Old Injustices That Won’t Die in the Fiction of Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, by Apala Bhowmick

Book Reviews Apala Bhowmick The Aunt Who Wouldn’t Die (John Murray, 2019), by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, translated from the original Bangla by Arunava Sinha, is a fast-paced thriller about the rescue mission around the flagging finances of an erstwhile-affluent Bengali family who open a shop in the city that sells sarees. The narrators consist of three women of different generations of the family, lending the plot a delightful tripartite divide. It is a tale about the tenacity of the human spirit to withstand hardships and about human relationships that endure. This translation—of a difficult text to translate—possesses the rare quality of being appealing to both the English-speaking reader and to the audience who can understand the Bengali language. I’ve had a chance to read the original Bengali text as well, and the work has been successfully transferred, cultural flavor and all, into a rather curt and mercantile language like English. Speaking of mercantilism, the reader will be afforded a sidelong glance at upper-middle-class Bengali sentiments, at least at a certain point in the history of this community, toward professions like the merchant’s or the petit bourgeois shopkeeper’s. Words like shaashuri and Pishima have been retained, and the name Chakor Mitra, which the reader will encounter on the very first page, is phonetically funny but also funny when you know the implications of the first name when it’s used as a noun in... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'

[ World Literature Today | 2020-03-10 15:47:11 UTC ]
News tagged with: #indie publisher

Other news stories related to: "Old Injustices That Won’t Die in the Fiction of Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, by Apala Bhowmick"


Old Injustices That Won’t Die in the Fiction of Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, by Apala Bhowmick

Book Reviews Apala Bhowmick The Aunt Who Wouldn’t Die (John Murray, 2019), by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, translated from the original Bangla by Arunava Sinha, is a fast-paced thriller about the rescue mission around the flagging finances of an... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2020-03-10 15:47:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #indie publisher


Vernor Vinge, Innovative Science Fiction Novelist, Dies at 79

He conceived an early version of cyberspace and predicted the “technological singularity,” a tipping point at which machines would become smarter than humans. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-03-28 22:04:59 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #science fiction #tipping point #early version


David Ferry, Poet and Translator Who Won Acclaim Late in Life, Dies at 99

After nearly 40 years as a professor, he began a new career writing poems and translating classics. He won a National Book Award when he was 86. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2023-11-11 18:29:17 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #national book award #david ferry


Eric Brown, science fiction author and Guardian critic, dies aged 62

Writers, publishers and agents pay tribute to a warm, generous figure, author of more than 50 books ranging from SFF to crime to children’s literatureEric Brown, a prolific, award-winning author who published more than 50 novels, children’s books and short story collections, and who was the... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-03-23 13:58:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #science fiction #award-winning author #west yorkshire


Tess Gunty has won the inaugural Waterstones debut fiction prize.

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 ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #debut novel #waterstones booksellers #rabbit hutch #tess gunty


Jesmyn Ward has won the 2022 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction.

Jesmyn Ward—the two-time National Book Award-winning author of Salvage the Bones and Sing, Unburied, Sing—has just become, at 45, the youngest ever winner of the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. The prize, which was established in 2008 as a lifetime achievement award, honors “an... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-07-01 17:08:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #award-winning author #american fiction #jesmyn ward #congress prize


Petra Mayer, NPR books editor who championed fantasy and romance fiction, dies at 46

Known to legions of radio listeners for her exuberant coverage of literature and culture, she was a self-described “resident nerd” at NPR. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-11-16 04:21:16 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #books editor #resident nerd #romance fiction #petra mayer


‘Dune’ has long divided the science fiction world. The new film won’t change that.

Frank Herbert’s magnum opus: masterful or clumsy? Denis Villeneuve’s movie continues the debate. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-10-21 13:13:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #science fiction #denis villeneuve #magnum opus #frank herbert


Martin J. Sherwin, whose Oppenheimer biography won a Pulitzer, dies at 84

He partnered with Kai Bird to publish “American Prometheus,” one of three books he wrote on the Cold War and nuclear weapons. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-10-08 14:44:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #cold war #kai bird


Joy Williams has won the 2021 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction.

Today, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced that Joy Williams will receive the 2021 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction, which honors an American writer whose body of work is distinguished for both its mastery and originality of thought and imagination. Williams, a previous... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-06-30 17:19:46 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #national book award #pulitzer prize #american writer #american fiction #congress prize #joy williams


Vance Trimble, who won Pulitzer Prize by exposing congressional corruption, dies at 107

He unearthed nepotism and self-serving financial dealings in 1959 and later published best-selling biographies. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-06-19 12:44:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pulitzer prize


James Gunn, Prizewinning Science Fiction Author, Dies at 97

In short stories like “The Immortals” and novels like “The Listeners,” Mr. Gunn helped prepare readers for the future. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-02-11 17:10:44 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #science fiction #short stories


Historical fiction 'giant' Sharon Penman dies, aged 75

Tributes have been paid to US author Sharon Penman, a “giant” of historical fiction, who has passed away at the age of 75. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-01-28 04:51:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #historical fiction


Philip Roth, Titan of American Fiction, Dies at 85

“The struggle with writing is done.” The Newark-born novelist, whose prolific output was matched perhaps only by his facility with the English language, died of congestive heart failure in Manhattan on May 22. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-05-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #english language #american fiction #philip roth


Richard Wilbur, who twice won Pulitzer Prize for his poetry, dies at 96

Richard Wilbur, the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and translator who intrigued and delighted generations of readers and theater-goers through his rhyming editions of Moliere and his own verse on memory, writing and nature, has died. Wilbur died Saturday night in Belmont, Mass., with his family by... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


English science fiction great Brian Aldiss, author behind Spielberg film 'AI,' dies at 92

Aldiss helped shape and elevate the science fiction genre, but he recognized its mutability. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2017-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #spielberg film


Gaylord Shaw dies at 73; journalist won a Pulitzer for The Times in 1978

Gaylord Shaw, a renowned journalist who broke the news of Richard Nixon's resignation and won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting in 1978 for the Los Angeles Times, has died at age 73. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-09-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #richard nixon #pulitzer prize #journalist won


Historical Fiction Books for People Who Don’t Like Historical Fiction

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 ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #historical fiction #literary fiction #find recommendations


10 Tudor Fiction Titles to Step Up Your Historical Fiction

The Tudor Dynasty lives on in these outstanding historical fiction novels, including The King’s Witch. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-10-22 10:33:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fiction titles #historical fiction


Non-fiction and children’s outstrip fiction in Ireland as sales fillip continues

After encouraging sales despite bookshops’ closures in the first lockdown, the market in Ireland has responded remarkably well since, with sales of Non-Fiction and Children’s titles particularly solid. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-10 13:31:14 UTC ]
More news stories like this |