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2akeela
Currently reading:
The Blue Fox by Sjon (fiction, Iceland, translated)
Aisha by Ahdaf Soueif (fiction, Egypt, translated)
New Islands and Other Stories by Maria Luisa Bombal (fiction, Chile, translated)
Read this year:
The Illusion of Return by Samir El-Youssef (fiction, Lebanon/Palestine)
Scribbling the Cat: Travels with an African Soldier by Alexandra Fuller (non-fiction, Zimbabwe, audiobook)
Silent Day in Tangier by Tahar Ben Jelloun (fiction, Morocco, translated)
Mister God, This is Anna by Fynn (non-fiction, UK, audiobook)
No and Me by Delphine de Vigan (fiction, France, translated)
The Same Earth by Kei Miller (fiction, Jamaica, audiobook)
We are all Equally Far From Love by Adania Shibli (fiction, Palestine, translated)
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (fiction, Nigeria, audiobook)
Sacrifice by Karin Alvtegen (fiction, Sweden, translated)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (fiction, UK, audiobook)
Glaciers by Alexis Smith (F, US)
A Room With a View by EM Forster (fiction, UK, audiobook)
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (non-fiction, US)
Saturday by Ian McEwan (fiction, US, audiobook)
Conversations with American Women Writers by Sarah Anne Johnson (non-fiction, US, interviews)
Love, etc. by Julian Barnes (fiction, UK, audiobook)
Siraaj: An Arab Tale by Radwa Ashour (fiction, Egypt, translated)
Literary Journals
The Paris Review No 185 Summer 2008
The Paris Review No 189 Summer 2009
The Blue Fox by Sjon (fiction, Iceland, translated)
Aisha by Ahdaf Soueif (fiction, Egypt, translated)
New Islands and Other Stories by Maria Luisa Bombal (fiction, Chile, translated)
Read this year:
The Illusion of Return by Samir El-Youssef (fiction, Lebanon/Palestine)
Scribbling the Cat: Travels with an African Soldier by Alexandra Fuller (non-fiction, Zimbabwe, audiobook)
Silent Day in Tangier by Tahar Ben Jelloun (fiction, Morocco, translated)
Mister God, This is Anna by Fynn (non-fiction, UK, audiobook)
No and Me by Delphine de Vigan (fiction, France, translated)
The Same Earth by Kei Miller (fiction, Jamaica, audiobook)
We are all Equally Far From Love by Adania Shibli (fiction, Palestine, translated)
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (fiction, Nigeria, audiobook)
Sacrifice by Karin Alvtegen (fiction, Sweden, translated)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (fiction, UK, audiobook)
Glaciers by Alexis Smith (F, US)
A Room With a View by EM Forster (fiction, UK, audiobook)
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (non-fiction, US)
Saturday by Ian McEwan (fiction, US, audiobook)
Conversations with American Women Writers by Sarah Anne Johnson (non-fiction, US, interviews)
Love, etc. by Julian Barnes (fiction, UK, audiobook)
Siraaj: An Arab Tale by Radwa Ashour (fiction, Egypt, translated)
Literary Journals
The Paris Review No 185 Summer 2008
The Paris Review No 189 Summer 2009
3akeela
I only managed about 33 books in 2011. (I read management books for work, but didn't include them in my LT reading list.)
My favorites, in the order in which I read them:
The well of life by Nawal El Saadawi (Egyptian)
To Mervas by Elisabeth Rynell (Swedish)
Loom by Thérèse Soukar Chehade (Lebanese)
The folded earth by Anuradha Roy (Indian)
Widow: stories by Michelle Latiolais (American)
Tropical fish: tales from Entebbe by Doreen Baingana (Ugandan)
Fire from the Andes short fiction from Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador translated by Susan E. Benner (Latin American)
Other lives by André Brink (South African)
The patience stone by Atiq Rahimi (Afghan)
An intimate war by Donvé Lee (South African)
To see the mountain and other stories (African)
Living, loving and lying awake at night by Sindiwe Magona (South African)
My favorites, in the order in which I read them:
The well of life by Nawal El Saadawi (Egyptian)
To Mervas by Elisabeth Rynell (Swedish)
Loom by Thérèse Soukar Chehade (Lebanese)
The folded earth by Anuradha Roy (Indian)
Widow: stories by Michelle Latiolais (American)
Tropical fish: tales from Entebbe by Doreen Baingana (Ugandan)
Fire from the Andes short fiction from Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador translated by Susan E. Benner (Latin American)
Other lives by André Brink (South African)
The patience stone by Atiq Rahimi (Afghan)
An intimate war by Donvé Lee (South African)
To see the mountain and other stories (African)
Living, loving and lying awake at night by Sindiwe Magona (South African)
4akeela
My first book off the TBRs: The Illusion of Return by Samir El-Youssef.
The unnamed narrator receives a call from a friend residing in America for the last 17 years. Ali is on his way back to Lebanon but will be on Heathrow airport for a stop-over and has asked the narrator to meet him there.
The imminent meeting brings back a host of old, painful memories about life in Lebanon with friends and family. It was an occupied space and most of the time, he and those around him feared for their lives and were preoccupied with thoughts of survival. These unnatural, negative circumstances led to continued feelings of inadequacy, distrust and guilt on a societal level.
Since leaving Lebanon 15 years before, he has managed to suppress his pain and the memories of before. He has not thought of returning to his homeland, but the meeting and his subsequent conversation with Ali awakens a yearning to go back and, at the same time, a reluctance to do so. For him, this confrontation with Ali and the past is a painful, symbolic illusion of return to a very challenging time and place in his life.
The author was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon in 1965. He left Lebanon in 1989 and eventually settled in London where he works as a journalist, critic and essayist for a number of Arabic and English newspapers and magazines. In many ways the book read like a memoir to me. This is an important, insightful book, one I would recommend.
Thank you, Darryl, for this one!
