Recently Begun Books

[Chandos MD]

I recently started the new English translation of Jelinek’s The Children of the Dead. I realized I’d lost the plot entirely about 100 pages in, but I didn’t have it in me to go backwards and reread, so I’m putting it down for another day

Yesterday I started Voss and it took me in immediately, I’m excited to keep reading. Only my second book from the country after The Plains

 

[Benny Profane]

?? Álvares de Azevedo (Gothic/Romantic Brazilian writer) - Complete Works by Brazilian Aguilar (we call here as José Aguilar or Nova Aguilar);
?? Charles Baudelaire - Complete Works by Brazilian Aguilar

I promise you, guys, when I have an available time, I will do some reviews of my readings since 2023 June to now.

 

[Ben Jackson]

Song of Solomon-- Toni Morrison
Second Place, Outline Trilogy--- Rachel Cusk
Kukotsky Enigma--- Ludymila Ulitskaya

Already done with Song of Solomon, very entertaining novel and, thus far, my favourite Morrison. The more I read Morrison, the more she climbs higher in my favourite writers' ranking.

 

[Ben Jackson]

Sense of Modernism--- Sara Danius
Progress of Love--- Alice Munro
Love in the New Millenium--- Can Xue

Finished reading the Danius work. A brilliant literary criticism looking at high-modernism specifically on Mann's Buddenbrooks, Joyce's Ulysses and Proust's In Search of Lost Time. Her essays are as good as Sontag. Reading these essays make me understand the reasons why Dylan, Ishiguro and Tokarczuk won the Nobel Prize. I must also congratulate all members of the forum because, through the accessibility of the Nobel Library, they got about 70 percent of the writers shortlisted during Danius era (2015--2018). More on this latter on.

 

[Liam]

Progress of Love--- Alice Munro

I've been dipping in and out of Family Furnishings, which collects many of her stories over the years and, while I was pleased with the way she narrated each story (simple language, nothing extraneous), I kind of thought they lacked something "profound," a stamp of greatness as it were. Dunno, maybe she's just not my kind of writer, which is strange, because I love Chekhov, and many people have compared her to Chekhov, ?‍

 

[tiganeasca]

?? Duong Thu Huong, Memories of a Pure Spring

?? Mishima Yukio, The Sound of Waves

 

[alik-vit]

Maryse Conde, "The Wondrous and Tragic Life
of Ivan and Ivana" (in Rus.). Kind of "RIP read". A half a book in, and by this moment it's interesting. A think, it's correct word: not good, or great, or enjoyable, but interesting.

 

[alik-vit]

"Murambi, The book of bones" by Boubacar Boris Diop
"Queen Ginga and how Africans invented the world" by José Eduardo Agualusa

 

[tiganeasca]

?? Wang Anyi, Baotown

?? Ludmila Ulitskaya, Bronka and The Daughter of Bokhara (two stories published with Sonechka)

?? Endo Shusaku, Five by Endo

 

[Phil D]

?? Wang Anyi, Baotown

I've had Love in a Small Town parked for a little while. Interested to hear what you think of this one

 

[tiganeasca]

I've had Love in a Small Town parked for a little while. Interested to hear what you think of this one

I'll trade ya! You tell me what you think of Stow and I'll tell you what I think of Wang.

 

[Chandos MD]

I’m gonna be staying in Texas for the next level of education/training after medical school so I’m working through some Texas classics, most recently

Larry McMurtry - In a Narrow Grave
Jim Shutze - The Accommodation
Billy Lee Brammer - The Gay Place
John Graves - Goodbye to a River

 

[Phil D]

I'll trade ya! You tell me what you think of Stow and I'll tell you what I think of Wang.

Just over halfway through the Stow and absolutely loving it. It's slow going coz we're reading out loud, but what we've read so far is gorgeous. Looking forward to reading more from him.

 

[Leseratte]

?? Wang Anyi, Baotown

?? Ludmila Ulitskaya, Bronka and The Daughter of Bokhara (two stories published with Sonechka)

?? Endo Shusaku, Five by Endo

Hope you enjoy Ulitskaya.

 

[tiganeasca]

Hope you enjoy Ulitskaya.

Me too! 'Cause I was not a big fan of Sonechka.

 

[SpaceCadet]

"Murambi, The book of bones" by Boubacar Boris Diop
"Queen Ginga and how Africans invented the world" by José Eduardo Agualusa

I've been intrigued by 'Queen Ginga'. I'll be looking forward to your comments on this one. Also, I would like to know how you would rate it compared with the other titles you have already read by this author.

 

[alik-vit]

I've been intrigued by 'Queen Ginga'. I'll be looking forward to your comments on this one. Also, I would like to know how you would rate it compared with the other titles you have already read by this author.

Yes, I did read "A General Theory of Oblivion" (it was good), "The Book of Chameleons" (it was fantastic!), "Creole" (it was OK) and now "Queen Ginga" (it's OK too). Main problem of the book (IMHO) is huge disproportion between its volume (130 pp or something) and density of its action. I can't say "plot", it's more like just action. The protagonist visited Africa, lost faith, found friendship, lost friendship, found love, lost love, found love again, visited Brazil, visited Africa again, spent some months in captivity, spent some time at the court of queen Ginga, etc, etc. When all is said and done, it's like kind of Dumas-pere novel about adventures in exotic milieu. Authors just lists "big topics", there is no development of ideas or characters. It's easy and quick read, interesting (not veeeeery interesting, but interesting), not great. The same I can say about "Creole". But maybe "Creole" is a little bit better. After "The Book of Chameleons" I was very enthusiastic, but now I think Mia Couto is stronger voice from this cultural area.

 

[Verkhovensky]

I'm a big fan of Agualusa! I liked My Father's Wives most of his books that I've read, however I haven't yet read Chameleons.

Maybe this sounds strange, but I think I agree that Couto is a superior writer, although I like Agualusa's books more.

 

[Benny Profane]

I'm a big fan of Agualusa! I liked My Father's Wives most of his books that I've read, however I haven't yet read Chameleons.

Maybe this sounds strange, but I think I agree that Couto is a superior writer, although I like Agualusa's books more.

Who is the Croatian translator who translates from Portuguese? Does he/she translate books from Brazil too?

 

[Verkhovensky]

Who is the Croatian translator who translates from Portuguese? Does he/she translate books from Brazil too?

I mean, you can major in Portuguese in Zagreb, so I guess there are plenty of people that at least theoretically can translate from Portuguese. There are two or three most famous translators, and they sometimes translate Brazilians - of course your dear Coelho, but there are a few translations of Amado and a lot of Lispector in the last years.