I bought this because it won the 2021 New Southern Voices Poetry Prize from Hub City - as local of a local press as I can get!
The poems are about the I bought this because it won the 2021 New Southern Voices Poetry Prize from Hub City - as local of a local press as I can get!
The poems are about the poet's multi-generational background and rural childhood, full of Gullah-Geechee culture as a living vibrant element the poet also participates in while also queering that experience, all serving to look at these details with fresh eyes. The poems about parents and grandparents are particularly memorable, as is "Hurricane Family."
So then I'm reading the acknowledgments like I always do and the poet thanks several people I know - a music major who is now an opera singer in France, a former academic dean, and a former chaplain. I did a little research to discover they were a student at the university where I work, with just a few years overlap. Perhaps we met....more
I'm one of many people who felt drawn to reading more about Ukraine. This novel was already on my radar so I purchased it from Two Dollar Radio.
PublisI'm one of many people who felt drawn to reading more about Ukraine. This novel was already on my radar so I purchased it from Two Dollar Radio.
Publisher summary excerpt: "[This novel] follows four individuals over the course of a volatile Ukrainian winter, as their lives are forever changed by the Euromaidan protests. Katya is a Ukrainian-American doctor stationed at a makeshift medical clinic in St. Michael’s Monastery; Misha is an engineer originally from Pripyat, who has lived in Kyiv since his wife’s death; Slava is a fiery young activist whose past hardships steel her determination in the face of persecution; and Aleksandr Ivanovich, a former KGB agent, climbs atop a burned-out police bus at Independence Square and plays the piano."
Set in 2013-14 but also rooted in the complexities of the past (from the mythical Rus to Cossacks to Chernobyl), alternating viewpoints include the four characters plus news articles, cassette recordings, songs, and more. It's very readable and brings the reader into the intimacy of the recent past for Ukraine. Honestly I was trying to read non-fiction about Stalin's war on Ukraine and was drawn back into fiction instead.
The author is not Ukrainian but is donating all proceeds of the book to relief orgs benefitting Ukrainian people at the time of this review.
One friend said they couldn't tell if I liked the book and my feelings are mixed - it has many techniques I like, the rotating perspectives, the various format types, the short chapters, the tidbits that send me off on research projects, for instance listening to the bells of St. Michaels in 2013 on YouTube (only the second time they were played as part of a conflict, the previous time was with the Mongols!) But it feels weird to say I liked a novel about a previous conflict when the country it's about it in such turmoil now with people dead in the street. It even took me a while to read because I struggled to return to a setting that doesn't even exist as it's described because of the Russian invasion, and the book is set only 8 years in the past. I can be quite the emotional reader sometimes.
This book has come up a few times on the Reading Envy podcast this year, and will also be mentioned on episode 245.
The author is not from Ukraine but is a bit of a subject matter expert, and also published this list of suggested books to read to learn more: https://electricliterature.com/a-lite......more
Ashley M. Jones officially became Alabama's Poet Laureate this week, the first black poet to do so in that state, and this collection from Hub City WrAshley M. Jones officially became Alabama's Poet Laureate this week, the first black poet to do so in that state, and this collection from Hub City Writers is not to be missed.
One poem directly confronts past leadership in Alabama including a governor who promised segregation forever. Her poems demand that racial injustice be addressed (no surprise from the title) in specific ways, and she writes about her own experiences with being black and female and southern and still excluded or attacked or disenfranchised because of it....more
This upcoming translation from Restless Books is so absorbing that I could not put it down. Albania doesn't get a lot of attention and I didn't know mThis upcoming translation from Restless Books is so absorbing that I could not put it down. Albania doesn't get a lot of attention and I didn't know much about it - it turns out that was intentional as the country was cut off from the rest of the world for so long. Scholars consider it the harshest Communist regime. The author conducted years of oral history interviews and used them to tell a larger story of a country under the heaviest heel. She includes a wide range of experiences, but of course interviews can only share the experience of survivors.
The writing and translation are stellar, making a very readable work, apart of course from the violence that is depicted. I've been talking about it to everyone around me since I finished reading it.
I had a copy from the publisher through Edelweiss; it comes out November 2....more
I saw this book on the longlist for the (USA) National Book Award for translated literature. It is translated from the French by an author who was raiI saw this book on the longlist for the (USA) National Book Award for translated literature. It is translated from the French by an author who was raised in various countries, including France and South Korea.
After I saw it on the long list, I found it in Hoopla, and realized it was a short book that I could probably read quickly. It is in fragments and vignettes as well, about a young woman who works in a seasonal hotel, out of season on the border with North Korea. A French comic book artist comes for a visit and the story goes from there. There is a lot about the body and how it is seen by the self and others. I would have liked a longer story but perhaps the mood of it works best in its shortness....more
I listened to J. Drew Lanham on the On Being podcast and then immediately purchased Sparrow Envy from Hub City Press - he writes about birds, mostly pI listened to J. Drew Lanham on the On Being podcast and then immediately purchased Sparrow Envy from Hub City Press - he writes about birds, mostly poems but some other forms including a few lists. It's meditative at times, with protest and reinvention in other moments. I got to the end and started again. I can't quite express how a little poem about a bird can be such an uplift.