The unnamed narrator receives a call from a friend residing in America for the last 17 years. Ali is on his way back to Lebanon but will be on Heathrow airport for a stop-over and has asked the narrator to meet him there.
The imminent meeting brings back a host of old, painful memories about life in Lebanon with friends and family. It was an occupied space and most of the time, he and those around him feared for their lives and were preoccupied with thoughts of survival. These unnatural, negative circumstances led to continued feelings of inadequacy, distrust and guilt on a societal level.
Since leaving Lebanon 15 years before, he has managed to suppress his pain and the memories of before. He has not thought of returning to his homeland, but the meeting and his subsequent conversation with Ali awakens a yearning to go back and, at the same time, a reluctance to do so. For him, this confrontation with Ali and the past is a painful, symbolic illusion of return to a very challenging time and place in his life.
The author was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon in 1965. He left Lebanon in 1989 and eventually settled in London where he works as a journalist, critic and essayist for a number of Arabic and English newspapers and magazines. In many ways the book read like a memoir to me. This is an important, insightful book, one I would recommend.
Thank you, Darryl, for this one!
5Poquette
Hi akeela! I'm promising myself this year to follow more interesting threads, and you've gotten off to a good start, I see. Interesting comments about The Illusion of Return. I'm beginning to wish that my list of hope-to-reads wasn't already so long. I'd love to squeeze this one in. Oh, well . . .
6akeela
Thanks, Poquette! I go back to work tomorrow so my reading time will diminish considerably - which may be good for your HTRs :) Still, I hope to get in more reads this year than last!
7akeela
My second audiobook, ever: Mister God, This is Anna by Fynn. This is a non-fiction title that’s always been just above or below my TBR radar for some reason or the other.
It is about 19-year-old Fynn who finds a 6-year-old redheaded girl, hungry and physically battered on the streets, and takes her home to live him and his mom. This family has an endearing habit of bringing less-privileged people into their home to love and care for them.
Anna is boisterous and opinionated and she comes to be the life of their home. She has a very keen love of "Mister God" and sees Him and His Plan in everything. The book is filled with a huge amount of theological and existential reflection on Anna’s part, insights which she readily shares with Fynn.
I found the book sweet, and thoughtful, and it sometimes tugged at the heartstrings but I had some difficulty believing that a six-year-old could deliberate and cogitate to the extent that Fynn would have us believe. If you like philosophical and theological discussions, this is one you will enjoy.
It is about 19-year-old Fynn who finds a 6-year-old redheaded girl, hungry and physically battered on the streets, and takes her home to live him and his mom. This family has an endearing habit of bringing less-privileged people into their home to love and care for them.
Anna is boisterous and opinionated and she comes to be the life of their home. She has a very keen love of "Mister God" and sees Him and His Plan in everything. The book is filled with a huge amount of theological and existential reflection on Anna’s part, insights which she readily shares with Fynn.
I found the book sweet, and thoughtful, and it sometimes tugged at the heartstrings but I had some difficulty believing that a six-year-old could deliberate and cogitate to the extent that Fynn would have us believe. If you like philosophical and theological discussions, this is one you will enjoy.
8kidzdoc
You're welcome, Akeela! I'm glad that you enjoyed The Illusion of Return.
11akeela
Hey Rach and Lois! Fancy seeing you here ;)
Issue 15 of Belletrista is out! I reviewed Underground Time by Delphine de Vigan. Translated from the French by George Miller.
A teaser, if you will: "Amidst a buzzing Paris, we find two individuals at odds with their surrounds. In spite of the steady hubbub around them, each is enveloped in a web of loneliness and sorrow that threatens to annihilate them. The woman and man routinely echo one another's inner worlds. Yet they have never met..."
My full review is here.
Issue 15 of Belletrista is out! I reviewed Underground Time by Delphine de Vigan. Translated from the French by George Miller.
A teaser, if you will: "Amidst a buzzing Paris, we find two individuals at odds with their surrounds. In spite of the steady hubbub around them, each is enveloped in a web of loneliness and sorrow that threatens to annihilate them. The woman and man routinely echo one another's inner worlds. Yet they have never met..."
My full review is here.
12baswood
enjoyed your excellent review of Underground Time
13kidzdoc
Ooh, I love your review of Underground Time, Akeela! That's definitely one for the wish list.
15Poquette
Just now read your enticing review of Underground Time which I have now added to my wish list.
16akeela
Thanks, Poquette!
The Same Earth by the Jamaican Kei Miller. Audiobook narrated by Clare Benedict.
I’m new to audiobooks and still get lost in thought while I’m meant to be listening to the book. But I’m getting better at it! Clare Benedict was superb and made the characters come alive. The story is about Imelda Richardson, who left Jamaica in search of a better life in England. When she comes back some years later, a bit wiser and richer for the experience, she finds the village still dominated by the evangelical church and a priest who readily stirs up dutiful religious fervor when things don’t go his way. The book sports a huge colorful cast of characters – maybe a drop too many of them, and the story jumps from present to past throughout – but it was an enjoyable and entertaining trip into the Caribbean.
The Same Earth by the Jamaican Kei Miller. Audiobook narrated by Clare Benedict.
I’m new to audiobooks and still get lost in thought while I’m meant to be listening to the book. But I’m getting better at it! Clare Benedict was superb and made the characters come alive. The story is about Imelda Richardson, who left Jamaica in search of a better life in England. When she comes back some years later, a bit wiser and richer for the experience, she finds the village still dominated by the evangelical church and a priest who readily stirs up dutiful religious fervor when things don’t go his way. The book sports a huge colorful cast of characters – maybe a drop too many of them, and the story jumps from present to past throughout – but it was an enjoyable and entertaining trip into the Caribbean.
17akeela
Motivated by Rachel's recent favorable comments about Tahar Ben Jelloun, I went to find something more by him. I found Silent Day in Tangier, which I'm still reading.
