Several years ago, I had polled friends to see what they were reading. My friend MJB had recommended Fadia Faqir’s Pillars of Salt, and I was intrigued. Now that I’m teaching a global literature course this fall, I’ve been reading as much international literature as I can. While I don’t think I’ll be able to teach this novel this cycle, I am keeping it for another semester. It’s an incredible work. Pillars of Salt focuses on the stories of two Jordanian women, Maha and Um […]
Burning images and words
In my search for African continental writers who write in English, I realized that most of the authors typically emerge from Nigeria, Kenya, or South Africa. I’m guessing the heavy influence of the British Empire on these countries’ education system means more writers who are bilingual (or trilingual, even more likely) and who write novels in English. So it was a pleasant surprise to discover Yvonne Vera, from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. While I won’t be teaching Butterfly Burning this semester, it’s a short novel that I’ll […]
The endearing, unpublished works of Barbara Pym
In the spirit of completism, I airily decided that my Barbara Pym experience would not be perfect unless I’d read everything. Normally, I’m not so bonkers for an author that I’ll also read their unpublished work, but Pym is a special case. Having read her diary/autobiography, I found the unpublished work to be especially enjoyable and interesting. Civil to Strangers is a collection of Barbara Pym’s unpublished work, including several novels or partial novels that Pym had worked on and either could not find a […]
Another disappointment out of a promising premise
The Chancellor had pointed Viet Thanh Nguyen’s debut novel The Sympathizer to me on one of our weekly library jaunts, and the premise sounded interesting. I’ve been in the process of reading more contemporary Anglophone fiction, particularly in developing my own reading base and curriculum. I was interested in this novel, because it examined the Vietnam War from a different angle. The novel focuses on a Communist sleeper agent who is fronting as a good Vietnamese captain during the Vietnam War. His mentor, a general […]
Soldiers and Valentines and Sheep (Oh My!)
Confession: I only checked out this audiobook from the library because I liked the movie trailer (and it kills me to see the movie first. With very few exceptions, I am a read-the-book-first girl). I have a very loaded history with Thomas Hardy, namely with Tess of the D’Ubervilles. Okay, my beef is really with one Angel effing Clare, the worst human being to ever exist. I never finished Tess, but I did stop about the point when Angel said something horrible and douchey to […]
An intimate glimpse at the life of Barbara Pym
I decided to be a completist and read ALL the Barbara Pym. I’m typically not a stickler for reading an author’s diaries, letters, or miscellany (except for Jane Austen–that woman had a vicious streak in her, and I love every minute of it), but I felt like Pym would be an entertaining correspondent. I was not wrong. A Very Private Eye is a compiled collection of Pym’s letters, diaries from 1933-1979, and other notebook excerpts that featured ideas for her novels. We read about her […]
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