“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library." 

Month: May 2016

My love of reading is parallel to my love of travel.  A personal dream of mine is to visit every country in Latin America, Motorcycle Diaries style.  Well, perhaps minus the motorcycle because, you know… book nerd here.  Instead, I would ditch the motorcycle and go for a bookmobile.  A huge gaudy bookmobile.  In lieu of not of dropping all of my responsibilities for books, a thing I excel at, I am reading my way through Latin America, and I am sending postcards along the way. 

We all have that wacky friend that constantly regales us with tales of their crazy weekend in Vegas, their epic spring break in Cabo, or that time they almost got arrested in Rome, right?  Well, if you don’t, let Trafalgar Medrano be that friend.  Traflagr is a space merchant who enjoys sitting at his favorite café drinking liters of coffee while his friends laugh and ask the juicy follow up questions.  Let him take you on a wild journey to the stars, and to distant lands where nothing is ever as it seems, and if there is trouble to be found, Trafalgar will find it.  Trafalgar is a short story collection, and each story manages to make you laugh and contemplate life on other worlds in a really moving and thought provoking way.  One of the stories followed me around all day actually.  I loved Gorododischer’s take on classic science fiction themes mixed in with traditional Latin American story telling techniques.  If you’re a lover of classic science fiction complete with wibbly wobbly time gadgets, you should give this one a chance. 

Prayer for the Stolen will steal your heart, and in its place you will be left with a deep sadness, and an overwhelming feeling of frustration.  It makes you never want to care for another character again.  Told amid the deadly cartel wars in Mexico where being a girl is a dangerous thing.  Ladydi, the protagonist blackens her teeth and runs to the snake filled holes in her backyard to hide from the nearby drug lords.  She attends school when a teacher can be bothered to come from the big city, and she thinks about what life is like in places where the men actually stay.  The novel takes place against the backdrop of the Mexican jungle where you feel the stifling heat, and the desperation to escape it.  The book touches on themes of love, friendship, mother-daughter relationships, and perseverance.  The prose is lovely, and Clement manages to squeeze out bits of humor which frankly amaze me.  If you’re at all curious about the current political climate in Mexico, and its effects on the civilians, then this one is perfect for you. 

I recently finished this one and I’m still riding its high.  I knew from page one I would love this one, if not for the characters, then for the writing alone.  Lispector writes in a field all of her own.  Her command of language is interesting and fascinating.  The unknown narrator, a writer, recounts the life of Macabéa, an insignificant girl who no one ever notices, and if they do, it’s for the wrong reasons.  She becomes orphaned at a young age, and leaves her small northeastern village for the big city where she works as a typist for peanuts.  Despite her situation, she’s an optimistic character whose curiosity for the world endeared her to me.  Lispector gives us a look at the despairing class issues in Latin America where being poor and brown earns you scorn and ridicule.  This little book made me fall in love with Lispector, and I’m so thrilled to power through her backlist. 

Have any of you read these authors?  I’ll be sending more “postcards” from my bookish “travels” so stay tuned! 

Hello, lovely people!  I have just wrapped up my first year of library school, and after breakdowns, meditation sessions, mindful breathing, yoga, and lots of red wine, I am alive.  Barely.  It’s still quite early, but I am already indulging in summer vibes.  I remember last year I was lamenting my circumstances having just taken a job, instead of traveling.  Two weeks in I wanted to quit my job after realizing I would have to wait a year before I could ask for vacation time.  It was tragic.  Well, I just wrapped up a year at the job, and I did take a small vacation before the year, and now I am using some much deserved vacation time.  I am headed to La Bella Italia!  I’ve been before, but this time around I am not a broke unemployed undergrad with some shaky Italian under my belt.  This time I am a slightly less book graduate student who is using her paid time off from work.  Adulthood isn’t so bad most of the time.  Last time I also only got to travel through Rome, and this time I’ll be hitting up a few more cities, and my Italian is…adequate, I am hoping at least.  I have been studying pretty much everyday since I booked the trips six months ago, so it better be adequate. 

Aside from researching all the bookish sites I plan on visiting, the food, transportation, and the general gorgeousness of the country, I’ve been reading as much Italian authors as I can get my hands on.  Italian translations are not that east to come by, at least not in the U.S. I’ve found.  Which is sad because the ones that I have found, have been gems.  If you are at all interested in books by Italian authors, or books set in Italy, here are the three best ones I’ve read so far. 

Me, You takes place in a small island off the coast of Naples.  It’s inhabitants are still reeling from the effects of Word War II, a topic that is has become a taboo for many Italians, especially the men.  The unnamed narrator is visiting the island for the summer, and he becomes engrossed in the quite fishing life of his Uncle.  He is very nostalgic and curious for the past he didn’t live.  Through his curiosity we learn what it was like for Italian men who fought in World War II, and their feelings about what they did and didn’t do.  The novel is also a quite love story as the boy soon meets and falls in love with a Jewish girl who recounts her own experience during the war.  The unnamed character struggles with dealing with the present and the past as they seem to converge at such a transformative time in his life.  His mediations about life, love, and war stayed with me for days.  Erri de Luca’s prose is so vivid and lush.  I felt transported to this small island and its marriage to the sea. 

I have a thing for rich people problem novels especially when they’re multi- generational.  Léonie follows the Cantoni family, a Milanese family who made its fortune by manufactoring faucets.  The family is successful and on the surface they appear to have it all, however, that is far from the truth.  The family members each harbor their resentments and their secrets which slowly come to light as Léonie, the wife of Guido, the Cantoni family heir, slowly unravels them all.  However, Léonieharbors secrets of her own, such as her once a year disappearance to a small hotel on the shores of Lake Como… This often felt like a soap opera, but it was great!  I loved the twist and turns, discovering they whys and hows of some of the family members secrets, and the unexpected ending.  Also, the insight into Italian culture and life from the rich to the poor was insightful. 

(Not an Italian author, but the book is partially set in Italy, and has Italian culture and language references.)  I Initially read it for the Italian bit, but I enjoyed the story as a whole.  Jess Waters weaves the Italian coastline with the classic golden Era Hollywood and new era Hollywood.  It has dry humor, and twist, and celebrity cameos.  It was such a joy to read, and I loved how I barely needed to consult my Italian dictionary! 

I’m hoping to get to these before the trip, so perhaps I’ll do a follow up post about these. 

I’ve also been watching Italian movies, if you’re at all interested I could do a second post talking about my favorites!  And, please let me know of any Italian authors or books that are set in Italy that I’ve missed.