Belletrista

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"The Four Hundred Pleats" by Greek author Amanda Michalopoulou	"The Wig Maker" by Welsh author Vanessa Gebbie	The Women of Nordic Crime: A Dozen Mavens of Murder

Welcome readers to our latest issue, filled, as always, with great writing by women from around the world. We are delighted to present two short stories for your reading pleasure. Additionally, we've put together an overview of twelve Nordic crime writers, and feature an intriguing discussion of Japanese author Banana Yoshimoto's short novel, Kitchen. Seventeen reviews by our global readers grace this issue, as do over sixty New & Notable books (we've given Canada their own New & Notable section). We are pleased to note that thirteen of the twenty 2011 Orange Prize longlisted books were featured on these pages during the course of the last year! We always aim to provide excellent reading and find interesting books for all of our devoted readers!

Reviews
Click on 'Reviews' to see the full list of this issue's reviews...

RAJMAHAL

Kamalini Sengupta

The ghosts of Kamalini Sengupta's Rajmahal fret and fume over renovations made to the Calcutta mansion as it is sold and divided into six apartments. Even more disturbing is the motley cross-section of fashionable Calcutta society that moves into those apartments.
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Reviewed by Jane A. Jones

THE SEINE WAS RED: PARIS, OCTOBER 1961

Leila Sebbar

Translated from the French by Mildred Mortimer

Paris, 17 October 1961: Tens of thousands of French Algerians descended upon Paris to engage in a peaceful protest against a curfew imposed upon them by Maurice Papon, the infamous Prefect of Police. The curfew was a response to a bombing campaign against …
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Reviewed by Darryl Morris

A RIOT OF GOLDFISH

Kanoko Okamoto

Translated from the Japanese by J. Keith Vincent

The story "A Riot of Goldfish," traces Mataichi, the son of a goldfish breeder, through his lifelong struggles with his unrequited love for the daughter of the family's patron. He loves Masako, but she loves goldfish.
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Reviewed by Joyce Nickel

FROM THE LAND OF THE MOON

Milena Agus

Translated from the Italian by Ann Goldstein

Every once in a while you come across a small gem of a novel, a novella really, that just captivates you: Rebecca West's The Return of the Soldier comes to mind or Chingiz Aïtmatov's Jamilia. They draw you in, mesmerize you a little and, before you realize it, you're on the last page. Milena Agus' From the Land of the Moon is just such a book.
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Reviewed by Tad Deffler

AN AWKWARD AGE

Anna Starobinets

Translated from the Russian by Hugh Aplin

Having been nominated for Russia's National Bestseller Prize, Anna Starobinets is already being given the title of horror queen within the Russian short fiction genre. With her debut collection, An Awkward Age, she is able to delve into our basic fears with great conviction.
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Reviewed by C. Lariviere

CONVERSATIONS:

Three readers discuss Banana Yoshimoto's Kitchen

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

Belletrista - Issue 10
March/April 2011

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