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 ]
In the midst of chaos, the characters in these books find their own ways to metabolize real-life tragedy. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-01-15 10:00:46 UTC ]
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Our annual pick of the most exciting debut fiction has previously tipped Sally Rooney and Louise Kennedy, Tom Crewe and Douglas Stuart. Here the class of 2024 tell us their storiesEach year since 2014, the Observer New Review’s writers and editors have read scores of forthcoming debut novels... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-01-14 07:00:20 UTC ]
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From Richard Osman and Millie Bobby Brown to the upcoming book by Keanu Reeves, celebrity novels are everywhere. What’s behind the boom? And how do non-famous writers feel about it?I understood that if I was going to do it, I would have to put 100% of myself into it,” says Richard Osman about... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-01-13 09:00:12 UTC ]
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Read your way into the best historical fiction of 2023, which spans the globe and time. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-01-12 11:31:00 UTC ]
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Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency has acquired cookbook-focused literary agency the Ekus Group, which will operate as a boutique culinary division. Owner Sally Ekus will head up representation of cookbook and lifestyle titles as senior literary agent. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-09 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple has been noticeably missing in the list of companies with their own generative AI product, but based on a new report by The New York Times, it's looking to change that real soon. In recent weeks, Apple has reportedly started negotiating with major publishers and news organizations to ask... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-12-23 07:43:48 UTC ]
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Novelists in Brooklyn draw inspiration from the New York borough’s cast of thousands, and particularly from its idiosyncratic neighborhoods. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2023-12-21 19:46:00 UTC ]
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There are historical fiction books out there for every reader. Find recommendations for fans of literary fiction, romance, fantasy, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-12-19 11:32:00 UTC ]
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These books provide us with a deeper understanding of what Korea is beyond what we hear or see in popular culture. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-12-15 11:30:00 UTC ]
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Not only is her latest cookbook her first best seller, the veteran chef has come around to whimsical rainbow flair on baked goods. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-12-14 10:02:00 UTC ]
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Monty Python, blasphemers: When the culture wars came for a little film called Life of Brian. | Lit Hub Film & TV “Moderation did not win the public’s favor.” How hot beverages became all the rage in 18th-century Britain. | Lit Hub History Debbie Urbanski urges novelists to think about AI... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-08 11:30:19 UTC ]
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Let’s imagine, for the purpose of this essay, that the following statement is true: An AI writes a novel. Actually, forget about the imagining. This is already happening. Today’s AIs—large language models (LLMs) specifically, like GPT-4—can write. If you’ve glanced at the headlines this year,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-08 09:51:43 UTC ]
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Should historical fiction stick to the views and opinions of the time, or provide a modern perspective? Here are the pros and cons. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-12-05 11:31:00 UTC ]
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It’s been a roller coaster of a year. Thankfully, we’ve had novels to whisk us to days gone by, even if those eras had their own highs and lows. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-12-05 10:01:03 UTC ]
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Sustainable diets have been around for ages. An emerging cookbook genre that tackles the climate crisis signals a new appetite for change. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2023-12-02 13:00:00 UTC ]
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A secret, a disappearance, a frozen body and a mysterious stranger — these historical novels have something for everyone. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2023-12-01 10:53:25 UTC ]
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Categorising fiction may help to sell books, but it says little about how writers write or readers readIn her Reith lecture of 2017, recently published for the first time in a posthumous collection of nonfiction, A Memoir of My Former Self, Hilary Mantel recalled the beginnings of her career as... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2023-11-27 12:30:00 UTC ]
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These days, there's a cookbook for practically every franchise. We talk to two writers behind cookbooks for Tolkien and H.P. Lovecraft. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-11-24 11:35:00 UTC ]
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Since the publication of his first novel in 1999, Colson Whitehead has become one of the most lauded, prized, taught, and studied American novelists writing today. Winner of the National Book Award, two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize (the only writer apart from William Faulkner and John... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-11-21 09:40:53 UTC ]
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The first edition of De Los|Reads features a new fiction book from Mario Vargas Llosa, a cookbook from Sandra A. Gutierrez, several memoirs and a book for children who aren't ready for bed. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-11-16 05:37:22 UTC ]
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