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 ]
The biting cultural commentary that emanates from the pages of Alexandra Tanner’s debut novel Worry is like the too-bright light of a smartphone screen at night, pulling you closer and keeping you absorbed late into the night. One year following a secret suicide attempt that only Jules, our... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2024-03-26 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Rita Bullwinkel’s debut novel Headshot takes place in the confines of a boxing ring in Reno, Nevada, over two days of championship matches to determine the winner of the 12th Annual Women’s 18 & Under Daughters of America Cup. Her protagonists, eight teenage girls, fight each other in a... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2024-03-13 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Vinson Cunningham’s impressive debut novel finds a watchful campaign aide measuring his ambitions on the trail of a magnetic presidential candidate. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-03-12 09:00:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Gather ’round, children, and let me tell you a story about the old bugaboo we used to call DRM. Digital Rights Management was the beast under every gamer’s bed in the mid-2000s, an invisible bit of software baked into game discs that dictated and tracked player behavior under the guise of... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2024-03-04 16:30:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Summit publisher Judy Clain’s inaugural acquisition, a debut novel titled ‘Great Black Hope’ by Rob Franklin, bodes well for storied imprint’s relaunch. Clain, previously editor-in-chief of Little, Brown, called Franklin “the writer we dreamed of publishing” at Summit. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-01 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Are utopias becoming a trend in fiction during this dystopian era? The debut novel from Phillip B. Williams, 'Ours,' embraces magic without ignoring reality. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-02-24 11:09:13 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The London Book Fair embraces its new status as the first major publishing event of the year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-23 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Arthur's debut novel Once a Queen, a young adult "portal fantasy," talks to PW about writing her first novel, and her love of fantasy. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-20 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Arthur's debut novel Once a Queen, a young adult "portal fantasy," talks to PW about writing her first novel, and her love of fantasy. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Scott Guild's debut novel (and companion album) 'Plastic' is a dark and entertaining saga about a postapocalyptic world populated by plastic figurines. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-02-15 21:43:40 UTC ]
More news stories like this
When I was ghostwriting full-time, I produced twenty books in fourteen years. Thanks to a suggestion from my literary agent, I realized a ghostwriter might make a great heroine—they’re under tremendous pressure, often while adjacent to the fame machine—so Mari Hawthorn, the ghostwriter at the... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2024-02-15 12:05:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Andrew Ewell's debut novel 'Set for Life' is well-written but doesn't fulfill its potential. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-02-09 16:00:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Three Black women novelists make their debut with tales of inheritance, friendship, and alternate futures. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-08 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Despite mounting objections from within the American literary community (as well as public condemnation from two prominent novelists who recently cut ties with the organization), on Wednesday evening PEN America’s Los Angeles branch went ahead with its hosting of a conversation between stand-up... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-02-02 19:14:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Two prominent novelists have broken with PEN America over the organization’s decision to platform controversial actor and outspoken ceasefire opponent Mayim Bialik, as well as its relative silence on the unfolding genocide in Gaza (which so far has claimed the lives of at least 120 writers,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2024-01-31 20:56:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this
The debut novel from Leo Vardiashvili, 'Hard by a Great Forest,' has its commercial trappings but ultimately lands with lyrical and heartbreaking resonance. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-01-31 18:43:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Temim Fruchter’s debut novel centers around a young woman, Shiva, seeking answers about her family’s past after the death of her father. Told in revolving perspectives, between women in Shiva’s family and a mysterious, omniscient narrator, the book explores the interior lives of women,... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2024-01-24 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
Temim Fruchter’s debut novel centers around a young woman, Shiva, seeking answers about her family’s past after the death of her father. Told in revolving perspectives, between women in Shiva’s family and a mysterious, omniscient narrator, the book explores the interior lives of women,... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2024-01-24 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this
In Kaveh Akbar's brilliant debut novel, 'Martyr!', an Iranian American man in addiction recovery becomes obsessed with the concept of martyrdom. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-01-22 11:00:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this
From the shock and awe of labour to domestic isolation, a wave of recent novels captures the transformative nature of being a motherThey say nothing prepares you. Before having my baby, I approached the literature of motherhood as though I were about to sit an exam. If my studies tempered the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2024-01-20 11:00:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this