This is an archived issue of Belletrista. If you are looking for the current issue, you can find it here
Belletrista - A site promoting translated women authored literature from around the world
photo of Lia Levi photo of Asa Larsson photo of Patricia Grace

Meet Italy's Award-winning author Lia Levi in this interview with Paola Sergi.

Fifteen years old and All Grown Up? Rachael Beale takes us on an Orange Prize retrospective journey.

In Praise of New Zealand's Patricia Grace

Welcome to our fourth issue, and a further excursion into the wonderful world of literature! This time we feature an interview with Italy's celebrated Lia Levi, and we also introduce the works of Patricia Grace from New Zealand, Assia Djebar from Algeria, and two new authors, Maaza Mengiste and Nadifa Mohamed, from East Africa. Our very own Rachael Beale talks to some of the women behind the British Orange Prize in a retrospective piece. And just in case you don't have enough to read, we present 22 reviews of books by authors representing 17 different countries. Finally, we've included more than 60 original and distinctive titles from around the globe in the New and Notable section, for your browsing pleasure. We have thoroughly enjoyed producing this issue for you, and hope that you'll relish it!

Reviews
Below is a small tantalizing selection of this month's reviews....
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RUBY'S SPOON
Anna Lawrence Pietroni

Thirteen year old Ruby is growing up in Cradle Cross in the Black Country during the 1930s. It was an industrial but also rural part of England, dependent on the canal system for its trade.
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Reviewed by Charlotte Simpson
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INNOCENT WORLD
Ami Sakurai
Translated from the Japanese by Steven Clark

Innocent World may be a novella, but it generates the amount of discussion typical of tome-like novels or series. Its edgy content and even edgier messages led it to be passed around my workplace like contraband...
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Reviewed by Caitin Fehir
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RIEN NE VA PLUS
Margarita Karapanou
Translated from the Greek by Karen Emmerich

Is there any word more ambiguous than "love", asks the much-loved Greek author, Margarita Karapanou. Three characters declare their undying love for the object of their affection and proceed to play out their passion in the most bizarre and, sometimes, disturbing ways.
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Reviewed by Akeela Gaibie-Dawood
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COLD EARTH
Sarah Moss

'University academics' is not a phrase which generally conjures up thoughts of excitement, thrills and life-threatening danger....
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Reviewed by F. T. Huffkin
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PRIMEVAL AND OTHER TIMES
Olga Tokarczuk
Translated from the Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones

In the heart of Poland lies the village of Primeval; according to Olga Tokarczuk, "Primeval is the place at the centre of the universe."
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Reviewed by Jane A. Jones


Telling Our Stories
Photo of Two Authors
Belinda Otas introduces us to East African debut authors Maaza Mengiste and Nadifa Mohamed.
Trio: Assia Djebar
Photo of Assia Djebar
Tad Deffler reviews three books by Algerian author Assia Djebar