Nocturnal Butterflies of the Russian Empire

Nocturnal Butterflies of the Russian Empire PDF Author: José Manuel Prieto
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
ISBN: 0802199380
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 340

Get Book Here

Book Description
Now in paperback, Nocturnal Butterflies of the Russian Empire was acclaimed by The Hartford Courant as "a thrilling discovery ... a reversal of the letters [of] Saul Bellow's Herzog ... [with] a Nabokovian delight in words and texts." J. is a smuggler living in Russia, making his living fencing the flotsam of communism's collapse. In Istanbul he takes a commission to trap an endangered Russian butterfly and decides to use it as an opportunity to smuggle V., his Russian lover who has no papers, back into her homeland. In the port of Odessa, she disappears, and J. continues alone to a small village on the Black Sea. Letters from V. begin to arrive, and as J. hunts the butterfly, he seeks a way to lure V. back into his life. Equal parts bittersweet love story, international intrigue, and one man's quest to write the perfect love letter, Nocturnal Butterflies of the Russian Empire, wrote The Tennessean, is "an amazing jewel of a story ... that winks with wit [and] wears its astonishing craftsmanship lightly." "An aesthetically blissful reading experience ... Nabokov's spirit, alive and kind, has touched [Prieto] with its butterfly wings." -- Aleksandar Hemon, The Village Voice Literary Supplement "...Nocturnal Butterflies is an impressive performance by a writer whose gifts are clearly abundant." -- Richard Bernstein, The New York Times "A beautiful, lavish, seedy, poetic, and magical book.... Pure pleasure for the literary mind." -- Chris Kridler, The Baltimore Sun

Nocturnal Butterflies of the Russian Empire

Nocturnal Butterflies of the Russian Empire PDF Author: José Manuel Prieto
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
ISBN: 0802199380
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 340

Get Book Here

Book Description
Now in paperback, Nocturnal Butterflies of the Russian Empire was acclaimed by The Hartford Courant as "a thrilling discovery ... a reversal of the letters [of] Saul Bellow's Herzog ... [with] a Nabokovian delight in words and texts." J. is a smuggler living in Russia, making his living fencing the flotsam of communism's collapse. In Istanbul he takes a commission to trap an endangered Russian butterfly and decides to use it as an opportunity to smuggle V., his Russian lover who has no papers, back into her homeland. In the port of Odessa, she disappears, and J. continues alone to a small village on the Black Sea. Letters from V. begin to arrive, and as J. hunts the butterfly, he seeks a way to lure V. back into his life. Equal parts bittersweet love story, international intrigue, and one man's quest to write the perfect love letter, Nocturnal Butterflies of the Russian Empire, wrote The Tennessean, is "an amazing jewel of a story ... that winks with wit [and] wears its astonishing craftsmanship lightly." "An aesthetically blissful reading experience ... Nabokov's spirit, alive and kind, has touched [Prieto] with its butterfly wings." -- Aleksandar Hemon, The Village Voice Literary Supplement "...Nocturnal Butterflies is an impressive performance by a writer whose gifts are clearly abundant." -- Richard Bernstein, The New York Times "A beautiful, lavish, seedy, poetic, and magical book.... Pure pleasure for the literary mind." -- Chris Kridler, The Baltimore Sun

The Complete Review Guide to Contemporary World Fiction

The Complete Review Guide to Contemporary World Fiction PDF Author: M.A. Orthofer
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231518501
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 423

