This is an archived issue of Belletrista. If you are looking for the current issue, you can find it here
Belletrista - A site promoting translated women authored literature from around the world
photo book cover book cover

Finnish author Riikka Pulkkinen makes her English debut with her second novel, True. Read the first chapter here!

...A "subtly sophisticated gem of a novel" is how Joyce Nickel describes Mary Horlock's The Book of Lies. Read more...

The recent Bellweather Prize winning novel, Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron, is reviewed by Judy Lim

`
Reviews
Click on 'Reviews' to see the full list of this issue's reviews...
Book cover
BESIDE THE SEA
Véronique Olmi
Translated from the French by Adriana Hunter

Beside the Sea is a small novel that conforms perfectly to Peirene Press' ambition to publish books that can be read in the same time it takes to watch a film. Despite its brevity, Olmi's book is a powerful examination of the demands of motherhood, and a melancholy look at what it means to love in a frightening world.
READ MORE

Reviewed by Andy Barnes
Book cover
HOW TO STOP LOVING SOMEONE
Joan Connor

This book of short stories by award-winning author Joan Connor is a bit like an Oreo cookie: there are many parts to enjoy. If the filling is too sweet, chase it with the plainer, more serious biscuit part. If the chocolate biscuit is too dark, then skim the frosting off with your teeth and …
READ MORE

Reviewed by Kathleen Ambrogi
Book cover
THE BOOK OF CHANGE
Eileen Chang

Eileen Chang's reputation as an author has come full circle. Her writings were beloved in occupied Shanghai during World War II, but she lost her popularity as the Cultural Revolution marginalized writers, like Chang, who created stories without a political subtext. Today she is generally considered to be one of the great Chinese writers of the twentieth century.
READ MORE

Reviewed by Barbara Steeg
Book cover
ALWAYS COCA COLA
Alexandra Chreiteh
Translated from the Arabic by Michelle Hartman

My friends and I, all twenty-somethings early into our careers, are typical young women. We gossip about relationships and men, dream big dreams about our futures, and have secure jobs that allow us …
READ MORE

Reviewed by Caitlin Fehir


Book Cover
Sudha Balagopal invites readers into the world of South Indian Carnatic music in the seven short stories of her debut collection. Amanda Meale reviews it for us. image Included with this review is a performance by veena virtuoso Nirmala Rajasekar
Links We Like
Bookmark and Share