The good stories show similar concerns of her more famous novels such as the house of Mirth. When she is examining [...]
Open Letter Books Spring Summer Catalog Featuring Short Stories from Latin America, and Sergio Chejfec, Kristín Ómarsdóttir, Benjamin Stein
Open Letter has released its Spring Summer 2012 Catalog and there are some interesting books in it. But most exciting of them all are works from young Latin American writers. The only one I have read a fair amount of is Samanta Schweblin, who I like quite a bit. You can read the whole catalog [...]
Mexican Drug War Issues from Words Without Borders Update
I’ve been following the progress of the Words Without Borders fund drive on their Mexican Drug War Issue. They released some information about some of the stories. Although, given their current funding to goal ratio I’m not sure they are going to make it. Hi Everyone, Just got word from our editorial team that some [...]
Lisbon: War in the Shadows of the City of Light, 1939-1941 – A Review
Lisbon: War in the Shadows of the City of Light, 1939-1941 Neill Lochery Public Affairs, 2011, 306 pg Lisbon: War in the Shadows of the City of Light will tell you just about everything you will ever need to know about Lisbon and Portugal during World War II. Perhaps, too much depending on you interests. [...]
The Guardian Reviews Purgatory by Tomás Eloy Martínez
Tomás Eloy Martínez’s last book Purgatory has been published. “It sounds like another good book. The Guardian has the review: A superb political reporter, Martínez perfected in his novels the blending of strict journalistic fact with the devices of fiction. He said that he had learned the craft when, in the late 60s, the exiled [...]
The Shape of EBooks in Spain
Below is a brief outline of the state of the ebook industry in Spain. While it is moving slowly, there have been some big agreements recently that will shape the future of the ebook there. Consumer access to the books, though, remains limited. It will be interesting to see how this works versus the Amazon [...]
Mexico’s Bestsellers for 2008
The LA Times has a list of Bestsellers in Mexico for 2008. Mostly they are are imports from the US (3 different Stefanie Myers books) and histories of Mexican Politics. Only one book really caught my eye and that is Jorge Volpi’s El Jardín Devastado.
A Spaniard in New York – La ciudad automática
Letras Libres has a review of what looks like a fascinating book. A Spanish reporter, Julio Camba, comes to 1930′s New York and writes his reactions to the the city and the depression. As the review points out, it would make a good contrast to Poet in New York by Lorca. Apparently he didn’t quite [...]
Good-Bye
Good-Bye Yoshihiro Tatsumi As often as I read graphic novels I often feel there is something lacking, the story perhaps, or maybe the characters, but I think it is the drawings themselves. They draw on traditions or images that once were pulp with little to say and the visual connection between the two weakens the [...]
