Published by Akashic Books and Cassava Republic Press, 2018, 217 pages. “Lagos never sleeps. Ever. It stays awake long after New York has faded in a long drawn-out yawn, matched only by the vigil of Cairo. ... “By the way a man sits smoking on the hood of his burned-out Mercedes-Benz, it is clear he …
Without Ever Reaching the Summit: Paolo Cognetti
Translated from Italian by Stash LuczkiwPublished by Harvill Secker and HarperOne, 2020, 137 pages. Original version published in 2018. The Snow Leopard, Peter Matthiessen’s book about his trip to the Dolpo region in the Himalayas, was published in 1978. It is a blend of travelogue, philosophy and nature writing. Almost four decades later, in 2017, …
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At Night We Walk in Circles: Daniel Alarcón
Published by Fourth Estate, 2013, 374 pages. Things are not going well for Nelson. His girlfriend Ixta has left him, and his acting career is floundering. His older brother has moved to the United States, promising to help Nelson move there, but has made no attempt to start the process. So when Nelson’s hero, the …
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The Liar Tells the Truth: Irshad Panjatan
2021, 287 pages. “In pure mime, the artist has to depend entirely on his body on an empty stage to create an atmosphere around him, plus the characters he depicts, to tell the story without any dialogues, music, or songs, and without any external aids like props and decorations. He has to fill the stage …
The Devil’s Company: David Liss
Published by Ballantine Books, 2009, 369 pages. This is a gripping story set in 18th century London. Thief-taker[1] Benjamin Weaver is asked by a mysterious man called Cobb to carry out a dangerous assignment. When Weaver declines, Cobb resorts to other means. He threatens three people close to Weaver with destitution unless Weaver agrees to …
Raising Issues of Domestic Violence: An Interview with Cherie Jones
Photo: BrooksLaTouche Photography, Barbados. Cherie Jones is a Barbadian author and attorney. Her novel, How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House, was shortlisted for the 2021 Women’s Prize for Fiction. She has also written a book of short stories, The Burning Bush Women & Other Stories. Cherie is currently working on her second novel. Talking …
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The Yiddish Policemen’s Union: Michael Chabon
Published by HarperCollins, 2007, 432 pages. “Nine months Landsman’s been flopping at the Hotel Zamenhof without any of his fellow residents managing to get themselves murdered. Now somebody has put a bullet in the brain of the occupant of 208...” The year is 1998. When, after World War II, plans to create a homeland for …
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Nightwoods: Charles Frazier
Published by Hodder & Stoughton and Random House, 2011, 336 pages. “Luce’s new stranger children were small and beautiful and violent.” “Nothing changes what already happened. It will always have happened. You either let it break you down or you don't.” Luce is the caretaker of an almost abandoned lodge in a forest by a …
The Silence of the Rain: Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza
Translated from Portuguese by Benjamin MoserPublished by Picador, 2002, 256 pages. Original version published in 1996. Ricardo Carvalho, a well-to-do executive, gets into his car in a multistoried car park in Rio de Janeiro, smokes a cigarette and then shoots himself. He leaves behind a gun, a briefcase, 20,000 dollars and a note to the …
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Worn—A People’s History of Clothing: Sofi Thanhauser
Review by Susan T. LandryPublished by Penguin Random House, 2022, 400 pages. Forgive me for starting with a brief digression before I tell you about Worn by Sofi Thanhauser. There is a connection. Last summer, July 2021, I read All That She Carried by Tiya Miles, which was a literal eye-opener. She tells the story …
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