Arts Fuse Editor
A novel about sexual obsession, inspired by “Lolita,” stretches the limits of credulity. Rupert: A Confession By Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Translated from the Dutch by Michele Hutchison, Open Letter, $12.95, 131 pages Reviewed by Tommy Wallach I consider myself something of an expert in the seldom studied theme of impotence in film and literature. Most…
By Anna Razumnaya An erudite, absorbing, and often very funny account of Russia’s pathological inability to condemn the Communist Party. Inside the Stalin Archives: Discovering the New Russia by Jonathan Brent. Atlas & Co. Publishers, 335 pages A certain jealous vigilance is to be expected when a Russian reads a book about Russia written by an…
A brilliant Dutch novel that explores the connections to the disconnected. The Twin By Gerbrand Bakker Translated from the Dutch by David Colmer. Archipelago Books, 343 pages. Reviewed by Tommy Wallach It isn’t easy to write a compelling novel about loneliness, for the simple reason that loneliness is boring. It makes for something of a…
Charlotte Roche is one of the most famous authors in Germany. Thomas Mann must be spinning in his grave. Wetlands By Charlotte Roche. Translated from the German by Tim Mohr. Grove Press, 240 pages. By Tommy Wallach On the subject of literary criticism, Martin Amis has written that “quotation is the reviewer’s only hard evidence.”…
An assured novel that celebrates, with considerable stylistic facility, an extraordinary engagement with the history of literature. Rex by Jose Manuel Prieto Translated from Spanish by Esther Allen. Grove Press, 288 pages Reviewed by Alexander Nemser Jose Manuel Prieto’s “Rex” is an adventure through time: not historical time, or physical time, so much as literary…
The handsomely produced bilingual volume reflects a committed and passionate marriage of an exacting poet-translator and Yiddish poetry. With Everything We’ve Got: A Personal Anthology of Yiddish Poetry Edited and translated by Richard J. Fein. Host Publications, 218 pages. Reviewed by Anna Razumnaya Fortuitously, just before the publication of Richard Fein’s new anthology With Everything…
Two French writers take on the notion of would-be writers on the run. Only one gets away with it. Julien Parme By Florian Zeller Translated from the French by Christopher Moncrieff. Pushkin Press, 246 pages. Tokyo Fiancee by Amélie Northomb Translated from the French by Alison Anderson. Europa Editions, 152 pages. Reviewed by Tommy Wallach…
Does it matter that posthumous literary darling Roberto Bolaño fibbed about his past? by Tommy Wallach My World Books review of “2666” A couple days ago, “The New York Times” published an article suggesting that Chilean novelist and posthumous literary darling Roberto Bolaño may have fictionalized aspects of his own biography. In question are two…
Norman R. Shapiro took on the Herculean task of translating the 17th century French poet’s work—some 240 poems in all—in increments of fifties. He has performed the difficult task with wit and panache.
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