Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi won the Man Booker International Prize this year for its beautifully rendered portrayal of a family’s tangled history in the village of al-Awafi in Oman. The novel was the first book translated from Arabic to win the prize, and more surprisingly, it was the first novel by an Omani woman […] The post Why All Americans Should Read “Celestial Bodies” appeared first on Electric Literature. Continue reading at 'Electric Literature'
[ Electric Literature | 2019-11-26 11:59:00 UTC ]
What lengths will we go to in order to belong? To be part of something exclusive? To be part of a sisterhood or brotherhood? That’s the searing question that authors Benjamin Nugent and Genevieve Sly Crane try to answer in their books about college Greek life. Nugent’s Fraternity, a collection... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-10-02 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Today the Center for Fiction announced the shortlist for its 2020 First Novel Prize. The prize, first awarded in 2006, recognizes the best debut fiction of the year, and it comes with $15,000; each finalist receives $1,000. Previous winners include De’Shawn Charles Winslow, Tommy Orange, and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-10-01 15:05:06 UTC ]
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In his memoir Children of the Land, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo tells the story of growing up undocumented in California and having to navigate the convoluted and dehumanizing American immigration system. Hernandez Castillo captures the emotional and psychological toll that being both invisible... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-10-01 11:00:54 UTC ]
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Before writing my debut novel Bestiary, I began a year-long process of translating letters written by my grandmother, many of which were addressed to people I didn’t know. While attempting these translations, I realized the impossibilities and possibilities of the task—the losses and gaps and... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-09-28 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Autumn means changing leaves, apple-based baked goods, decorative gourds, pumpkin spice lattes—and an avalanche of literary award longlists. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the must-read National Book Award nominees you’re now realizing you didn’t read, why not base your TBR pile off of... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-09-25 11:00:06 UTC ]
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Science journalist and debut author Angela Chen remembers the first time she saw the word “asexuality”—online, on the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN). I don’t remember the first time I saw the word, though I know I first used it in the negative—as in, I may have “weird” views on... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-09-21 11:00:38 UTC ]
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In order to fit more texts into my Asian American literature course, I sometimes assign the play adaptation of Jessica Hagedorn’s novel Dogeaters. The novel is canonized within Asian American literature and features an imagined version of the Philippines made from film and radio tropes, found... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-09-17 11:00:54 UTC ]
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Nunez’s first novel since winning the National Book Award follows a woman and her terminally ill friend. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-09-16 16:32:08 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury is to publish Patricia Lockwood's first novel No One Is Talking About This, after winning a 10-way auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-09-16 02:57:52 UTC ]
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Yaa Gyasi’s debut novel Homegoing told the story of two branches of a Ghanaian family, one descended from a woman who marries a white slave trader and whose line stays in Ghana, another descended from her half-sister who is captured and sent to America in bondage. Gyasi’s second novel... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-09-11 11:00:00 UTC ]
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The new book from the author of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell takes place in one house, but in it, she finds infinite space. Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2020-09-10 18:15:39 UTC ]
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What was the first novel? Why was it written? What need did it fill? Who wrote it? And most importantly, can you still read it today? Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-09-02 10:32:00 UTC ]
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In her first novel in five years, the author of “My Brilliant Friend” revisits old themes. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-09-01 09:00:11 UTC ]
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Pigs They are born in a flood of magma. They claw their way to the center of the earth. They don’t know what a blouse is, and they don’t care. There are seventeen constellations named for their kin. They coordinate all the Monday briefings. When they read the wrong books, they return them to... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-08-31 11:00:00 UTC ]
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The Little Mermaid sacrifices her tail for a human soul. The Navajo Changing Woman grows old and is reborn with the seasons. The nymph Daphne becomes a tree to escape lovesick Apollo. Women transform because we are hungry. We transform because we’re restless, and because we’re dangerous. Women... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-08-28 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Though you’ve probably only learned Mieko Kawakami’s name recently, with the release of Breasts and Eggs from renowned indie press Europa Editions, she’s been a well-known figure in the Japanese literary world for several years. Haruki Murakami called her his favorite young novelist, and the... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-08-28 11:00:00 UTC ]
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August is Women in Translation month, dedicated to works of literature originally written by women in languages other than English. As we explained in our 2018 version of this list, such works make up a tiny percentage of the books published in the United States each year, though with increased... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-08-26 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Janet, the acerbic narrator of Lucie Britsch’s debut novel Sad Janet, is a resister. She’s sad—has been for most of her life—and doesn’t want to take the pills that big pharma, her mother, and the culture at-large is pushing on her to “fix” her. She’s content with sadness, and she’s not into the... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-08-26 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Interviews Get to know the participants of the upcoming 2020 Neustadt Festival in this series of short interviews. First up: David Bellos! David Bellos is a professor of French and comparative literature as well as director of the Program in Translation... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2020-08-25 20:30:39 UTC ]
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My memoir is not unique. But only in the sense that my story unfolds with New York City as the backdrop, where so many other stories have unfolded and will continue to unfold long after I’m gone. That’s the beauty of this multilayered city: it unravels you, and no one’s unraveling is alike. Yes,... Continue reading at Electric Literature
[ Electric Literature | 2020-08-25 11:00:12 UTC ]
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