Archive for November, 2010

THE SNAKEWOMAN OF LITTLE EGYPT by Robert Hellenga

Robert Hellenga had me spellbound with his first novel, THE SIXTEEN PLEASURES. It is one of the most fascinating and sensuous books I’ve ever read. His most recent book, THE SNAKEWOMAN OF LITTLE EGYPT, does not quite come up to his first novel. However, he presents the reader with fascinating subject matter and some very erotic writing.

November 13, 2010 · Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags:  Â· Posted in: Contemporary, Reading Guide, US Midwest

HELIOPOLIS by James Scudamore

The main character in James Scudamore’s novel HELIOPOLIS is twenty-seven-year-old Ludo. Born in terrible poverty in a Sao Paulo Favela (shantytown), Ludo and his mother had the good fortune to come to the attention of Rebecca, the British, charity-minded wife of one of the city’s richest businessmen, Zeno (Zé) Generoso. Zé and Rebecca, who have one daughter, Melissa, formally adopted Ludo, and he has a privileged upbringing which comes with a price; he’s constantly reminded of his humble beginnings, his good fortune and how much he owes to his benefactors. Separated from his mother who remains as the cook at Zé’s country estate, Ludo has no self-identity. His life is shaped by the desires of the Generoso family, and while he may be the adopted son, he’s little more than a trained house-serf.

November 12, 2010 · Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: , , ,  Â· Posted in: Brazil, Class - Race - Gender, Latin American/Caribbean, Reading Guide, World Lit

HYGIENE AND ASSASSIN by Amelie Nothomb

Belgian author Amélie Nothomb came to my attention a few years ago through a French film. The film, Fear and Trembling (which is excellent, by the way) is based on Nothomb’s biographical experiences–specifically when she worked for a Japanese company in Tokyo. HYGIENE AND ASSASSIN is Nothomb’s first novel, originally published in 1992.

November 11, 2010 · Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags:  Â· Posted in: Debut Novel, France, World Lit, y Award Winning Author

TRAVELS IN SIBERIA by Ian Frazier

Hints of travel writer Ian Frazier’s latest project showed up in a recent issue of the New Yorker magazine, when an excerpt from TRAVELS IN SIBERIA was published. Having evocatively captured the spirit of a Native American reservation and the American Great Plains in earlier work, Frazier set his sights on a much grander level—he decided to travel across Siberia. A self-confessed lover of all things Russian, Frazier travels across Siberia despite warnings to the contrary

November 10, 2010 · Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: ,  Â· Posted in: 2010 Favorites, Non-fiction, Russia

THE BOX: TALES FROM THE DARKROOM by Gunter Grass

Nobel laureate Günter Grass has made a career out of fictionalizing the past in order to be better believed… In his latest work, THE BOX: TALES FROM THE DARKROOM, he combines autobiography with magic realism in an oblique view of his entire life as a writer, though without strong political or moral overtones or, frankly, much interest.

November 9, 2010 · Judi Clark · Comments Closed
Tags: , ,  Â· Posted in: Nobel Prize for Literature, Short Stories, Unique Narrative, World Lit, y Award Winning Author

THE CONVENT by Panos Karnezis

n his latest book, THE CONVENT, Panos Karnezis hints at the ambiguity that underlies religious faith in the first sentence: Those who God wishes to destroy he first makes mad. (Does he mean mad as in furious? Or does God drive the damned crazy, first?) And so, when a baby boy appears in a suitcase on the doorstep of an isolated Spanish convent a few paragraphs later, I was ready to be led through an oscillating narrative (is he or isn’t he a miracle?), that explored the tensions between faith and reason, independence and obedience, progress and stasis inherent to organized religion. Unfortunately, that’s not the tale Karnezis delivers…

November 8, 2010 · Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: ,  Â· Posted in: Contemporary, Spain, World Lit