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Favourite translated books of 2022 - Dynamic Rankings
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By Hugh , Active moderator · 14 posts · 90 views
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Favourite translated books of 2022
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Your best books of 2017 (so far)?
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By Antonomasia , Admin only · 126 posts · 160 views
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2020 Booker Prize Speculation
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What Members Thought
This is quite a powerful, short novel. Dealing with borders, both literal and figurative, Yuri Herrera's Signs Preceding the End of the World crosses back and forth between reality and myth. It has epic proportions but feels intimate. Makina, our main character, is taking a journey--as so many protagonists do--but hers feels fresh, exciting, and harrowing. It deals with a surprising amount of topics & themes in such few pages, and Herrera masterfully handles the prose. I only wish it had been a
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What a powerful idea - to tell a very realistic illegal border crossing story with a haze of the mythic swirling around it like smoke. The wonder of the book is that Herrera does this in the most subtle, understated way, not through description or explanation, but through a thousand tiny choices of word, structure and character. The translator does a great job and her note (wisely placed at the end of the book) is illuminating. Makina is one of my favorite heroines ever.
a finalist for the ever-prestigious rómulo gallegos prize (vargas llosa, garcía márquez, fuentes, marías, bolaño, vila-matas, piglia), yuri herrera's signs preceding the end of the world (señales que precederán al fin del mundo) is a slim, yet effective novel(la) exploring the personal experience of border crossing and emigration. over nine short chapters, the mexican novelist offers the tale of makina, a young woman making her way into the u.s. in search of her brother. while herrera's story i
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I read this novella in a day. It uses sparse prose to tell the story of Makina who is smuggled over the border into the US from Mexico to look for her brother. This is one of four books I've read recently on the perils of migrants/immigrants making dangerous journeys. Makina is a strong woman and despite her perceived vulnerability - young, female, alone - she perseveres. Recommended for readers interested in immigration, the US-Mexico border, and the perils faced by undocumented immigrants.
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Makina is a strong and sharp character, and I would have liked to spend more time with her. I liked her determination, her drive, and her spirit - all of which came across loud and clear even in this concise novella.
The style of writing (sparse punctuation and no quotations for dialogue, as well as the regular translation from Spanish to Engligh) took a few pages to "learn". I am glad I stuck with it, and you will be too, if you pick this one up.
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The style of writing (sparse punctuation and no quotations for dialogue, as well as the regular translation from Spanish to Engligh) took a few pages to "learn". I am glad I stuck with it, and you will be too, if you pick this one up.
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3 1/2 stars. Very fairy-tale like, eerie, reminiscent of Dante's Inferno. The lack of specificity about place and sense of timelessness contributes a lot, even if it leads to a certain amount of emotional distancing. An innovative, commendable, and impressive way to write an immigration story. The scene where the main character enters a baseball stadium and watches the American players run "home" was my favorite.
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Very quick version of Alice in wonderland (maybe?) with the border between Mexico and US as the looking glass. definitely a perspective I haven't read before
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Mar 30, 2016
Vilis
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lasīju stacijās un īsos gaidīšanas brīžos, tāpēc sanāca baigi saraustīti, bet ar prieku pārlasīšu, kad varēšu veltīt pāris stundas pilnvērtīgam procesam, jo šitā varētu būt no tām grāmatām, kas man kārtīgi patiks.
Apr 03, 2015
Armen
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Oct 30, 2015
Phyllis | Mocha Drop
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Hannah
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jo
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Rose
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Jan 06, 2017
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