Favorites:
Lifeless List \ LUV \ On Finding Swamp Religion...more
Lorenzo's mother dies after he hasn't seen her in many years, and he travels to Romania for her funeral. He meets his mother's former partner (businesLorenzo's mother dies after he hasn't seen her in many years, and he travels to Romania for her funeral. He meets his mother's former partner (business and love) and others from her life. There are memorable moments and characters like the driver, the new young lover of his mother's former partner, the coffin maker, and a funeral in the middle of a church under construction, attended by the workers. The novel is written in 2nd person, as in Lorenzo addressing his internal thoughts to his dead mother.
This is an outsider view, of Romania, of his mother. One is probably better than portrayed - Romania. There are multiple characters talking about how Romanians "don't want to work" and a lot of negative stereotypes along those lines. Ceaușescu Palace looms in the background as a reminder of recent oppression, which the characters seem to feel in their bones, while at the same time trying to separate from it. Lorenzo is also an outsider to his mother, since she left him with his Dad in Italy when he was a child, and came back less and less as she took her "weight loss egg" to the world. Except I get the sense that either her business flopped or it was never a success to begin with, and she was in Romania for different reasons. He seems to know nothing about her decline and how she was living when she died.
Another side note - I know a Romanian who had to travel to that country after her mother died and it took months to work through the bureaucracy. Lorenzo must have better connections, because in under one week he has a funeral, cleans out her home, and deals with the business.
One more side note, the title is a Biblical reference, Psalm 130:3, included in many Lenten and funeral rites as well. "If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?" A priest reads this at the mother's funeral and it leads into a confrontation between the son and former partner that felt very smart.
Thank you Archipelago Books for bringing books and authors to us through your translations and publications! I had a copy of this from the publisher through Edelweiss. It came out March 3, 2021. ...more
Nancy by Bruno Lloret, translated by Ellen Jones, is about Nancy, her childhood, her long marriage that ends badly, returning to Chile with a cancer dNancy by Bruno Lloret, translated by Ellen Jones, is about Nancy, her childhood, her long marriage that ends badly, returning to Chile with a cancer diagnosis, etc. The childhood part comes after her adulthood and fills in some gaps about her childhood, including her negligent parents. The physical book has an interesting layout with X marking punctuation sometimes, but sometimes it's more visual. I am a Two Lines Press subscriber so they also sent a letterpress print of a page of the book, pretty unexpected and cool.
I like when an author does something I haven't seen before, and even more when someone manages to translate it. The X on the page feels like found poetry, or my just poetry, also like a symbol. I have talked before on the podcast about how infrequently we see Mormon characters (perhaps more appropriately LDS characters) in books outside of "inspirational" titles but this plays a major part in at least one character's story. It showed a Chile that was more of a conglomeration of other places' remnants, a bit bleak, more current than other books I've read placed there.
One of my goals this year is to be more immediate in reading subscription books so gold star for me as I've had it only a month or less....more
One of the embedded goals inside my Europe 2021 reading project is to better understand the conflicts between groups in the Balkans. That requires somOne of the embedded goals inside my Europe 2021 reading project is to better understand the conflicts between groups in the Balkans. That requires some reading in translation from authors with different backgrounds.
Ivana Bodrožić sets this novel in Vukovar, Croatia, and it is known but never named in the novel. Vukovar was the location of some of the first massacres during the Balkan wars, and only began it's reintegration in 1998. Now Croats and Croatian Serbs (aka Serbians) live tentative and segregated lives with a lot of violent history beneath the surface.
There are multiple characters in this novel dealing with violence in the recent past. Nora is a journalist sent to write a lighter piece about a teacher's relationship with a student and murder of her husband (ha, I know I said lighter, but it's the context that makes it so) - then there is the taxi driver, the school principal and mayor desperate to maintain control, and more. It took a while to keep the stories straight but only because of how many places and ways they connect, and how much of the context I'm missing as someone who didn't live through it. (I lived during but not through.)
The translator's note in the back is incredibly useful..she explains that when the book came out in 2016, people were very angry because of how it goes below the surface of things people don't want to acknowledge or deal with. This isn't a "good people on both sides" tale, it's rather the opposite, and it's hard to grasp the why's behind it. I've spent time searching for clarification - what is the difference between Serbian and Croatian? (Even in the realm of cooking, the YouTube comments to different versions of the same recipe are often territorial.) What took place in the 1990s? What existed before Yugoslavia? It could take a lifetime to grasp it.