It's a quiet book of introspection about a spirited 80-year-old who is ill in bed but refuses to succumb to illness and old age. The unnamed protagonist is exceedingly lonely and gains a measure of pride and succour from his thoughts:
"He has always made an effort to keep his mind alert, immune to the workings of time. His recollections of the past are all in their proper place, not a detail is missing. The facts are kept constantly within reach, ready at any moment to put in an appearance, faithful, precise, unchanged. Sometimes, he finds himself reviewing them – not because he’s forgotten them, but because he’s afraid he might. In this way, he tests his memory, he takes inventory, he evades the clutches of old age.”
Translated from the French by David Lobdell.
It's a quiet book of introspection about a spirited 80-year-old who is ill in bed but refuses to succumb to illness and old age. The unnamed protagonist is exceedingly lonely and gains a measure of pride and succour from his thoughts:
"He has always made an effort to keep his mind alert, immune to the workings of time. His recollections of the past are all in their proper place, not a detail is missing. The facts are kept constantly within reach, ready at any moment to put in an appearance, faithful, precise, unchanged. Sometimes, he finds himself reviewing them – not because he’s forgotten them, but because he’s afraid he might. In this way, he tests his memory, he takes inventory, he evades the clutches of old age.”
Translated from the French by David Lobdell.
18Poquette
Silent Day in Tangier also sounds interesting. The closer I crawl towards eighty (not to worry – I'm not there yet!), the more I become intrigued by wise old sages.
19rachbxl
>16 akeela: ha ha! I have the same problem with audiobooks. They consequently take me ages to get through as I keep having to go back.
>17 akeela: Looking forward to more of your thoughts on Silent Day in Tangier.
>17 akeela: Looking forward to more of your thoughts on Silent Day in Tangier.
20avaland
>17 akeela: Is that one of his earlier titles? I'm not familiar with it.
21akeela
>20 avaland: Yes, first published in 1989, translated in 1991.
Silent Day in Tangier by Tahar Ben Jelloun. Translated by David Lobdell. This novella is about a man who refuses to accept the wretched, demeaning state he finds himself in at 80. While his mind is still fully functional, his body has deteriorated giving rise to untold irritation on his part. His typical thought pattern is: “I’m not sick; my lungs are a little congested, that’s all.”
On this cold, rainy day the man is steeped in a gloomy and deepening sense of interminable solitude. He pulls out an old phone book with the numbers of friends and family. As he peruses the pages looking for someone he might call for a chat or a visit, one realises just how old he is; most of his contemporaries have already died.
This is not a gloomy book. I enjoyed the quiet rumination. The good memories. The pride in success. As well as the regret, the pain, the rancour, even. Not one to keep quiet, he has ruined many a relationship with his acerbic tongue. He loves words, always has.
“He prefers words to be brief, subtle, full of nuance. He uses them with great finesse. He is famous for his words: they are arrows that wound, images that disturb, sounds that upset. He dreams of a house of words in which the syllables would be so tightly meshed they would form a long arabesque of light.”
He still takes delight in women and is infuriated that the house help isn’t attractive. His wife shows up in the room occasionally, but their emotional paths diverged a long time ago. Besides, she isn’t pleasing to the eye; has never been, he reckons. Even now he dreams of a beautiful woman at his side.
Ben Jelloun has created a flawed but ultimately likable character. Amidst the wracking pain he shows resilience and a healthy sense of humor. When a visiting friend enquires about his health, he remarks: “Fine. I’m fine. A little lonely, but otherwise not bad. I cough, I choke, I’m bored with myself, but I’m doing fine...”
His predicament, in a nutshell: “My problem is that I am a young man in an old man’s body. Age has nothing to do with it.” :)
All in all, another really good read by Tahar Ben Jelloun.
Silent Day in Tangier by Tahar Ben Jelloun. Translated by David Lobdell. This novella is about a man who refuses to accept the wretched, demeaning state he finds himself in at 80. While his mind is still fully functional, his body has deteriorated giving rise to untold irritation on his part. His typical thought pattern is: “I’m not sick; my lungs are a little congested, that’s all.”
On this cold, rainy day the man is steeped in a gloomy and deepening sense of interminable solitude. He pulls out an old phone book with the numbers of friends and family. As he peruses the pages looking for someone he might call for a chat or a visit, one realises just how old he is; most of his contemporaries have already died.
This is not a gloomy book. I enjoyed the quiet rumination. The good memories. The pride in success. As well as the regret, the pain, the rancour, even. Not one to keep quiet, he has ruined many a relationship with his acerbic tongue. He loves words, always has.
“He prefers words to be brief, subtle, full of nuance. He uses them with great finesse. He is famous for his words: they are arrows that wound, images that disturb, sounds that upset. He dreams of a house of words in which the syllables would be so tightly meshed they would form a long arabesque of light.”
He still takes delight in women and is infuriated that the house help isn’t attractive. His wife shows up in the room occasionally, but their emotional paths diverged a long time ago. Besides, she isn’t pleasing to the eye; has never been, he reckons. Even now he dreams of a beautiful woman at his side.
Ben Jelloun has created a flawed but ultimately likable character. Amidst the wracking pain he shows resilience and a healthy sense of humor. When a visiting friend enquires about his health, he remarks: “Fine. I’m fine. A little lonely, but otherwise not bad. I cough, I choke, I’m bored with myself, but I’m doing fine...”
His predicament, in a nutshell: “My problem is that I am a young man in an old man’s body. Age has nothing to do with it.” :)
All in all, another really good read by Tahar Ben Jelloun.
22akeela
> 19 Rachel, I'm listening to Purple Hisbiscus at the moment, and must tell you I am riveted! I haven't worked it all out yet, but it may be the books I've listened to thus far, or I may just be getting good at it ;)
23baswood
Good review of Silent Day in Tangier The man sounds a very likeable character, that is if you are not on the wrong end of his tounge.
