Asymptote Journal Book Recommendations & Book Mentions

Asymptote Journal

“I thought, let the dead speak because the living don't have a clue. That was my starting point.” Shehan Karunatilaka discusses his Booker Prize winning novel, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, and the Sri Lankan civil war that serves as its setting. https://t.co/7c9Lm4nfB1 https://t.co/A7oOcRfwge

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Have you read the original The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi? Having inspired many adaptations—and with a new English translation released just last year—find out the tumultuous history behind this children’s classic: https://t.co/ZbHrFzAo4Y

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Asymptote Journal

In his review of Elias Khoury's MY NAME IS ADAM (translated by Humphrey Davies), @joshua_craze explores Khoury's willingness to embrace openendedness, asserting that a lack of resolution is often integral to the telling of a story. Read it here: https://t.co/uERcX5fGM7 https://t.co/u2QoyMVIgX

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#OTD in 1821, the Russian master of literature, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, was born in Moscow. One of the most translated authors of all time—his works have been translated into over 170 languages—he is best known for his epic, insightful novels like "Crime and Punishment". https://t.co/Ps19aDeZ3G

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"Resurrecting a 'subject' from its ashes is third-degree work that deals both with one’s self—who forgot—and others—who forgot." In this essay from 1958, French novelist Marguerite Duras offers a literary perspective on screenwriting Hiroshima Mon Amour: https://t.co/VssvWY6j9V

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What is the role of the translator in the rendering of a story? With back-to-back translations from the Yiddish, Nobel laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer’s Simple Gimpl offers different interpretations attributed to a translator's choices and preferences: https://t.co/42Q5GwIKrX https://t.co/roj6cEcNMb

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Abby Walthausen’s review of Kibogo is an invitation to the village at the foot of Mount Runani where the heavens are close enough to touch, replete with insights from author @Mukasonga and notes on the translation by Mark Polizzotti: https://t.co/pHZ1taZ3fR @archipelagobks https://t.co/GtyYxQaLGF

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Unrelentingly grotesque, this delirious flight of fantasy from our Winter 2023 issue announces a fiery new talent in Indonesian fiction, hitherto better known as the translator of Eka Kurniawan’s Man Tiger. Meet Dalih Sembiring, fabulist par excellence: https://t.co/myTCXYOb3L https://t.co/dxk4oIqOaF

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Today we honor the life of Sylvia Plath, renowned author, who died too soon. Born #OTD in 1932 in Boston, Plath was a legend for her work in the development of confessional poetry. Her final work and only novel, "The Bell Jar," remains a mainstay of American literature. https://t.co/1I3JSev9B1

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George Orwell's astute perceptions of politics foreshadowed a clash of ideologies during the 20th century. His experience of the Spanish Civil War inspired some of the century's greatest literature, from 1984 to Animal Farm. He died young at 46, but #OTD we celebrate his birth. https://t.co/c9Uq1Ddlvj

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