Belletrista

This is an archived issue of Belletrista. If you are looking for the current issue, you can find it here


In Praise of Herta Müller: Winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize for Literature	Holiday shopping? Let us help you with the readers on your list!	Carolyn Kelly Muses about the Booker, the Frankfurt Book Fair, and the German Book Prize.

Welcome to the second issue of Belletrista! After the heady response to our launch issue, we're thrilled to be back to celebrate more astonishingly diverse works from talented women the world over. In this issue, you'll find alluring reviews of books from Mexico, Iceland, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Russia, and more. Don't miss the informative feature on the Ugandan women writers' association, Femrite, and the enlightening companion article profiling meritorious Ugandan authors. We've also, in our unique way, endeavored to shed some light on the Booker, Nobel and Giller Prizes. Finally, with the holidays in mind, we offer a host of gift suggestions to help you find the best picks for yourself, and the book-loving folk in your life. Happy (armchair) travels!

Reviews
Below are a tantalizingly small selection of this month's reviews....

THE LIEUTENANT

Kate Grenville

The Lieutenant is an historical novel set mainly in the early years of the first British colony which was established in 1788 at Sydney Cove, Australia.
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Reviewed by Meg Merrylees

THE SECRET HISTORY OF MOSCOW

Ekaterina Sedia

The Secret History of Moscow is an urban fantasy set — as the title might lead you to suspect — in, and under, Moscow.
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Reviewed by Tim Jones

DEPARTING AT DAWN

Gloria Lisé

Translated from the Spanish by Alice Weldon

Although Departing at Dawn is about a horrible, brutal period, it is not a book about horror and brutality. In the opening sentence, Berta watches as her lover...
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Reviewed by Andy Barnes

ZUBAIDA'S WINDOW: A NOVEL OF IRAQI EXILE

Iqbal Al-Qazwini

Translated from the Arabic by Azza El-Kholy and Amira Nowaira

In her sitting room in Berlin, Zubaida watches in horror as her homeland is ravaged publicly on the TV screen during the 2003 invasion of Iraq...
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Reviewed by Akeela Gaibie-Dawood

MY MEN

Malika Mokeddem

Translated from the French by Laura Rice and Karim Hamdy

Dr. Malika Mokeddem (1949-), an Algerian kidney specialist and award-winning novelist, has a fascinating and inspiring story to tell, and in My Men she does so obliquely but effectively.
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Reviewed by Darryl Morris

FEMRITE and Ugandan Women Writers

A peek into an dynamic organization created to nurture women writers and a deeper look at five of its splendid writers.

Women Writers Dominate the Giller Prize

Photo of Kim Echlin, Annabel Lyon and Alice Munro

An unprecedented ten of the twelve long-listed books were written by women writers. Three remain on the shortlist. Joyce Nickels takes us on a whirlwind tour of the authors and their books...

New Biographies of Women Authors

Photo of actor representing the Alcott family

2009 has been a great year for biographies (and at least one documentary). Check out our list.

New and Notable Books

Our latest collection of intriguing titles for November and December.

Belletrista - Issue 2
November/December 2009

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