Well it’s here July tomorrow and I’m excited to see what books every one has chosen but if your still struggling for a book to read for Spanish language lit month ,I ve a few tips here to help my co host richard has done two posts of book lists .the first has 200 books that have been picked on various lists the second had a further list of 100 plus books from classic to the modern age from spain and latin america .
Right another great port of call is the complete review Michael the guy behind complete review has many more reviews of spanish fiction here and Latin american fiction here .Mostly modern but it has best selection of Latin american fiction I ve seen .
The site for new Spanish books available to be translated is a great site to see what is happening in Spanish .Nick Caistor and Stefan Tobler advise on here two people I know are trustworthy .
Then I ll give you five to read from my blog
1.Don Quixote –
US EDITION DON QUIXOTE
This is the head water of all modern european fiction we may think use in the english speaking world got the ball rolling on the novel no its this book has it all ,meta fiction ,playful story lines ,History and oh the mad don and his faithful friend .
2 Three trapped tiger G Cabrera Infante –
The cuban Ulysses the call it but actually it is very different it has a very cuban feel you can feel a jazz beat as your read about a day in Havana just before the revolution .A lost classic this one .
3 I the supreme by Augusto Roa Bastos
Another classic of latin american fiction ,the story of a 19th century dictator in latin america echos of the present in the past image ,controlling the media and writing your own history still go on in the present day
4 Kamchatka by Marcelo Figueras
One of my favourite books of recent years ,the dirty war seen through a young boys eyes .It is touching and entertaining and with a believable child narrator .
5 Exiled from almost everywhere by Juan Goytisolo
He is the wonderful master of spanish fiction I ve read a few but this only one since I ve blog a wonderfully wacky tale that maybe needs a wider audience . As does Juan he may win the Nobel one day soon and if you’ve not read him you’ll kick your self .
Oh and needless to say Borges is a must read anything by him is going make your reading life a little brighter .
Jul 01, 2012 @ 00:02:44
I’m all set and ready to read and review. I’ll be posting on every #translationthurs in July, and there may be a couple more posts squeezed in between too 🙂 If Pushkin Press get back to me soon, I may even have a Q & A too…
Jul 02, 2012 @ 06:04:21
Oh great Tony look forward to q & a if you get to do it and seeing what books you’ve read
Jul 01, 2012 @ 01:47:22
Great choices, Stu, though I feel almost SHAMED because I’ve been meaning to read the Goytisolo and Roa Bastos novels in my house for years but keep getting distracted. Anyway, looking forward to the kickoff for the event (still a couple of hours away here) and seeing what everybody else will be reading!
Jul 02, 2012 @ 06:05:44
I am too Richard you should try them both worth trying I ve goytisolo mark of identity just hope I get to it in time
Jul 01, 2012 @ 20:05:47
I’m getting ready to start my reading, Stu! I’m glad you say Borges is a must read, as I’ll be reading Ficciones first. Can’t wait to start reading all the posts.
Jul 02, 2012 @ 06:07:59
Borges is such a huge influence on Latin America fiction he helps you understand what came after him so much better
Jul 02, 2012 @ 23:50:14
Oh dear, I was planning my posts on Mondays! I didn’t make the #translationthurs connection. Looks like I’ll need to do some re-arranging – but I intend to have something up for every week for Spanish Lit month. This was such a great idea Stu!