Get Book Here

Book Description
A user-friendly reference for English-language readers who are eager to explore contemporary fiction from around the world. Profiling hundreds of titles and authors from 1945 to today, with an emphasis on fiction published in the past two decades, this guide introduces the styles, trends, and genres of the world's literatures, from Scandinavian crime thrillers and cutting-edge Chinese works to Latin American narco-fiction and award-winning French novels. The book's critical selection of titles defines the arc of a country's literary development. Entries illuminate the fiction of individual nations, cultures, and peoples, while concise biographies sketch the careers of noteworthy authors. Compiled by M. A. Orthofer, an avid book reviewer and the founder of the literary review site the Complete Review, this reference is perfect for readers who wish to expand their reading choices and knowledge of contemporary world fiction. “A bird's-eye view of titles and authors from everywhere―a book overfull with reminders of why we love to read international fiction. Keep it close by.”—Robert Con Davis-Udiano, executive director, World Literature Today “M. A. Orthofer has done more to bring literature in translation to America than perhaps any other individual. [This book] will introduce more new worlds to you than any other book on the market.”—Tyler Cowen, George Mason University “A relaxed, riverine guide through the main currents of international writing, with sections for more than a hundred countries on six continents.”—Karan Mahajan, Page-Turner blog, The New Yorker

Dangerous World of Butterflies

Dangerous World of Butterflies PDF Author: Peter Laufer
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0762799811
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Get Book Here

Book Description
This widely praised book chronicles Peter Laufer’s adventures within the butterfly industry and the butterfly underground. Laufer begins by examining the allure of butterflies throughout history, but his research soon veers into the high-stake realms of organized crime, ecological devastation, museum collections, and chaos theory. His ever-expanding journey of discovery throughout the Americas and beyond offers a rare look into a theater of intrigue, peopled with quirky and nefarious characters—all in pursuit of these delicate, beautiful creatures. Read this book, and your garden—and the world—will never quite look the same.

Global Russian Cultures

Global Russian Cultures PDF Author: Kevin M. F. Platt
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
ISBN: 0299319709
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 401

Get Book Here

Book Description
Is there an essential Russian identity? What happens when "Russian" literature is written in English, by such authors as Gary Shteyngart or Lara Vapnyar? What is the geographic "home" of Russian culture created and shared via the internet? Global Russian Cultures innovatively considers these and many related questions about the literary and cultural life of Russians who in successive waves of migration have dispersed to the United States, Europe, and Israel, or who remained after the collapse of the USSR in Ukraine, the Baltic states, and the Central Asian states. The volume's internationally renowned contributors treat the many different global Russian cultures not as "displaced" elements of Russian cultural life but rather as independent entities in their own right. They describe diverse forms of literature, music, film, and everyday life that transcend and defy political, geographic, and even linguistic borders. Arguing that Russian cultures today are many, this volume contends that no state or society can lay claim to be the single or authentic representative of Russianness. In so doing, it contests the conceptions of culture and identity at the root of nation-building projects in and around Russia.

Contemporary World Fiction

Contemporary World Fiction PDF Author: Juris Dilevko
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1598849093
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 554

Get Book Here

Book Description
This much-needed guide to translated literature offers readers the opportunity to hear from, learn about, and perhaps better understand our shrinking world from the perspective of insiders from many cultures and traditions. In a globalized world, knowledge about non-North American societies and cultures is a must. Contemporary World Fiction: A Guide to Literature in Translation provides an overview of the tremendous range and scope of translated world fiction available in English. In so doing, it will help readers get a sense of the vast world beyond North America that is conveyed by fiction titles from dozens of countries and language traditions. Within the guide, approximately 1,000 contemporary non-English-language fiction titles are fully annotated and thousands of others are listed. Organization is primarily by language, as language often reflects cultural cohesion better than national borders or geographies, but also by country and culture. In addition to contemporary titles, each chapter features a brief overview of earlier translated fiction from the group. The guide also provides in-depth bibliographic essays for each chapter that will enable librarians and library users to further explore the literature of numerous languages and cultural traditions.

Caviar with Rum

Caviar with Rum PDF Author: J. Loss
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137027983
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 260

Get Book Here

Book Description
Consisting of sixteen essays by renowned writers and artists, Caviar with Rum: Cuba-USSR and the Post-Soviet Experience is the first book of its kind to bring to life how and why the Soviet period is revisited in Cuban memory these days and what that means for creative production and the future of geopolitics.

