Can We Truly Be Free of Our Past? A Conversation with Wendy Chen, by Xixuan Collins Interviews [email protected] Mon, 04/29/2024 - 15:10 An epic family saga that spans over one hundred years and two countries, Wendy Chen’s powerful, lyrical debut, Their Divine Fires (Algonquin, forthcoming on May 7, 2024), is about history, love, passion, loyalty, betrayal, and our desire to be free of our past. In the novel, four generations of women survived the formidable hardship in China during the tumultuous twentieth century—the warlord melee, the Communist–Nationalist civil war, the Japanese invasion, and the Cultural Revolution—each emerging with unspeakable loss and heartache yet undampened spirit for life and the future. An intimate study of family relationships with the backdrop of a chaotic, changing world, this book provides a perspective on Chinese history rarely seen in American literature. Xixuan Collins: You capture the emotions of the four generations of Chinese and Chinese American women so vividly. You have said that you were inspired by your grandmother’s stories of her mother and uncles and the ways they fought, lived, and died for what they believed in. Can you tell us a little more about the story behind your story; that is, what was the moment when you realized you had a story to tell and you felt compelled to sit down and write this novel? Wendy Chen: My grandmother would always tell me stories of her family when I... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2024-04-29 20:10:46 UTC ]
Let's talk about great book titles. But in order to find out what makes a good book title, let's first explore the worst book titles. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-01-03 11:36:00 UTC ]
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Poets, literary fiction authors, and other unexpected writers are taking their shot at sci-fi and fantasy. Here are some of the best, including Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-12-20 11:35:00 UTC ]
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The Passenger, Cormac McCarthy’s first novel since The Road in 2006, shows him at the peak of his powers even as he nears his ninetieth year. Continue reading at The Conversation
[ The Conversation | 2022-11-24 13:19:55 UTC ]
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Anna Moschovakis is one of those unicorns in the literary world who manages not only to do it all, but do it well—more than well. She is a poet, translator, novelist, critic, publisher, professor, and community organizer. Her translation from French of David Diop’s At Night All Blood Is Black... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-11-17 09:51:50 UTC ]
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Is there anything scarier than not knowing what great book you’re going to read next? Big love to the booksellers at Exile in Bookville (Chicago, IL), Raven Book Store (Lawrence, KS), Copper Dog Books (Beverly, MA), and The Haunted Bookshop (Iowa City, IA) for their generous recommendations.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-31 08:59:42 UTC ]
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More than 250 literary figures rail against acquisition by Penguin Random House of book by conservative US supreme court justiceMore than 250 figures from the US literary world have signed an open letter protesting the acquisition by Penguin Random House of a book by the conservative supreme... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-10-27 06:00:22 UTC ]
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The following is an excerpt from Joy Harjo’s The Art of Memoir and appeared in Lit Hub’s The Craft of Writing newsletter—sign up here. * At unexpected points in life, everyone gets waylaid by the colossal force of recollection. One minute you’re a grown-ass woman, then a whiff of cumin conjures... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-21 08:53:59 UTC ]
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Unsurprisingly, George Saunders is kind of a chaotic reader. | Lit Hub Ross Gay sings the praises of adult braces, feeling needed, and kissing a very small dog one million times. | Lit Hub Memoir “It is this uneasiness that helped me nurture such a wild and fucked-up imagination—an imagination... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-10-18 10:30:42 UTC ]
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Here’s a quick look at some notable books—new titles from George Saunders, Samanta Schweblin, Barbara Kingsolver, and more—that are publishing this week. Want to learn more about upcoming titles? Then go read our most recent book preview. Want to help The Millions keep churning out great books... Continue reading at The Millions
[ The Millions | 2022-10-18 09:59:40 UTC ]
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Author of the Inspector Alan Banks series and welcome presence at crime fiction festivals around the worldPeter Robinson was the creator of the immensely popular Inspector Alan Banks crime series, set in Yorkshire – the books sold almost 9m copies in 19 languages and spawned a successful... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-10-14 16:44:04 UTC ]
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A passage from Cormac McCarthy’s first novel since his Pulitzer Prize-winning 2006 book “The Road.” Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-10-14 12:10:42 UTC ]
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Spiracle will feature titles from independent presses, while last month, Spotify also began offering audiobooks to US customersA new audiobook platform which aims to create a “lovely, welcoming, independent bookstore kind of vibe” has launched, as audio giant Spotify also enters the fast-growing... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-10-03 18:09:30 UTC ]
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"Please don't ban my books in my hometown," John Green concluded in the TikTok. "It's really upsetting for my mom." Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2022-09-13 13:44:10 UTC ]
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We talk with Jill and Adlai Yeomans, owners of White Whale Bookstore in Pittsburgh, Pa., which focuses on literary fiction. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary world riven by conflict as trade union is accused of inappropriately taking sides in culture warIt is a literary row that threatens to consume the very organisation set up to protect authors’ rights. And, in spite of the involvement of three prominent names in children’s books, it has... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-08-21 09:00:05 UTC ]
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Author of The Horse Whisperer, the 1995 book that was turned into a popular film, starring and directed by Robert RedfordNicholas Evans, who has died aged 72 after a heart attack, was the unlikely author of the bestselling novel The Horse Whisperer (1995), which became a Robert Redford film.... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-08-16 17:09:25 UTC ]
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Yep, you guessed it: “Barefoot Bookseller,” the greatest job in the literary world, is once again accepting applications. Would you like to run a bookstore on a desert island in the Maldives for a year? What if I told you that you weren’t allowed to wear shoes . . . or read the news? I […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-01 13:04:38 UTC ]
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Today in extremely niche literary world factoids: in case you didn’t know (I did not) Zadie Smith has a younger brother named Ben Bailey Smith, an actor and standup who goes by Doc Brown, admires Taylor Swift’s writing ability, and features in Netflix’s new adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-07-20 16:07:31 UTC ]
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Many fiction writers wind up wishing they could redraft their early works. Akhil Sharma actually did. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-07-12 13:49:06 UTC ]
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Yep, as the guy in your MFA already knows, turns out reading literary fiction is better for you than reading other kinds of fiction—especially if you grew up doing it. In a new paper published this week in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, scholars Nicholas Buttrick, Erin C.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-07-08 16:16:52 UTC ]
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