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....

DREAM OF REASON

Rosa Chacel

Translated from the Spanish by Carol Maier

Dream of Reason is an astounding philosophical novel in the tradition of Sartre and Proust, writers to whom Chacel does not suffer by comparison.
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Reviewed by Andy Barnes

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

BRIXTON BEACH

Roma Tearne

Visual artist and writer Roma Tearne is back with her third novel, Brixton Beach and once again, her evocative language shimmers and quivers on the page as she beautifully transfers her artistic visualizations to the written word.
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Reviewed by Joyce Nickel

FOR GRACE RECEIVED

Valeria Parrella

Translated from the Italian by Anthony Shugaar

Forget everything you think about Italy. Forget restored 15th century farmhouses, forget hunting for truffles in autumn, and forget friendly neighbours dropping by with bottles of Chianti and olive oil...
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Reviewed by Joyce Nickel

THE BRIDGE OF THE GOLDEN HORN

Emine Sevgi Ozdamar

Translated from the German by Martin Chalmers and John Berger

The Bridge of the Golden Horn is the story of Turkey and ultimately the story of every struggle, oppression and revolution.
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Reviewed by Andrew Stancek

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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