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Belletrista - A site promoting translated women authored literature from around the world
photo of Sigrid Nunez Photo of Kamila Shamsie Photo of cupcake with one candle

US author Sigrid Nunez discusses her new novel with Joyce Nickel

TRIO: Three remarkable works by Kamila Shamsie by
Caitlin Fehir

Belletrista turns one! A brief retrospective and a look ahead

With this issue, Belletrista completes its first year. We at Belletrista would like to thank those of you spread across this great blue planet who read our little 'zine and also use it as a resource for your personal reading, your bookclubs, or your classes. May we continue to endeavor to deserve your attention in the coming year! With this issue, we debut a new feature we are calling "Conversations" and also our Belletrista blog, "If Written by a Woman," an exciting venture we hope you will all be part of. There are more exciting things ahead!

Reviews
Click on 'Reviews' to see the full list of this issue's reviews...
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A NOVEL BOOKSTORE
Laurence Cossé
Translated from the French by Alison Anderson

Imagine a bookstore that only sold good novels—not commercial drivel or fluffy installments of the latest teen series, but interesting fiction gathered together by book-loving people who refuse to pander to bestseller lists. Essentially, a reader's version of heaven.
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Reviewed by Caitlin Fehir
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SALVATION CITY
Sigrid Nunez

After a worldwide flu pandemic leaves him an orphan, young teen Cole Vining realizes that his life has taken him in an unexpected, and previously unimaginable, direction. In just a few months, he goes from living with urbanite parents to a new life with …
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Reviewed by Joyce Nickel
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THE BLUE MANUSCRIPT
Sabiha Al Khemir

The Blue Manuscript by Sabiha Al Khemir is a tale woven of stories and miracles, of the sublimity of art and the crassness of art dealers, of human ambition and longing for connection.
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Reviewed by Jane A. Jones
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TO HELL WITH CRONJÉ
Ingrid Winterbach
Translated from the Afrikaans by Elsa Silke

To Hell With Cronjé is Ingrid Winterbach's literary examination of one of the turning points of South African history: the Second Boer War of 1899‒1902. The wars between Britain and the fledgling, and doomed, Boer nation have been largely ignored in English language literature …
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Reviewed by Andy Barnes
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SHADOW
Karin Alvtegen
Translated from the Swedish by McKinley Burnett

A child of four is found abandoned in an amusement park with little more than some crumbs, an empty juice bottle, a tape recorder, and a Bambi book by his side. There's also a note …
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Reviewed by Akeela Gaibie-Dawood


CONVERSATIONS:
Book Cover: Sky Burial
A discussion of Xinran's Sky Burial between three Belletrista readers.
AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS
Three floral square image
Looking for a great book? Check out these recent award-winners!
If Written By a Woman
Visit our new Belletrista blog!
The Caine Prize for African Writing 2011 – shortlist announced

The shortlist for this year’s Caine Prize has just been announced and three women are in the running for the prestigious award. This is always an exciting time of year – the Prize is a great way to discover short stories by excellent writers. Lucky for us, the Prize’s website links to a copy of …Read the Rest