Interviews Renee H. Shea Monique Truong / Photo © Haruka Sakaguchi Monique Truong, who came to the United States in 1975 as a refugee from Vietnam, began exploring untold and ignored histories in her first novel, The Book of Salt (2003), told through the voice of Binh, the cook of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas in Paris. Her autobiographical second novel, Bitter in the Mouth (2010) is a coming-of-age story set in North Carolina. In her most recent novel, The Sweetest Fruits (Viking, 2019), Truong tells the story of Lafcadio Hearn from the perspective of three women: his mother, Rosa; his first wife, Alethea; and his Japanese wife, Setsu. Shea: At its core, The Sweetest Fruits is a story about storytelling—and it’s Russian dolls of narrative! It’s not only that three different women have their say about Hearn and their relationship with him, but each is telling her story to a specific audience—so issues of mediation and agency add further complications, as do oral vs. written stories and translation. How did you arrive at this approach instead of just telling the story in the voice of one person, then the next, then the next? Truong: This question is a Russian doll of inquiries! You’re absolutely right that the novel is interested in the different ways that stories are transmitted to us: oral vs. written, in our mother tongue vs. in translation, private story vs. public history, women’s voices vs. men’s, face-to-face vs.... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2019-09-17 13:54:26 UTC ]
Hilary Mantel stressed she was concerned with depicting the outer world faithfully but her chief concern was her character’s interior drama. This adaptation shows how much she strayed from that Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2024-12-20 12:48:36 UTC ]
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Writing fiction itself might be (and often is) considered an act of translation: from experience to language, from emotion to logic, from chaos to legibility. Perhaps it is a mere coincidence, or a stroke of good luck, then that these three fall debut novelists selected for our craft series each... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2024-12-17 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Golden Voice narrator Julia Whelan joins AudioFile’s Michele Cobb to tell listeners about narrating Kristin Hannah’s memorable historical fiction audiobook, The Women, one of our picks for Best Fiction of 2024. It’s an emotional story about Vietnam War combat nurses, and Julia details how she... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-12-05 09:05:46 UTC ]
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The last time I wrote a novel set in what I considered to be the present was 2009-2010. The iPhone had appeared in 2007, but it had nothing to do with my characters, who were poor or old or both and lived on the scrappy outskirts of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Since then, my books have […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-12-04 09:56:57 UTC ]
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I wrote What It’s Like in Words in my dressing room in the St Martin’s theatre in the West End whilst playing Miss Casewell in The Mousetrap, and over nine months and approximately 300 shows it occurred to me how similar the processes of writing and acting are. They may appear binary forms of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-12-04 09:55:59 UTC ]
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Pack your ereader with today's bounty of excellent deals from historical fiction to nonfiction, dystopian reads to romance, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-12-02 14:00:00 UTC ]
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25 of the most important cookbooks of the last 100 years, the best historical fiction of 2024, and Martin Scorcese's adaptation plans. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-11-18 16:00:00 UTC ]
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Death on a doomed ship, historical fiction from the Hundred Years' War, our relationship with the natural world, and more of today's best book deals Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-11-14 16:56:44 UTC ]
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The Big A weighs in on the best books of the year, new YA titles out this week, historical fiction for Native American Heritage Month, and more today on Book Riot. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-11-13 16:02:09 UTC ]
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Which historical fiction novel featuring Native Americans are you picking up this month? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-11-13 11:00:00 UTC ]
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An Arthurian Retelling, Historical Fiction Set in Malaysia, a Queer Magical Romance, and More in Today's Best YA Deals Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-10-29 16:31:00 UTC ]
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Horror for all scaredy-types, recent post-apocalyptic fiction, historical fiction set in Scotland, and much more on Book Riot today. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-10-23 15:30:00 UTC ]
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Earlier this May, an Esquire article by Kate Dwyer called “Why Are Debut Novels Failing to Launch?” channeled the fear of debut novelists everywhere: What happens if no one buys my book? Book sales are an important way for editors and agents to gauge whether to invest in an author. If her first... Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2024-10-16 12:00:00 UTC ]
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“Polostan” sets up a historical fiction series about espionage and revolution in the early 20th century. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-10-15 09:01:27 UTC ]
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Breaking Bourgeois Taboos in Cairo: Ihsan Abdel Quddous’s A Nose and Three Eyes, by Gretchen McCullough Book Reviews [email protected] Mon, 10/14/2024 - 14:18 Five or six years ago, I was reading Ihsan Abdel Quddous (1919–1990) with my Arabic... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2024-10-14 19:18:43 UTC ]
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With earnings having dropped by 60%, it is harder than ever to keep going as a writer – even if your work gets rave reviewsThe 2022 publication of A Hunger, Ross Raisin’s fourth novel, was his “lowest moment”, the 45-year-old author says. “It was a deflating experience.”The book received... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-10-14 15:35:55 UTC ]
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Ever since novelists started mixing with Hollywood, film and prose have been easy bedfellows. A lot of authors are proud cinephiles. Others go so far as to credit movies as major form or content influences. And thanks to the fleet marketing department at Criterion and the rise of Letterboxd,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-09-27 15:48:15 UTC ]
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Give me more Putinas, por favor: A Conversation with Giannina Braschi, by Sandra Guzmán Interviews [email protected] Mon, 09/23/2024 - 15:16 Photo by Laurent BadessiThe last time I saw Giannina Braschi was a year ago at the 92NY in New York City.... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2024-09-23 20:16:07 UTC ]
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West Coast ice cream shop Salt & Straw will be dishing out its first scoops in the Northeast this weekend after opening its inaugural Manhattan location Friday, Sept. 20.Backed by prolific restaurateur Danny Meyer, founder and executive chairman of Union Square Hospitality Group and the man... Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2024-09-20 18:17:38 UTC ]
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