24kidzdoc
Great review of Silent Day in Tangier, Akeela. There don't seem to be many copies available in the US, unfortunately. I've added it to my wish list.
My next Jelloun will be A Palace in the Old Village, which I downloaded to my Kindle after avaland's enticing review of it last year. Have you read it yet?
My next Jelloun will be A Palace in the Old Village, which I downloaded to my Kindle after avaland's enticing review of it last year. Have you read it yet?
25akeela
Thank you, Barry and Darryl. I don't have A Palace in the Old Village, it's probably more recent - I do have two more, older Ben Jelloun's home from the library. Hope to get to them!
26akeela
So I finished listening to Purple Hibiscus written by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Narrated by Lisette Lecat. It was excellent!
I was completely drawn in, although it was a "reread." I don't remember being so moved by it; I do remember loving it.
I think everyone on LT has probably read it by now, so very briefly, it's a coming-of-age tale of 15-year-old Kambili who lives in a Nigerian town with her mother, authoritarian father and beloved brother. The children are cloistered and live a very stilted life - until they get invited to Kambili's paternal aunt's home where they discover family, love and laughter for the first time in their young lives.
It's a great book. Highly recommended. Still a favorite!
I was completely drawn in, although it was a "reread." I don't remember being so moved by it; I do remember loving it.
I think everyone on LT has probably read it by now, so very briefly, it's a coming-of-age tale of 15-year-old Kambili who lives in a Nigerian town with her mother, authoritarian father and beloved brother. The children are cloistered and live a very stilted life - until they get invited to Kambili's paternal aunt's home where they discover family, love and laughter for the first time in their young lives.
It's a great book. Highly recommended. Still a favorite!
28rachbxl
Ah, you've given me an idea. There are plenty of books I'd love to re-read, but there are so many unread books out there that re-reads rarely get a look in. You've made me think that listening to audiobooks might be a good way to 're-read' things I've already enjoyed - it wouldn't compete with reading new books because I only listen when reading's not possible (in the car, for example). And it might solve the concentration problem if it's something I've already enjoyed. Thanks! Now I know how to use up all those credits on Audible!
BTW I was more moved by Purple Hibiscus second time round too, having loved it the first time.
BTW I was more moved by Purple Hibiscus second time round too, having loved it the first time.
29Poquette
You had already enticed me with your comments re Silent Day in Tangier. Your review makes me want to read it sooner rather than later!
30akeela
No and Me by Delphine de Vigan. Translated from the French by George Miller. Having recently read De Vigan’s Underground Time, I was pleased to come across this title and read it virtually in one sitting.
Set in Paris, this is the story about precocious 13-year-old Lou Betignac who lives with her depressed Mum and, as a result, worried Dad. At school she has already been promoted twice, so everyone in her class is older than her by two years. Her only friend in school is the disinterested Lucas, who has been kept behind for two years in a row. The two of them strike up an unlikely but comfortable friendship.
One day she befriends the homeless No. (This is the name of the character and it took getting used to; I don’t think I did entirely.) No’s homelessness evokes many feelings in Lou who proceeds to convince her parents to invite No into their home, as a guest, to help her get on her feet. There are many lessons for the trusting and vulnerable Lou.
If one reads the title "No and Me" quickly, it could sound like "Knowing Me", a reflection of a series of challenging learning curves Lou experiences in the course of the book.
This is YA title and was a quick and fairly good read.
Set in Paris, this is the story about precocious 13-year-old Lou Betignac who lives with her depressed Mum and, as a result, worried Dad. At school she has already been promoted twice, so everyone in her class is older than her by two years. Her only friend in school is the disinterested Lucas, who has been kept behind for two years in a row. The two of them strike up an unlikely but comfortable friendship.
One day she befriends the homeless No. (This is the name of the character and it took getting used to; I don’t think I did entirely.) No’s homelessness evokes many feelings in Lou who proceeds to convince her parents to invite No into their home, as a guest, to help her get on her feet. There are many lessons for the trusting and vulnerable Lou.
If one reads the title "No and Me" quickly, it could sound like "Knowing Me", a reflection of a series of challenging learning curves Lou experiences in the course of the book.
This is YA title and was a quick and fairly good read.
31akeela
> 27 You're welcome, Jennifer!
> 28 Rachel, I think we're on the same wavelength! I'm now listening to another favorite, Jane Eyre. It-is-liquid-poetry :)
> 29 I hope you can find a copy, Suzanne! Mine was a library book.
> 28 Rachel, I think we're on the same wavelength! I'm now listening to another favorite, Jane Eyre. It-is-liquid-poetry :)
> 29 I hope you can find a copy, Suzanne! Mine was a library book.
32rebeccanyc
Just catching up and enjoying your reviews, as usual.
35akeela
Thanks, Dan! Good to have you stop by.
I'm still listening to Jane Eyre and feel completely indulged. It is utterly enjoyable. Definitely a five star read for me.
I keep wondering how old Charlotte Brontë was when she penned it. It is mature and sensible and wise. It is beautiful and had me in tears earlier. I don't remember that happening when I read the book, twice before.
I don't generally do rereads and there are literally only a handful of books I would consider rereading - Jane Eyre is obviously one of those!
I'm still listening to Jane Eyre and feel completely indulged. It is utterly enjoyable. Definitely a five star read for me.
I keep wondering how old Charlotte Brontë was when she penned it. It is mature and sensible and wise. It is beautiful and had me in tears earlier. I don't remember that happening when I read the book, twice before.
I don't generally do rereads and there are literally only a handful of books I would consider rereading - Jane Eyre is obviously one of those!
36avaland
>35 akeela: She was about 29/30. It was first published in 1847 when she was 31.
37akeela
Thanks, Lois! Relatively young for the wisdom and depth displayed in Jane Eyre. Charlotte Bronte must've had some measure of life experience behind her to have written with such passion.