Caviar with Rum

Caviar with Rum PDF Author: Jacqueline Loss
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137031344
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 280

Get Book Here

Book Description
No country in Latin America has escaped the symbolic influence of the United States to the extent that Revolutionary Cuba has. This resistance meant that for approximately three decades the Soviet Union had an invitation to intervene in practically all Cuban spheres. With sixteen essays by renowned writers and artists, Caviar with Rum: Cuba-USSR and the Post-Soviet Experience is the first book of its kind to bring to life how and why the Soviet period is revisited these days and what this means for creative production and the future of geopolitics.

The Secret Miracle

The Secret Miracle PDF Author: Daniel Alarcon
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN: 1429935839
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 373

Get Book Here

Book Description
The world's best contemporary writers—from Michael Chabon and Claire Messud to Jonathan Lethem and Amy Tan—engage in a wide-ranging, insightful, and oft- surprising roundtable discussion on the art of writing fiction Drawing back the curtain on the mysterious process of writing novels, The Secret Miracle brings together the foremost practitioners of the craft to discuss how they write. Paul Auster, Roddy Doyle, Allegra Goodman, Aleksandar Hemon, Mario Vargas Llosa, Susan Minot, Rick Moody, Haruki Murakami, George Pelecanos, Gary Shteyngart, Daniel Alarcón, and others take us step by step through the alchemy of writing fiction, answering everything from nuts-and-bolts queries—"Do you outline?"—to perennial questions posed by writers and readers alike: "What makes a character compelling?" From Stephen King's deadpan distinction between novels and short stories ("Novels are longer and have more s**t in them") to Colm Toibin's anti-romanticized take on his characters ("They are just words") to José Manuel Prieto's mature perspective on the anxieties of influence ("Influences are felt or weigh you down more when young"), every page contains insights found nowhere else. With honesty, humor, and elegance, The Secret Miracle gives both aspiring writers and lovers of literature a master class in the art of writing.

Encyclopedia of a Life in Russia

Encyclopedia of a Life in Russia PDF Author: José Manuel Prieto
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
ISBN: 0802193722
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 179

Get Book Here

Book Description
Two misfits explore the possibilities of post-Communist Russia in this “formally audacious novel [that] bubbles with energy and mischief” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). Acclaimed Cuban author José Manuel Prieto draws on his expertise in Russian culture to craft a kaleidoscopic portrait of its post-Communist moment. Through alphabetical entries from Abacas to Zizi, Prieto unfolds the story of two misfits on a wild adventure, caught between old world traditions and contemporary Western influences. Thelonius Monk (not his real name) and Linda Evangelista (not her real name) meet in Saint Petersburg after the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991. They journey to Yalta, where Thelonius promises to make Linda famous in the fashion magazines. But in fact, he’s drafting a novel about her. Along the way, they indulge in extravagant dinners, luxury automobiles, and seaside hotels as they discuss the nature of love, art, celebrity, and the unknown future before them. At the crossroads of literature, philosophy, history, and pop culture, Prieto delivers sparkling meditations on everything from Bach and Dostoyevsky to Italian alligator shoes and fluoride toothpaste. The result is a singular novel that captures a nation straddling custom and innovation.

Perspectives on Literature and Translation

Perspectives on Literature and Translation PDF Author: Brian Nelson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134521871
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 244

Get Book Here

Book Description
This volume explores the relationship between literature and translation from three perspectives: the creative dimensions of the translation process; the way texts circulate between languages; and the way texts are received in translation by new audiences. The distinctiveness of the volume lies in the fact that it considers these fundamental aspects of literary translation together and in terms of their interconnections. Contributors examine a wide variety of texts, including world classics, poetry, genre fiction, transnational literature, and life writing from around the world. Both theoretical and empirical issues are covered, with some contributors approaching the topic as practitioners of literary translation, and others writing from within the academy.