ABSOLUTION by Patrick Flanery
Patrick Flanery’s debut novel is a very interesting example of an overarching story that incorporates another “novel” or “memoir,” a journal and more embedded inside it. Set in post-apartheid South Africa Absolution is a thought provoking book, and engaging; not necessarily, or least of all, in the sense one would initially expect.
November 30, 2013
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Judi Clark · 
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Tags: Around-the-World, Literary, Riverhead · Posted in: Africa, Debut Novel, guilt, World Literature, Writing Life
THE THIRD REICH by Roberto Bolano
Bolaño cites this quotation from Goethe (also given in German) towards the end of this early but posthumously discovered novel. It is as good a key as any to what the book may be about. The protagonist, Udo Berger, a German in his mid-twenties, is literally a guest — in a hotel. He is taking a late summer vacation with his girlfriend Ingeborg in a beach hotel on the Costa Brava where he used to come with his family as a child. Together with another German couple, Hanna and Charly, they engage in the usual occupations: swimming, sunbathing, eating, drinking (a lot), and making love. But shadows hang over this idyll.
November 22, 2011
· Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: 2012 - authors with books published this year, Around-the-World, FSG, Historical, Robert Bolano · Posted in: Germany, Time Period Fiction, World Literature
WHAT I TALK ABOUT WHEN I TALK ABOUT RUNNING by Haruki Murakami
In his running journal-cum-memoir, WHAT I TALK ABOUT WHEN I TALK ABOUT RUNNING , titled in obvious homage to Raymond Carver, Haruki Murakami claims that “people basically become runners because they’re meant to” –I know exactly what he means. Runners are different; if only for the fact they think nothing of doubling up socks to run in 20-degree weather while incredulous spouses look on; they brave downpours for the bliss of having paths to themselves; they passionately debate the relative merits of Body Glide vs. Vaseline, bare feet vs. high-tech shoes, real food vs. GU gels. Runners know it’s possible, even enjoyable, to be alone for hours, pushing themselves “to acquire a void” and these quirks of temperament are often enough to form a bond with other distance runners.
October 23, 2011
· Judi Clark · One Comment
Tags: Around-the-World, Memoir, Nonfiction · Posted in: Non-fiction
THE FORGOTTEN WALTZ by Anne Enright
Anne Enright, author of the 2007 Booker Prize winner, THE GATHERING, has written a new novel called THE FORGOTTEN WALTZ. It is told from the point of view of Gina Moynihan who has a lust-filled affair with a married man, Sean Vallely. They first meet at a garden party hosted by Anne’s sister Fiona, and progresses from there. At first there are innocent (and not so innocent) looks, and then on a business trip in Switzerland, the affair begins in earnest.
October 21, 2011
· Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: 1990s, 2012 PB Release, Adultery, Around-the-World, lyrical · Posted in: Award Winning Author, Betrayal, Contemporary, Family Matters, Ireland, Life Choices, Literary, World Literature
EVERYTHING WAS GOODBYE by Gurjinder Basran
In her debut novel, EVERYTHING WAS GOODBYE, Gurjinder Basran tells the story of one happy-unhappy family, seen through the eyes of Meena, the youngest of six sisters. Set against the backdrop of suburban British Columbia, Basran paints a richly coloured portrait of a close-knit Punjabi community, caught between the traditions of “home” in India and their Canadian home, where their community is surrounded by a predominantly white, rather laid-back English-speaking society. With an impressively confident approach to a complex subject matter and a lively and engaging writing style, the young Indian-Canadian author explores the emotional turmoil, faced by a girl/young woman like Meena, experiencing the two cultures intimately. Traditional family values are assessed against the young heroine’s need for independence and emotional fulfillment.
October 3, 2011
· Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: Around-the-World, British Columbia, Fictional Biography, Indian, Literary · Posted in: Award Winning Author, Canada, Class - Race - Gender, Debut Novel, Immigration / Diaspora, Loyalty, World Literature
THE PRICE OF ESCAPE by David Unger
Samuel Berkow, at thirty-eight, stands at the crossroads: In 1938, life in Germany is fast becoming dangerous for Jews. At the urging of his concerned uncle, he agrees to leave Hamburg and emigrate to Guatemala, where his cousin is expected to help him settle. In THE PRICE OF ESCAPTE, David Unger explores his hero’s self-conscious and stumbling efforts to put his German existence out of his mind as he prepares for a new one that carries promise but is also full of uncertainty.
September 29, 2011
· Judi Clark · No Comments
Tags: 1930s, 2011 PB Release, Akashic, Around-the-World, Guatemala, Jewishness · Posted in: Latin American, South America, World Literature