I'm on to the last disk (16 in all) and find myself sitting in the car long after I've arrived home because I can't tear myself away from Jane and Mr Rochester :)
I'm on to the last disk (16 in all) and find myself sitting in the car long after I've arrived home because I can't tear myself away from Jane and Mr Rochester :)
38avaland
>37 akeela: I think my appreciation for the book has increased with age and study. Margot Livesey's new book, The Flight of Gemma Hardy is a retelling or possibly a "nod" to JE. (of course, the same has been said of Du Maurier's Rebecca.
39akeela
> 38 I definitely appreciated Jane Eyre infinitely more this time! I reread Rebecca a couple of years ago and though it remains a favorite, I didn't like it quite as much as I had the first time around. I will look for the Livesy, thanks, Lois.
There are numerous reviews on LT so I won't add another. Suffice it to say that Juliet Stevenson's rendering of the book was brilliant. She lived the story!
I loved that Jane Eyre, the eponymous protagonist was so strong, independent, intelligent and courageous way back when this book was written. An amazing work by Charlotte Bronte.
There are numerous reviews on LT so I won't add another. Suffice it to say that Juliet Stevenson's rendering of the book was brilliant. She lived the story!
I loved that Jane Eyre, the eponymous protagonist was so strong, independent, intelligent and courageous way back when this book was written. An amazing work by Charlotte Bronte.
40akeela
We Are All Equally Far From Love by Adania Shibli. Read and reviewed for the forthcoming issue of Belletrista.
Am currently listening to A Room With a View by EM Forster. One of those must-read books I never got around to before. I'm one sixth of the way and cannot fathom what the fuss is about! Maybe my time for this book has passed... On the one hand, I want to persevere especially since it's only six discs. Will see. :)
Am currently listening to A Room With a View by EM Forster. One of those must-read books I never got around to before. I'm one sixth of the way and cannot fathom what the fuss is about! Maybe my time for this book has passed... On the one hand, I want to persevere especially since it's only six discs. Will see. :)
41rachbxl
I've just downloaded Jane Eyre as my next audiobook - the Juliet Stevenson version. Am really looking forward to it. Like you, I read it ages ago and loved it, and what you say about finding it so much more moving this time has made me curious to see how I react to it second time around. Thanks!
42akeela
>41 rachbxl: I'm so excited to hear that, Rachel! I'm half-listening to A Room with a View... I'll probably give up and go find something else. I hope this doesn't mean I can only do rereads via audiobooks! ;)
43avaland
>38 avaland:, 39 I'm reading the retelling of Jane Eyre now. It's comfortable and entertaining but nothing striking or daring. It's set in the 1950s+ Scotland. It's interesting to see how she chose to retell it; I keep wondering how I would do it. Can one really retell the story of Jane Eyre in any kind of modern setting? One of the big things in the book is that she becomes rich and he becomes blind which effectively makes them equals...how would that be retold today?
44akeela
Hi. It's been too long since I last posted!
I still hope to get to Margot Livesey's book, Lois. I can't conceive of a modern setting for Jane Eyre, but Ms Eyre was a thoroughly modern protagonist, wasn't she?! I wish young women today would be as bold and decisive about their needs, as she was :)
I still hope to get to Margot Livesey's book, Lois. I can't conceive of a modern setting for Jane Eyre, but Ms Eyre was a thoroughly modern protagonist, wasn't she?! I wish young women today would be as bold and decisive about their needs, as she was :)
45akeela
As you all undoubtedly know already, issue 16 of Belletrista is out! For this issue, I reviewed We Are All Equally Far From Love by Adania Shibli. Translated from the Arabic by Paul Starkey.
“If we are to believe the narratives and the characters in this set of interlinked short stories, then we all yearn equally for love and, moreover, we are all equally far from love...”
If that notion tweaks your interest, the rest of my review is here.
I’ve also read Sacrifice by the Karin Alvtegen, which I will review for the next issue of Belle.
“If we are to believe the narratives and the characters in this set of interlinked short stories, then we all yearn equally for love and, moreover, we are all equally far from love...”
If that notion tweaks your interest, the rest of my review is here.
I’ve also read Sacrifice by the Karin Alvtegen, which I will review for the next issue of Belle.
46akeela
A favorite bookshop in Cape Town recently had a crazy closing down sale and I was fortunate to pick up a set of copies of The Paris Review, which was not affordable before.
The Paris Review Issue 185 Summer 2008 was mostly a pleasure, from cover to cover. The magazine typically includes fiction, non-fiction, poetry, a great photographic essay and an interview (or two or three), entitled The Art of Fiction/Non-Fiction/Poetry, depending on the writer being interviewed,
My favorite piece in this volume was the interview with the inimitable Umberto Eco that spans 36 pages! It is informative, revealing, and entertaining. The well-informed interviewer who isn’t given any kind of prominence – I had to go look for her name – is Lila Azam Zanganeh.
To share one or two questions and answers:
Interviewer: Many of your novels seem to rely upon clever concepts. Is that a natural way for you to bridge the chasm between theoretical work and novel writing? You once said that “those things about which we cannot theorize, we must narrate.”
Eco: It is a tongue-in-cheek allusion to a sentence written by Wittgenstein. The truth is, I have written countless essays on semiotics, but I think I expressed my ideas better in Foucault’s Pendulum than in my essays. An idea you have might not be original – Aristotle will always have thought of it before you. but by creating a novel out of that idea you can make it original. Men love women. It’s not an original idea. But if you somehow write a terrific novel about it, then by a literary sleight of hand it becomes absolutely original. I simply believe that at the end of the day a story is always richer – it is an idea reshaped into an event, informed by a character, and sparked by crafted language. So naturally, when an idea is transformed into a living organism, it turns into something completely different and, likely, far more expressive.
On the other hand, contradiction can be the core of a novel. Killing old ladies is interesting. With that idea you get an F on an ethics paper. In a novel it becomes Crime and Punishment, a masterpiece of prose in which the character can’t tell whether killing old ladies is good or bad, and in which his ambivalence – the very contradiction in our statement – becomes poetic and challenging.
