Prix Renaudot-winning author Alice Zeniter’s newest book to be translated into English ‘The Art of Losing’ (L’Art de Perdre), translated from the French by Frank Wynne, is a sweeping, intergenerational exploration of the ongoing tensions between Algeria and its former colonizer France. Though the book begins and ends centered on a modern-day woman named NaÏma, large… Continue reading The Art of Losing
Category: Reviews
The Last One
“My name is Fatima Daas.” This is the rhythmic refrain of Fatima Daas’ debut novel The Last One, a tender but powerful exploration of the “often conflicting facets of her identity: French. Algerian. Muslim. Lesbian.” The book, which was originally published in France in 2020 and then swiftly released in English in December 2021, is equal… Continue reading The Last One
Animals
Hebe Uhart’s Animals can be summed up in one word: delightful. The 212 page book is like a marriage between Animal Planet and a conversation with a friend, in fact, within its pages Uhart describes the second-century Roman writer and teacher Aelian as the Animal Planet of his time. The pensive tone of the book… Continue reading Animals
Friends and Dark Shapes
In her new book Friends and Dark Shapes, Australian-Indian writer Kavita Bedford explores a topic that few talk about: the limbo of being a single twenty-something with no permanent career prospects or domestic comforts in sight. In the wake of her father’s death, the nameless narrator is lost trying to create some sense of purpose… Continue reading Friends and Dark Shapes
Mirror Lake
Mirror Lake, by French-Canadian internationally acclaimed crime writer Andrée A. Michaud, is an arresting, surrealist thriller that is propelled by a deeply relatable yet comically unlikable protagonist. Robert Moreau is a fifty-something retiree who abruptly left behind his family and friends, with only his loyal dog Jeff as company, to start anew in what he… Continue reading Mirror Lake