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 Ahdaf Soueif Image of the Hindu goddess Parvati Description

TRIO! Ceri Evans discusses three books by Egyptian author Ahdaf Soueif.

"Seven Little Rooms" - original fiction by notable Hindi author Mridula Garg.

Who Has the Power? Reading Arab Women in English
by M. Lynx Qualey

Welcome, readers, to our sixth issue! Besides our regular review section featuring an array of intriguing books, and the tantalizing previews of new books in our New & Notable section, we have provided you with a compelling mix of fascinating articles this issue. There is a thought-provoking piece on reading the work of Arab Women in translation, one of our "Trios" explores three books by Ahdaf Soueif, and we report back from the splashy Book Expo America. In this issue we are honored to introduce to our readers the eminent Indian author Mridula Garg with two pieces: the first is an original short story translated from the Hindi by the author herself, and a second piece by Sunita Jain on Ms. Garg's place in literature.

We hope you enjoy this wonderful issue and with it we complete our first year of celebrating literature written by women all over the world! Thank you for being a part of our reading community.

Reviews
Click on 'Reviews' to see the full list of this issue's reviews...
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INFINITY IN THE PALM OF HER HAND
Gioconda Belli
Translated from the Spanish by Sayers Peden

I love retellings of popular stories (fairy tales, the King Arthur legend, fables), love venturing into familiar territory in an unfamiliar way, seeing how an author can give a voice to characters previously on the sidelines. In Infinity in the Palm of Her Hand, Gioconda Belli tackles the story of Adam and Eve…
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Reviewing by Caitlin Fehir
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THURSDAY NIGHT WIDOWS
Claudia Piñeiro
Translated from the Portuguese by Miranda France

Claudia Piñeiro's Thursday Night Widows presents itself as a thriller. Yet even though in the opening we have three dead bodies in a pool and are promised an investigation of how they came to be there, this novel has more in common with Camus, or with DeLillo, than with a standard thriller. The bodies remain decaying…
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Reviewed by Andrew Stancek
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THE LINE
Olga Gruskin

Once there was a line. It was a line leading to a kiosk. What was being sold in the kiosk, nobody knew. But those who stood in line lived in hope that the reward for their waiting would be something interesting or useful. The kiosk was almost always shut with signs saying, "Gone to the parade" or "Closed for accounting. Be back on Monday" or "Out with the flu. Will reopen in January."
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Reviewed by Jane Anderson Jones
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THAT MAD ACHE
Françoise Sagan
Translated from the French by Douglas Hofstadter

That Mad Ache takes us to glamorous 1960s Paris, a world of money, parties and passions. Lucile, a restless young woman, lives with her older, rich lover Charles. They enjoy a tranquil relationship, he responding to her frequent whims as one might indulge a child. . .
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Reviewed by Charlotte Simpson


Mridula Garg
Photo of Mridula Garg
Sunita Jain on Mridula Garg's place in literature.
Book Expo America: Sore Feet and Literary Treasure
Photo of crowds at Book Expo America
Beyond the glitz and glitter, we discover some real treasures.