Throughout the interview, Eco displays undoubted insight into all things literary, and philosophical; he also displays a keen sense of humor:
Interviewer: Bildungsromans usually involve some degree of sentimental, and sexual, education. In all your novel s you describe only two sexual acts – one in The Name of the Rose, the other in Baudolino. Is there a reason for this?
Eco: I think I just prefer to have sex than to write about it.
And more:
Do you have time to read the novels of your contemporaries?
Eco: Not so much. Since I became a novelist I have discovered that I am biased. Either I think a new novel is worse than mine and I don’t like it, or I suspect it is better than my novels and I don’t like it.
An interesting point he made was that the strength of literature in a country is to have a good army of “middling writers” who produce respectable commercial literature. This requires good craftsmanship, he said, and is the barometer of literary production in a country. If this is true, then South Africa is in a good place currently!
I enjoyed the opening story by Glen Pourciau and another by South African Alistair Morgan. There was a moving interview by Liao Yiwu with the forty-year-old Yang Wenchang, a Chinese man who had just survived at the epicentre of an earthquake that registered 8 on the Richter scale. There is also a memoir piece by Paula Fox entitled Tender is the Night. It’s not clear if it’s been written specifically for TPR or if its an excerpt.
Glad I’ve had occasion to discover The Paris Review!
The Paris Review Issue 185 Summer 2008 was mostly a pleasure, from cover to cover. The magazine typically includes fiction, non-fiction, poetry, a great photographic essay and an interview (or two or three), entitled The Art of Fiction/Non-Fiction/Poetry, depending on the writer being interviewed,
My favorite piece in this volume was the interview with the inimitable Umberto Eco that spans 36 pages! It is informative, revealing, and entertaining. The well-informed interviewer who isn’t given any kind of prominence – I had to go look for her name – is Lila Azam Zanganeh.
To share one or two questions and answers:
Interviewer: Many of your novels seem to rely upon clever concepts. Is that a natural way for you to bridge the chasm between theoretical work and novel writing? You once said that “those things about which we cannot theorize, we must narrate.”
Eco: It is a tongue-in-cheek allusion to a sentence written by Wittgenstein. The truth is, I have written countless essays on semiotics, but I think I expressed my ideas better in Foucault’s Pendulum than in my essays. An idea you have might not be original – Aristotle will always have thought of it before you. but by creating a novel out of that idea you can make it original. Men love women. It’s not an original idea. But if you somehow write a terrific novel about it, then by a literary sleight of hand it becomes absolutely original. I simply believe that at the end of the day a story is always richer – it is an idea reshaped into an event, informed by a character, and sparked by crafted language. So naturally, when an idea is transformed into a living organism, it turns into something completely different and, likely, far more expressive.
On the other hand, contradiction can be the core of a novel. Killing old ladies is interesting. With that idea you get an F on an ethics paper. In a novel it becomes Crime and Punishment, a masterpiece of prose in which the character can’t tell whether killing old ladies is good or bad, and in which his ambivalence – the very contradiction in our statement – becomes poetic and challenging.
Throughout the interview, Eco displays undoubted insight into all things literary, and philosophical; he also displays a keen sense of humor:
Interviewer: Bildungsromans usually involve some degree of sentimental, and sexual, education. In all your novel s you describe only two sexual acts – one in The Name of the Rose, the other in Baudolino. Is there a reason for this?
Eco: I think I just prefer to have sex than to write about it.
And more:
Do you have time to read the novels of your contemporaries?
Eco: Not so much. Since I became a novelist I have discovered that I am biased. Either I think a new novel is worse than mine and I don’t like it, or I suspect it is better than my novels and I don’t like it.
An interesting point he made was that the strength of literature in a country is to have a good army of “middling writers” who produce respectable commercial literature. This requires good craftsmanship, he said, and is the barometer of literary production in a country. If this is true, then South Africa is in a good place currently!
I enjoyed the opening story by Glen Pourciau and another by South African Alistair Morgan. There was a moving interview by Liao Yiwu with the forty-year-old Yang Wenchang, a Chinese man who had just survived at the epicentre of an earthquake that registered 8 on the Richter scale. There is also a memoir piece by Paula Fox entitled Tender is the Night. It’s not clear if it’s been written specifically for TPR or if its an excerpt.
Glad I’ve had occasion to discover The Paris Review!
47rebeccanyc
akeela, Aren't Paris Review interviews wonderful? Many of themhave been anthologized, for example in The Paris Review Interviews, I, but they've also been made available on the Paris Review website. In addition, LT has links from author pages (in the links box) to Paris review interviews, e.g., for Umberto Eco.
48Linda92007
What a great excerpt from the Eco interview, akeela. Thanks for sharing it with us.
And thanks Rebecca for the links. I'd like to become more familiar with the Paris Review, as it sounds wonderful.
And thanks Rebecca for the links. I'd like to become more familiar with the Paris Review, as it sounds wonderful.
49dchaikin
Interesting about the The Paris Review and Eco. Enjoyed your review of Shibli, it's nice to read about another of her works.
50akeela
Wow! Rebecca, thank you so much. The anthology is definitely one for my wishlist. Now to go and find a copy! Thank you also for the links. It's been favorited on my PC already.
I had to share it, Linda! It's the kind of interview you want all fiction enthusiasts to read.
Hey, Dan! Thanks.
I had to share it, Linda! It's the kind of interview you want all fiction enthusiasts to read.
Hey, Dan! Thanks.
51rebeccanyc
By the way, I have several of the anthologies, but the one I linked to, the first, is the best. It looks like they picked the best ones for the first volume, the next best for the second, and so on.
