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Belletrista - A site promoting translated women authored literature from around the world

New & Notable
At Belletrista, we are constantly on the lookout for new and forthcoming books that we think look exciting. Below are some of our favourites for Summer and Autumn 2009. We are a diverse group, so we hope that there will be something in here for everyone. We want to encourage our readers to experience literature written in, or about, parts of the world their reading hadn't taken them to before. In order to help with this, we have categorized the books according to where we think they best represent. Of course, we couldn't resist adding a few of our more familiar favourites in there as well. We have provided some publisher information to help you track down the books you are interested in, but this can vary from place to place. If you like the look of something, check with your local bookshop or library for the best way to get hold of it. Bon voyage!

LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
OUR LADY OF THE NIGHT
Mayra Santos-Febres
Translated from the Spanish by Ernesto Mestre-Reed

Set in Puerto Rico and the US during the years of WWII, Santos-Febres's novel is the remarkable story of a legendary Puerto Rican madam.

Harper Perennial, paperback, 9780061731303
ANNA IN-BETWEEN
Elizabeth Nunez

Anna, who has a successful publishing career in the United States, is the daughter of an upper class Caribbean family. When she discovers her mother has breast cancer she and her father attempt to convince her mother to go to the US for treatment, but her mother flatly refuses. Nunez explores the desire to belong to a community, the age-old relationship of mother and daughter, the mutual respect that is essential for a successful marriage

Akashic, hardcover, 9781933354842
Book cover
THE WHITE WOMAN ON THE GREEN BICYCLE
Monique Roffey

The Harwoods arrive in Trinadad with the intention of staying no more than three years, but he falls in love with the island. She, on the other hand, is uncomfortable with the racial segregation and unrest in her new home and takes solace in the freedom of her new green bicycle.

Penguin (AU), paperback, 9780670073504
Simon & Schuster (UK), 9781847375001 (Oct.)

TELL ME SOMETHING TRUE
Leila Cobo

A young Colombian-American woman uncovers the truth about her deceased mother's secret past in Colombia, and undertakes her own turbulent journey of self-discovery in this debut novel.

Grand Central (US), paperback, 9780446519366 (October)

CLARA
Luisa Valenzuela
Translated by Andrea Labinger

This notable translation of the first major novel of Argentine writer Luisa Valenzuela, was first published in Spanish in 1966 and first translated in English in 1976. Clara is the story of a free spirited young woman, a prostitute in Buenos Aires. "A writer renown for her lyrical, expressionistic exploration of male-dominated Argentine society, Valenzuela here chronicles the bizarre, brutal existence of characters on the fringes, building to a hair-raising climax." —Publishers Weekly

Latin American Literary Review (US), paperback, 1891270095
Book cover
THE SEAMSTRESS
Frances De Ponte Peebles

The Seamstress is a sweeping and vivid story of two sisters set in 1930s Brazil. One sister takes up life with a group of bandits in the bush, while the other marries a suave, wealthy stranger and moves to the city.

Harper Perennial (US), paperback, 9780060738884
DEPARTING AT DAWN: A NOVEL OF ARGENTINA'S DIRTY WAR
Gloria Lisé
Translated from the Spanish by Alice Weldon

Berta is on the list to be "disappeared" after her lover is thrown from a balcony to his death as General Jorge Rafael Videla stages a coup d'etat and establishes a military dictatorship over Argentina in this powerful novel of a terrifying period in Argentina's history.

Feminist Press, paperback, 9781558616035