Keeping a Critical Eye on Brazil: A Conversation with Emilio Fraia, by Anderson Tepper

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 ]

Other news stories related to: "Keeping a Critical Eye on Brazil: A Conversation with Emilio Fraia, by Anderson Tepper"

Remember when famous writers used to shill for consumer products?

Ah, yes, the good old days: when novelists lent their faces and testimonials to advertisers hoping to sell tires, or a certain kind of beer, or fancy watches. It’s something you don’t see very much anymore, because we writers have become too principled to participate in advertising campaigns.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-08-19 17:14:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this

With book tours scrapped, authors are finding new ways to connect with their readers

Chris Bohjalian, Mary Kay Andrews and other novelists have turned to Zoom and Facebook Live to find their audience. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-08-19 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this

‘Little Scratch’ drops readers into the reality of a distressed mind

Rebecca Watson’s debut novel has a simple story line and an experimental approach. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-08-18 07:39:15 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Poets and novelists have been writing about life under COVID-19 for more than a century

From 'islands of pain' to the 'peril of exposure,' writers have captured the fear, emptiness and despair that characterize life during the current pandemic, writes a poet and English scholar. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2020-08-17 12:24:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Carty-Williams, O'Leary and Winterson shortlisted for Comedy Women in Print Prize

Novelists including Candice Carty-Williams, Beth O'Leary and Jeanette Winterson are in the running for the Comedy Women in Print Prize (CWIP). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-16 13:06:20 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Allen & Unwin acquires Reeves debut, Victoria Park

Allen & Unwin is publishing Victoria Park, the debut novel of British teacher Gemma Reeves, set in contemporary east London.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-14 03:42:15 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Reclaim Her Name: why we should free Australia's female novelists from their male pseudonyms

The Women's Prize for Fiction has just published 25 literary works by female authors with their real names for the first time. Could we do the same for Miles Franklin and Henry Handel Richardson here? Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2020-08-13 06:43:53 UTC ]
More news stories like this

In ‘Zo,’ Love Must Overcome Class Difference and Disaster

Xander Miller’s debut novel asks how we can stay together when the world is coming apart. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-08-11 18:21:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Lee Conell’s debut novel is a gripping tale of class and privilege

“The Party Upstairs” focuses on the tenants of one building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side Continue reading at The Economist

[ The Economist | 2020-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Fourth Estate signs PRH editor's 'dazzling' debut for six figures

Fourth Estate has won a five-publisher auction for the “dazzling” debut novel from PRH assistant editor Kasim Ali, in a six-figure two-book deal. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-06 21:45:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Lee Conell’s debut novel is a gripping tale of class and privilege

“The Party Upstairs” focuses on the tenants of one building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side Continue reading at The Economist

[ The Economist | 2020-08-06 14:59:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Alan Dershowitz claims a fictional lawyer defamed him. The implications for novelists are very real.

“Make Russia Great Again” and “Rodham” are two recent novels that benefit from blending fact and fiction. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-08-06 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this

In ‘Luster,’ Young Black Women Feel Uneasy in a White American Home

Raven Leilani’s debut novel follows an interracial, intergenerational affair as it leads to an unusual redefinition of family. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-08-06 09:00:04 UTC ]
More news stories like this

‘The Standardization of Demoralization Procedures’ is a story that John le Carré might have written for ‘The Twilight Zone’

Jennifer Hofmann’s debut novel follows a Stasi agent trying to make sense of his past. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-08-04 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this

The real reason Jay Manuel from ‘ANTM’ made his debut novel fiction, not a memoir

For 18 seasons, he served as creative director and producer of the global phenomenon ‘America’s Next Top Model.’ But his debut novel isn’t the juicy tell-all you might’ve expected. Makeup artist and stylist Jay Manuel has spent more than 20 years in the fashion industry, most famously serving as... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2020-08-03 12:15:52 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Where are the hotshot British male novelists? BAME authors may know

Ashley Hickson-Lovence, Abir Mukherjee, Courttia Newland, Guy Gunaratne, Paul Mendez and Okechukwu Nzelu on why British writers of colour are left out of the conversationAfter this week’s Booker prize longlist was announced, the Times asked “Where are the new male hotshot novelists?” I was... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-07-31 14:10:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Newly launched Renard acquires Iain Hood debut

Renard Press has made its first acquisition, landing Iain Hood's debut novel This Good Book. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-28 22:40:39 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Talking “Breasts and Eggs” with Japan’s Rising Literary Star, Mieko Kawakami

Mieko Kawakami, whose poignant and pointed debut novel Breasts and Eggs is this season’s LARB’s Book Club selection, joins Medaya Ocher and Boris Dralyuk to discuss her career as a musician, poet, blogger, and author, the challenges facing women around the world, the state of Japanese... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2020-07-24 17:23:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this

Gannon releases podcast series to mark debut novel

Emma Gannon is releasing a four-part series of podcasts to mark the publication of her debut novel Olive (HarperCollins). Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-23 16:12:33 UTC ]
More news stories like this

YA superstar Jason Reynolds just sold his debut novel for adults.

Today, Simon and Schuster announced that their imprint Scribner will be publishing the debut novel for adults from #1 New York Times bestselling children’s book author Jason Reynolds, whose books include Look Both Ways and Ghost, both finalists for the National Book Award for Young People’s... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-07-22 16:30:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this