52kidzdoc
Excellent comments about The Paris Review, Akeela! Your comments remind me that I am shamefully behind on my TPR reading. I just looked, and I have every issue from #174 to the current one (#200, which I received last week). I'll start reading the current issue today (ignore crossed fingers behind back).
53akeela
Haha! You're lucky to have them, Darryl! I don't know if I'll see them again because this wonderful bookshop closed down - it could no longer manage the rental, which is quite sad. But I'll definitely be looking out for it, and anyway, there's always the Internet... :)
Thanks for the tip, Rebecca!
Thanks for the tip, Rebecca!
54Poquette
I have the Paris Review website bookmarked but have not been systematic about reading interviews. It is usually when someone like you, Akeela, highlight a particularly interesting one, and I make a beeline to it. The one with Eco sounds particularly interesting to me. Thanks for mentioning it!
55akeela
Haven’t been here to record my reading in a while! Some brief comments to catch up.
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers was a quick, but important, NF read about a Syrian-American man and his family post-911, during hurricane Katrina. Abdelrahmen Zeitoun sends his family to safety while he stays behind to help others during and after Hurricane Katrina has struck New Orleans. He’s had a canoe in his garage, which he now has occasion to haul out to get around the flooded area, where he helps people and animals to safety and food. Unfortunately, Zeitoun and his family come head-to-head with an unwarranted and aggressive challenge that one wishes away, but is a reality of our times. This seemingly simple narrative leaves one with a lot to think about. Definitely recommended.
I listened to Love, Etc. by Julian Barnes. Stuart and Oliver were childhood friends. Stuart married Gillian, then Oliver stole her away. Gillian and Oliver got married. The guys parted ways, but now meet after ten years apart. Gillian and Oliver have two daughters. Thing is, Stuart never got over Gillian. The guys bicker. A lot. There’s jealousy, and love, a reminiscences. There are different perspectives on events. It was fairly entertaining. Barnes is a good writer and I would certainly read him again. There were three voices used in the reading, but at least double the number of characters in the book, so I struggled to place some voices.
Conversations with American Women Writers by Sarah Anne Johnson. Having read a fair number of The Paris Reviews interviews recently, I could not in all honesty say I enjoyed these interviews. I wanted to. But it just did not meet the standard. Some of the 17 authors interviewed included Aimee Bender, Amy Bloom, Andrea Barrett. Exciting authors! In the end, I didn’t read the book from cover to cover. Some of the questions posed: "How did you get started writing?" "How do your story ideas come to you?" "Who are some of the writers that have influenced you?" Maybe if I’d read it at another time...
Oi! Have to rush off to work!
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers was a quick, but important, NF read about a Syrian-American man and his family post-911, during hurricane Katrina. Abdelrahmen Zeitoun sends his family to safety while he stays behind to help others during and after Hurricane Katrina has struck New Orleans. He’s had a canoe in his garage, which he now has occasion to haul out to get around the flooded area, where he helps people and animals to safety and food. Unfortunately, Zeitoun and his family come head-to-head with an unwarranted and aggressive challenge that one wishes away, but is a reality of our times. This seemingly simple narrative leaves one with a lot to think about. Definitely recommended.
I listened to Love, Etc. by Julian Barnes. Stuart and Oliver were childhood friends. Stuart married Gillian, then Oliver stole her away. Gillian and Oliver got married. The guys parted ways, but now meet after ten years apart. Gillian and Oliver have two daughters. Thing is, Stuart never got over Gillian. The guys bicker. A lot. There’s jealousy, and love, a reminiscences. There are different perspectives on events. It was fairly entertaining. Barnes is a good writer and I would certainly read him again. There were three voices used in the reading, but at least double the number of characters in the book, so I struggled to place some voices.
Conversations with American Women Writers by Sarah Anne Johnson. Having read a fair number of The Paris Reviews interviews recently, I could not in all honesty say I enjoyed these interviews. I wanted to. But it just did not meet the standard. Some of the 17 authors interviewed included Aimee Bender, Amy Bloom, Andrea Barrett. Exciting authors! In the end, I didn’t read the book from cover to cover. Some of the questions posed: "How did you get started writing?" "How do your story ideas come to you?" "Who are some of the writers that have influenced you?" Maybe if I’d read it at another time...
Oi! Have to rush off to work!
56dchaikin
dear Akeela, must you work so much? Thanks for reminding me that I really should read Zeitoun, and for the interesting comments on Barnes. Too bad about the Paris Review interviews.
58akeela
Hi dear friends :)
Oops, Dan! In my haste to get some thoughts recorded here, I'm afraid I was terribly ambiguous. I loved The Paris Review interviews and recommend them wholeheartedly. I was unfortunately not able to enjoy the conversations in the Johnson volume although it featured some very prominent women writers.
I've read Radwa Ashour's novella Siraaj: An Arab Tale. Hope to be back with some thoughts soon.
Oops, Dan! In my haste to get some thoughts recorded here, I'm afraid I was terribly ambiguous. I loved The Paris Review interviews and recommend them wholeheartedly. I was unfortunately not able to enjoy the conversations in the Johnson volume although it featured some very prominent women writers.
I've read Radwa Ashour's novella Siraaj: An Arab Tale. Hope to be back with some thoughts soon.
60avaland
I'm with Dan and Rachel: dear Akeela, must you work so much? and Lovely to see you back. If briefly...
62akeela
Still alive... :)
At the end of September, Cape Town hosted the Open Book Festival and I had the pleasure of hearing the eminent Alan Hollinghurst, the very impressive Lola Shoneyin, the entertaining Joanne Harris, the fun Lionel Shriver, the comparatively quiet Esi Edugyan, and more!
Sadly, I missed Atiq Rahimi and, more importantly, Nathacha Appanah and am still getting over the disappointment. I didn’t know she was in town...
I met and chatted with Lola Shoneyin. She’s intelligent and outspoken, and loads of fun! I had also had the distinct pleasure of meeting the energetic and spirited 69-year Sindiwe Magona, who clearly comes from an African oral storytelling tradition. She was very inspiring.
