Kinna

Oh I should get that, or Additions to my Wishlist #7

I’m adding the following six books, reviewed by fellow bloggers, to my wishlist:

  • The Sleepwalker by the Greek author Margarita Karapanou.  I came across this book in a write-up by Scott Esposito of Conversational Reading.  Scott says “it’s one of the most exciting things I’ve read this year. Read it.”  Enough said.  I’m excited to discover a women writer from Greece.  From the Words  Without Borders review of the book: “Part dystopia part satire, this surreal tale of lost souls, and a dethroned deity, is not so much a murder mystery as it is a murderer’s mystery: the reader knows who is killing the islanders, but is left to wonder about the killer’s motives and real identity”.
  • The House of Scorta by the French author Laurent Gaudé –  I was intrigued by a review of the author’s Ouragan by Michelle of Incurable Logophilia.  Ouragan is set in New Orleans during the period of Hurricane Katrina.  Unfortunately, the English translation of the book is yet to be published.  So, I went looking for other books by Gaude and found The House of Scorta, a multi-generational historical novel set in Italy.  It won the 2004 Prix Goncourt. Historical Novel Reviews the book.
  • Say Her Name by the American novelist Francisco Goldman – I’d read and loved two novels of his, The Long Night of White Chickens and The Ordinary Seaman.  Somehow, I’d failed to keep up with his newer works.  So, I was pleasantly surprised to read about this new book. From a review at the Quarterly Conversation: “Poignant and painful, Francisco Goldman’s story teaches us to see his wife and their short life together through his eyes. It’s difficult at times to separate fiction from reality, but this book isn’t about that. This is an obsessive almost-biography, an autopsy of a beautiful marriage, and above all, a pitch-perfect love story–sentimental, but never cloying; passionate, but often humorous–by an enormously talented writer. No one really writes this well, this emotionally; I’ve rarely read a more affecting or damaging book.”
  • The Guinea Pigs by Ludvík Vaculík – I don’t need any prodding to add another Czech book to my wishlist. Thanks to Lisa’s Other Bookshelf ‘s enthusiastic review of this ” cryptic, not-so-long novel about Vašek, a bank worker, and his relationships with his wife, Eva; two sons, Vašek and Pavel; mysterious co-workers, and their guinea pigs”.
  • Stoner by the American novelist John Williams – Again, thanks to Lisa’s Other Bookshelf for reviewing this book.  She says  ” Stoner is the life story of William Stoner, a rather staid professor of English at the University of Missouri, not reefer madness. Stoner is my kind of book, a portrait of an imperfect human whose life looks unhappy, even futile, from the first page – Stoner’s career is undistinguished and he experiences strife at work and home – but keeps on keeping on thanks to a lurking, low-key passion for life.”
  • In the Country of Men by the Libyan writer Hisham Matar – zunguzungu makes a compelling case, in a four part series, for why this novel should be read by all. The novel was shortlisted for the 2006 Man Booker Prize.
  • The English Class by Chinese-Australian author Ouyang Yu – this book is about migration, assimilation and the power of language to shape cultural and social identities.  Thanks to Lisa of ANZ Litlovers LitBlog for her brilliant review.

Have you read any of these books? Do any of these books sound interesting to you? What is the latest addition to your wishlist?

18 comments

  3. You have to read In the Country Of Men, I read it, love it, then went out and bought it for keep. With Hisham Matar I found another of my favourite author.

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  4. In the Country of Men was one of my recent Amazon recommendations, and I actually picked it up in the library to check out but opted not to because I don’t know if I want to deal with Libya in literature right now. I’ll be interested to read your reactions and maybe we can share notes.

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  5. The Guinea Pigs is a VERY strange book. There is an incident involving a guinea pig and a record player that just cracked me up. Vaculík has a twisted, twisted mind.

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  7. Stoner is on my list too! so many raves from local booksellers. i think it will be my next one.

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  9. Hisham’s In the Country of Men is rated high on my wish list and I know I have to get reading this anytime soon. I made a post on him today. Great lists you have here.

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  10. Hello, Kiina and Iris *warm smile to both of you* you are so nice!
    I just dropped by to let you know that I had an email from the publishers and you can get The English Class as an eBook at Amazon now. Which makes it much easier to get your hands on it from overseas:)

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  13. The English Class sounds absolutely brilliant and completey fitting to my interest at the moment. Thank you so much for pointing it out. Lisa does write good reviews, I agree.

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