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 ]
These compelling Indigenous historical fiction books cover hundreds of years and take place all across North America. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-04-11 10:36:00 UTC ]
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Novelist and 'The Glass Castle' memoirist Jeannette Walls returns with 'Hang the Moon,' #4 on our hardcover fiction list. Plus Alka Joshi completes her Jaipur trilogy with 'The Perfumist of Paris,' and post–Twitter storm, Alison Roman fans find the cookbook author to be just 'Sweet Enough.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-04-07 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Caryl Phillips on being chosen as a Best of Young British Novelists in 1993 and the nascent culture of literary celebrity. The post On Literary Celebrity appeared first on Granta. Continue reading at Granta
[ Granta | 2023-04-06 11:41:47 UTC ]
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A.L. Kennedy on being chosen for, and judging Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists. The post On Judging <em>Granta</em>’s Best of Young British Novelists appeared first on Granta. Continue reading at Granta
[ Granta | 2023-04-06 11:32:41 UTC ]
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Ned Beauman on his translation into Assamese, and where being named one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists took him. The post On the Anxieties of Translation appeared first on Granta. Continue reading at Granta
[ Granta | 2023-04-06 11:24:19 UTC ]
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After an extremely lucrative but creatively deadening sojourn on Marvel Money Island, Oscar-winning writer-director Chloé Zhao is returning to more cerebral fare. Deadline announced this morning that the one of the Nomadland and Eternals director’s next projects will be a film adaption of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-04-04 19:04:48 UTC ]
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The cover of the cookbook shows a bamboo basket laden with bell peppers, asparagus, and broccoli. Surrounding it on the table are scallions, ginger, dried mushrooms, peapods, a red onion. A fish, an eggroll, some dumplings, a pair of chopsticks. In the background, a white ceramic soup tureen... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2023-04-04 11:05:00 UTC ]
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The American novelist, whose latest work is a fake biography of an avant-garde artist, on growing up in Mississippi and why her fiction has ‘never actively involved cellphones or the internet’Catherine Lacey, 37, is the author of three previous novels, including The Answers, currently being... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-01 17:00:01 UTC ]
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The Princess Bride official cookbook helped me embrace the wonder of experimenting and just plain having fun in the kitchen. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-03-30 10:33:00 UTC ]
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These hefty books explore the lives of a former poet, a polarizing artist and a Scottish rebel from unexpected angles. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-03-30 09:00:12 UTC ]
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‘The issue was the first of its kind. Trust me, it said. I know what I am talking about. These young writers are the future of literature. Watch. History will prove me right.’ A history of the list, with reflections from Bill Buford and other editors. The post <em>Granta</em>’s... Continue reading at Granta
[ Granta | 2023-03-21 19:02:26 UTC ]
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From sweeping epics of ancient history to stories set in the 1990s, here are 20 beautiful Chinese historical fiction books to read now. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-03-16 10:31:00 UTC ]
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I first connected with Jennifer Rosner as fellow debut authors in early 2020 (you might recall what happened next). Historical fiction authors trip upon, excavate and fictionalize stories from the past that in turn inspire each other. I loved Jennifer’s brilliant debut The Yellow Bird Sings and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-03-16 08:52:55 UTC ]
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This morning, Penguin Press announced that they will be publishing Zadie Smith’s next novel, The Fraud, on September 5, 2023. Here’s how the publisher describes the book: From acclaimed and bestselling novelist Zadie Smith, The Fraud is a kaleidoscopic work of historical fiction set against the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-03-02 14:57:55 UTC ]
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On this week's episode of To Dine For, host Kate Sullivan welcomes Mary Calvi, Emmy-winning reporter and anchor at WCBS in New York City. Calvi is also the author of two historical fiction novels, including Dear George, Dear Mary: A Novel of George Washington's First Love. She has recently been... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2023-02-21 21:48:39 UTC ]
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Take a trip back in time without leaving your seat with 25 of the best historical fiction books of the past 10 years! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-02-21 11:34:00 UTC ]
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Want to make your own king cake this Mardi Gras? One home baker tested four king cake recipes to find out which cookbook takes the cake. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-02-17 11:32:00 UTC ]
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What is it about campus novels that makes us love them so? The campus has inspired many novelists over the years: Michael Chabon, Kazuo Ishiguro, Curtis Sittenfeld, Elif Batuman, Nabokov, to name just a few. Readers love these stories, too; “the campus novel” has become its own literary... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-02-14 09:53:34 UTC ]
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Her 1,300-page “Doubleday Cookbook” was a rival to “The Joy of Cooking,” and her rigorously tested recipes taught generations of home cooks. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-02-09 22:37:04 UTC ]
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Strictly speaking, “sushi” refers not to the raw fish, but rather to the rice seasoned with vinegar, salt, and a bit of sugar. The concept of sushi came from China, where a 4th-century cookbook mentions salted fish being placed in cooked rice to undergo a fermentation process that helped... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-02-08 09:52:05 UTC ]
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