I also met the British children’s author, Emily Gravett, who is extremely creative and a wonderful storyteller.
Also met Patrick Flannery, and Jenna Cato Bass the 22-year-old South African shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing 2012 for the excellent “Hunter Emmanuel” (written under the pseudonym Constance Myburgh).
Needless to say, it was a heady September!
At the end of September, Cape Town hosted the Open Book Festival and I had the pleasure of hearing the eminent Alan Hollinghurst, the very impressive Lola Shoneyin, the entertaining Joanne Harris, the fun Lionel Shriver, the comparatively quiet Esi Edugyan, and more!
Sadly, I missed Atiq Rahimi and, more importantly, Nathacha Appanah and am still getting over the disappointment. I didn’t know she was in town...
I met and chatted with Lola Shoneyin. She’s intelligent and outspoken, and loads of fun! I had also had the distinct pleasure of meeting the energetic and spirited 69-year Sindiwe Magona, who clearly comes from an African oral storytelling tradition. She was very inspiring.
I also met the British children’s author, Emily Gravett, who is extremely creative and a wonderful storyteller.
Also met Patrick Flannery, and Jenna Cato Bass the 22-year-old South African shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing 2012 for the excellent “Hunter Emmanuel” (written under the pseudonym Constance Myburgh).
Needless to say, it was a heady September!
63akeela
Accabadora by Michela Murgia. Translated from the Italian by Sylvester Mazzarella. Maria is the unwanted fourth daughter of the widowed Anna Teresa Listru, who lives in Sardinia in the 1950s, in a close-knit rural community. When the now elderly but once beautiful Bonaria Urrai adopts the little girl at age 6, Maria’s life changes forever.
Tzia Bonaria opens her heart and home to Maria but, out of necessity, shields her from an important aspect of her life. In a community with many open secrets, the secret is bound to be revealed sooner or later.
The book abounds with typical Italian passions, a portion of romance, an air of mystery and many dreams and disappointments. I enjoyed the storytelling and the Mazzarella's seamless translation. Murgia’s writing is simple, but utterly engaging. Definitely recommended.
Tzia Bonaria opens her heart and home to Maria but, out of necessity, shields her from an important aspect of her life. In a community with many open secrets, the secret is bound to be revealed sooner or later.
The book abounds with typical Italian passions, a portion of romance, an air of mystery and many dreams and disappointments. I enjoyed the storytelling and the Mazzarella's seamless translation. Murgia’s writing is simple, but utterly engaging. Definitely recommended.
64rachbxl
Hurray, you're back again! Please stay this time!
Aagh, what a shame you missed Appanah - but on the plus side, what a wonderful range of writers you DID get to hear and even meet...lucky you, sounds wonderful.
Aagh, what a shame you missed Appanah - but on the plus side, what a wonderful range of writers you DID get to hear and even meet...lucky you, sounds wonderful.
65akeela
Hey Rach! Thanks for the message.
I'll try... I've been reading the whole time, but can't remember what!
It was indeed wonderful being in the same room as the authors and hearing their stories, and being privy to their personalities, and their humor. And also hearing about their writing lives.
Hollinghurst, for example, when asked who he is conversing with when he writes, said he imagines that his writing is the continued conversation in the literary tradition started by others down the ages before him, like E.M. Forster. He was a lot more eloquent than I am, but it gave me goosebumps at the time.
Shoneyin was very impressive. She had the room in stitches about her love-hate relationship with her mum - there's probably a novel in there!
She mentioned that The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wife was loosely based on true events she'd heard of in her Nigerian exerience and, of course, the publication of the book landed her in a lot of trouble back home because it was thought that she was being critical of polygamy and men, so was labelled a feminist, amongst many other supposedly derogatory things.
She said there were very few published Nigerian women, and I honestly can't say I realised this. Lois? I always had the notion that all Nigerians are well-published.
I'll try... I've been reading the whole time, but can't remember what!
It was indeed wonderful being in the same room as the authors and hearing their stories, and being privy to their personalities, and their humor. And also hearing about their writing lives.
Hollinghurst, for example, when asked who he is conversing with when he writes, said he imagines that his writing is the continued conversation in the literary tradition started by others down the ages before him, like E.M. Forster. He was a lot more eloquent than I am, but it gave me goosebumps at the time.
Shoneyin was very impressive. She had the room in stitches about her love-hate relationship with her mum - there's probably a novel in there!
She mentioned that The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wife was loosely based on true events she'd heard of in her Nigerian exerience and, of course, the publication of the book landed her in a lot of trouble back home because it was thought that she was being critical of polygamy and men, so was labelled a feminist, amongst many other supposedly derogatory things.
She said there were very few published Nigerian women, and I honestly can't say I realised this. Lois? I always had the notion that all Nigerians are well-published.
66kidzdoc
>62 akeela: Hi, Akeela! That book festival sounds lovely; thanks for mentioning it to us.
67akeela
Hey Darryl! It was only the second annual "Open Book Festival" in Cape Town but we already managed to draw a host of big names :) It was very successful and will grow significantly, if this year's success is anything to go by.
68avaland
>62 akeela: Oh, lucky you. Sounds like it was a great festival! Nice to see you again. Rachbxl, you and I have all been 'away' from Club Read for months.
>65 akeela: Hm. I would not have thought that statement particularly true. Seems Nigerian women are better represented than many other African countries, but her perspective may be different. Here's a list:
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/_generate/NIGERIA.html
I'm familiar with some of these names, but not most. And I notice that the list doesn't include Chika Unigwe....
>65 akeela: Hm. I would not have thought that statement particularly true. Seems Nigerian women are better represented than many other African countries, but her perspective may be different. Here's a list:
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/_generate/NIGERIA.html
I'm familiar with some of these names, but not most. And I notice that the list doesn't include Chika Unigwe....
