Inès Cagnati: Crazy Genie
NYRB Classics recently published Inès Cagnati’s Crazy Genie, translated from the French by Liesl Schillinger. It is a devastating, but beautiful, read.
1970s
Helene Hanff: The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street
I finally read Helene Hanff’s The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, and it’s a quiet delight. Hanff finally makes her long-dreamed-of journey to London, and records it with the same wit, warmth, and honesty that made 84, Charing Cross Road so beloved.
Caroline Blackwood: Great Granny Webster
Great Granny Webster by Caroline Blackwood is a haunting exploration of family dynamics and the lingering effects of unresolved histories. With its subtle, elusive narrative, the book leaves much to the imagination, creating a lasting sense of mystery and intrigue. Read my full review to delve deeper into the complexities of Blackwood’s storytelling.
Natalia Ginzburg: Family and Borghesia
Last month NYRB Classics released Natalia Ginzburg’s novellas Family and Borghesia in one lovely edition. It’s my year of reading Ginzburg!
Jean Améry: Charles Bovary, Country Doctor: Portrait of a Simple Man
Trevor reviews Jean Améry’s 1978 novel-essay, Charles Bovary, Country Doctor: Portrait of a Simple Man, translated from the German by Adrian Nathan West.
Richard Stern: Other Men’s Daughters
Trevor looks at Richard Stern’s Other Men’s Daughters, a complicated and often frustrating look at late 1960s New England from a decidedly 1970s perspective.
Ursula K. Le Guin: The Complete Orsinia
It’s always a momentous occasion when a living author gets their work released in The Library of America. It has rarely happened, and I think the only other living author in there now is Philip Roth, but it has recently happened once again. Ursula K. Le Guin, the 86-year-old whose career started over sixty years … Read more