One thing that's becoming clear in some of the recent books I've read is that whether or not the differences "exist," many of the countries formerly known as Yugoslavia are working hard to create differences, whether that's linguistic (alphabet choice or even some interesting changes in pronunciation that are emerging), religious, and more.
I think it's important to note the author was born in Vukovar in 1982 and her family was displaced by the war, so it is personal and her point of view is necessarily from what I imagine is a trauma perspective. At the very least I don't believe she can be objective. Not that she needs to be for a novel, and she does allow for nuance even in the Serbian characters.
Also important to note that the English translation comes from an unapologetically political and dare I say left-leaning independent publisher, which certainly centers some stories more than others. I don't expect one book to hold all points of view but I personally don't know enough about it yet to weigh in on if she "got it right."
I had a copy from the publisher through Edelweiss, and it comes out April 20th, 2021....more
I once bought a few mystery poetry bundles from Coffee House and promptly didn't read them, and decided that for this year's National Poetry Month, maI once bought a few mystery poetry bundles from Coffee House and promptly didn't read them, and decided that for this year's National Poetry Month, maybe I could at least read the poetry already on my shelves.
The work of poet Patricia Spears Jones spans several decades, and this is her debut collection. Many of the poems speak to the Black and Southern experience (also San Francisco and New Orleans experience) from the 1960s to the 1980s, a key time of course for civil rights of multiple varieties (AIDS comes up, which is why I say it that way.) She often connects her work to musicians, sometimes artists. Several poems are from the "Billie Holiday Collection."
"Officially Lent" could have been written last month but is about the death of black boys in her community. ...more
"The strangest thing about jealousy is that it can populate an entire city - the whole world - with a person you may never have met."
Annie Ernaux is o"The strangest thing about jealousy is that it can populate an entire city - the whole world - with a person you may never have met."
Annie Ernaux is on my list of authors to try, and when Seven Stories Press had a sale last year I bought The Years plus a few slim novels that are more like individual short stories. This is a short one about the narrator's obsession over her lover's new woman. Basically she left her longterm relationship to be with him, but then was hesitant to settle down right away, so he went in another direction. So she doesn't want him, but it drives her crazy that this other woman is closer than she is. It's more like the jealousy is of the thing she doesn't want, which tracks....more
Based on the trend for Russia to poison its enemies, Untraceable follows a scientist who developed an untraceable poison as he flees the country he usBased on the trend for Russia to poison its enemies, Untraceable follows a scientist who developed an untraceable poison as he flees the country he used to serve. It's a novel but feels like non-fiction, and that first scene is really great, and pulls you right in to the story. It probably didn't hurt that we were watching Spycraft at the same time!
I had a copy from the publisher (New Vessel Press) through NetGalley. It came out February 2nd. I was surprised to find this was the first novel I'd read by this author as I recognize his other works by their covers!...more
Ever since seeing this described as The Woman in the Dunes meets Earthlings, I can't find a better summary. It is a short work about a woman who movesEver since seeing this described as The Woman in the Dunes meets Earthlings, I can't find a better summary. It is a short work about a woman who moves to the country with her husband, next to the in-laws. To do this she gives up her job. Her husband pays her no attention (that's for his smartphone) and her in-laws are strange, to say the least. Then she finds a hole....
One of last year's books for the New Classics Club for New Directions Publishing, and on the long list for the Tournament of Books....more
This is probably my last book for January in Japan - the second book I've read by Masatsugu Ono from Two Lines Press, who I subscribe to.
Miki is the nThis is probably my last book for January in Japan - the second book I've read by Masatsugu Ono from Two Lines Press, who I subscribe to.
Miki is the narrator and has been reading about anthropology in high school, so when her father's police job moves the family to a fishing village (Oita) and people start dropping by to drink and tell stories, she pays attention and tries to figure out how pieces connect and why some stories seem to contradict. The reader is limited to that same information, so it takes a while to realize that there is an underlying history of violence and corruption in the community, not to mention great harm done to children that uncomfortably sits on the page but is never addressed by the characters in the book.
The characters run the gamut from oozing drunkards to strong silent fishermen to cruel children. I think some of the older characters are supposed to read as funny but I was too disturbed to find them amusing. The cover probably symbolizes the red tide that occurs in the story, destroying much of the fish farm and oyster farm infrastructure. It's funny how sometimes when I end a book feeling unsettled (most recently, books from Argentina and Japan) - it's because there is violence that is used as a metaphor. So I've been asking myself what this book is really about. Is it about corruption and violence? Could it also (I'm stretching) be about environmental destruction and the parallel to human corruption? Or have I read Tender Is the Flesh too recently?
