Interviews Emilio Fraia’s Sevastopol, out this summer from New Directions, is the sort of book that beguiles and dazzles in equal measure. Consisting of three disparate stories—of a mountain climber attempting to scale Mt. Everest, a mysterious loner who vanishes into the Brazilian countryside, and an avant-garde production set during the Crimean War—the book is an enigma: Is it a linked collection, a “novel-in-stories,” or something else entirely? Fluidly translated by Zoë Perry, the work came together over an extended period, with sections first published in Granta’s Best Young Brazilian Novelists issue in 2012 and the New Yorker in 2019. Fraia, who lives in São Paulo, spoke over email about Sevastopol, the shadowy realms of fiction, and the “Fora Bolsonaro” movement, among other things. Anderson Tepper: Emilio, before I ask you about the book, I want to know how things are in Brazil right now and what is happening with the pandemic. Emilio Fraia: So far, some 560,000 Brazilians have died, the direct result of Bolsonaro’s criminal conduct during the pandemic. He has made countless statements against the vaccine, against wearing masks, and in favor of ineffective drug therapies. At no point during this tragedy has the president uttered a single word of true grief for victims of the virus. And as if that weren’t enough, now his government is embroiled in a bribery scandal involving the purchase of overpriced vaccines, and every... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2021-08-09 20:31:30 UTC ]
When the “Crime Junkie” co-host’s debut novel came out, it didn’t seem real until she signed copies to the sound of boarding announcements. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-09-01 19:00:31 UTC ]
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Set on the idyllic New England campus of an elite art school called Wrynn, and situated against the backdrop of the Occupy Wall Street movement, Antonia Angress’ debut novel Sirens & Muses is an exemplary depiction of what can occur at the intersection of art and adolescence. This... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-09-01 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Congratulations to Tess Gunty, whose critically acclaimed debut novel The Rabbit Hutch has just won the inaugural Waterstones debut fiction prize. The novel (about four teenagers—recently aged out of the state foster-care system—living together in an apartment building in the post-industrial... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-26 15:48:11 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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While other future novelists were discussing iambic pentameter and leitmotifs, Gina Chen immersed herself in computer science. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-08-25 09:00:11 UTC ]
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A Black Muslim leader is bringing his life story and work to Broadleaf; novelists Tosca Lee and Marcus Brotherton are joining forces on a WWII story coming from Revell, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Tess Gunty’s debut novel The Rabbit Hutch follows the inhabitants of a low-income housing complex, called the Rabbit Hutch, in Vacca Vale, Indiana. It’s a loud novel, full of many voices, since there are many inhabitants of the Rabbit Hutch, some of whom we know by apartment number and some by... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-08-18 11:00:00 UTC ]
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The 24-year-old’s debut novel Bestiary gained plaudits in 2020. Now her love of fairy tales and queer literature has led to a collection of short storiesK-Ming Chang’s origins as a writer can be traced back to when she was approximately eight years old. At school in California, she would amuse... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-08-17 08:32:12 UTC ]
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A debut novel views a middle-aged organic farmer through the eyes of a 21-year-old woman he preys upon. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-08-15 19:37:36 UTC ]
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Sneha, the 22-year-old protagonist of Sarah Thankam Mathews’ debut novel All This Could Be Different, is the dutiful immigrant daughter. Despite the long recession, she bagged a corporate job right after college, and a free apartment in Brewers Hill, Milwaukee. She regularly sends money home to... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-08-11 11:00:00 UTC ]
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The latest from Jamie Ford, a debut novel by Anthony Marra, and two Jane Austen classics are among the titles selected by book clubs across the country for the month of August. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-08 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Taymour Soomro’s debut novel Other Names for Love begins with a son flinching at the sound of his father’s voice. Sixteen-year-old Fahad has been ordered to spend the summer with Rafik, his authoritarian father who manages their family farm in Sindh, Pakistan. It’s on the train ride there that... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-08-02 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Gentrification takes center stage in Cleyvis Natera’s debut novel Neruda on the Park, which follows the different reactions the members of the Guerrero family have to the impending redevelopment of their predominantly Dominican New York City neighborhood.When a neighboring tenement is demolished... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-07-28 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Six of the 13 writers in contention for the prestigious British literary award are from the United States, with novelists from Britain, Ireland and Zimbabwe also on the list. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2022-07-26 14:51:57 UTC ]
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Before we begin, I must confess to my bias. I am not an objective reader, so in some ways I have already failed. A few months before I read Elif Batuman’s debut novel The Idiot, I had a conversation with a friend that unlocked a safe in my brain. After, there was nowhere I could […] The post... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-07-19 11:05:00 UTC ]
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An excerpt from Tess Gunty's debut novel The Rabbit Hutch. The post Where Life Lives On appeared first on Granta. Continue reading at Granta
[ Granta | 2022-07-19 10:43:28 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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The best literary fiction is in some ways a simple character study. It is a roadmap into the interiority of a specific character: the way they think, how their identity impacts their relationships, and what decisions get made in response to the socio-political pressures shaping their lives. But... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2022-06-24 11:00:00 UTC ]
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After 50 years, the prize has been scrapped. How did it change Britain’s literary landscape? And what happened at the awards when Margaret Drabble was seated next to Theresa May?Margaret Drabble was a bright young star with five novels to her name in 1971, when she was talked into joining her... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-06-23 05:00:38 UTC ]
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Patrice Nganang’s Cameroon trilogy challenges the capacities of literary fiction with the turbulent complexities of his home country. Continue reading at New Yorker
[ New Yorker | 2022-06-20 10:00:00 UTC ]
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