A conversation on page 71 makes me think maybe it is just more directly about violence in families and how dangerous it is when it isn't dealt with. I know countries are all on different stages of dealing with domestic violence and the trauma passed down between generations. I did find an article that domestic violence cases had reached an all time high in 2019, and then in 2020, many articles about how pandemic situations have made these situations even worse, as they have everywhere people are stuck together for too long. The first significant study I could find was in 1999 and this book was published in Japan in 2002, so I kind of think I'm on to something.
"'Violence passes from person to person,' Iwaya said, tickling Shiro's neck. 'And it builds up.'"
I haven't yet found many articles or reviews who discuss the book from this angle - so many reviewers want to compare the author to Murakami and interpret the events as weird, as if they are not really happening. But to me the true power of the novel is the idea that they really are, that people choose not to see the dead bodies and the rotten fish and the child chained up in the yard. And they are suffering the consequences....more
This year in my Around the World reading I'm tackling Europe - the countries I've never read anything from and deepening my knowledge of others. I posThis year in my Around the World reading I'm tackling Europe - the countries I've never read anything from and deepening my knowledge of others. I posted a list to Twitter and got great suggestions so I jumped into this book from Montenegro author, Olja Knežević. It is translated by Paula Gordon & Ellen Elias-Bursac and came out in 2020 from Istros Books (who seem to be a good resource for translated literature from the Balkans.)
Catherine is coming of age in Titograd in the 1980s (which becomes Podgorica by the end of the novel,) and the book follows her life before and after the Balkan Wars. A lot of the political conflict and economic crises take place in the background of her life and her family and community. It looks at isolation and separation from home more than it tries to look at history and war.
"We each sit on the clean soft grass of our new countries, alone. Alone in a crowd, alone even when we’re with our new friends, who don’t hear the roar of the wild mounting inside us. Always at the start of summer we pine for the pungent smell of home."...more
This book has a history on my shelves. It comes from Two Lines Press but I actually received it a few years ago from the Malaprop's paperback-first suThis book has a history on my shelves. It comes from Two Lines Press but I actually received it a few years ago from the Malaprop's paperback-first subscription. The bookseller who selected those titles has proven to have excellent taste even if I didn't get to them right away.
And this will count for Women in Translation Month and Read the World 21 (Balkans) as well as the #exyulit challenge - not to mention I get to check North Macedonia off my Around the World list and for my Europe 2021 challenge. This book is good evidence that reading challenges get us to read books we might not get to otherwise!
This rather long novel is the story of twin sisters who were born conjoined at the head. It's also the story of Yugoslavia, Macedonia, and the split of the country through war, religious, and political change. The author tries to use the sisters to speak metaphorically about the region, and it wasn't too obtuse to grasp, even in translation. The very long chapters cover specific time periods for the sisters....more
Set in Russia as it heads back into another Putin presidency and toward hosting the Olympics in Sochi, satirizing government officials and people who Set in Russia as it heads back into another Putin presidency and toward hosting the Olympics in Sochi, satirizing government officials and people who attacked the author when he was a journalist. Much of the information in the story is shared in LiveJournal, which made me laugh. It is a quick read but I didn't feel I understood all the references; satire is a bit of a struggle for me. I liked reading a Russia that combined peasants, social media, and magical serums. ...more
This is the third book I have read by this author. The stories in it connect to Our Lady of the Nile with several stories but one is unforgettable - "This is the third book I have read by this author. The stories in it connect to Our Lady of the Nile with several stories but one is unforgettable - "Fear," about the students going to class but always being told they are in danger, at risk, watch out, etc. What we think of as the Rwandan genocide is not the only violence against the Tutsi, and it has a much longer history. The author left the country in the 1970s, and another story about the woman living abroad and unable to find her relatives, only to receive a list of all those who died, and her journey back to try to find closure - well, if you're read Cockroaches it is no question where that comes from. The stories are moving and personal, and they came out this week from Archipelago - I had a copy from the publisher through Edelweiss....more
I really loved this collection of speculative short stories (and those who know me know that stories are not typically my jam, so they have to be exceI really loved this collection of speculative short stories (and those who know me know that stories are not typically my jam, so they have to be excellent to keep my attention!) - top marks for transgender and nonbinary representation, also just playing with tropes in new ways. ...more
In my focus on the Middle East I'm trying to read a wide range of authors, publishers, and genres. This one is about the civil war in Lebanon, targeteIn my focus on the Middle East I'm trying to read a wide range of authors, publishers, and genres. This one is about the civil war in Lebanon, targeted at middle grade readers. I'm not sure I'd want to hand a book to a child of this age that includes death of a parent, fear of death, etc, but I know the argument is probably that the children living it don't get a choice. What do those of you who parent or teach think? (The last two lines of the first chapter are a bomb dropping and "I never saw my mother again." The female main character is left with an ailing grandparent, two younger siblings, no money or food, and the only person who can take care of the members of her family.)...more
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