Here are texts praising, criticizing, or commenting on other works of art.
“¿Y quién eres tú?” —Tres faces del pocho, Américo Paredes Aparte de poder responder al poeta pocho de Américo Paredes, ¿de qué nos sirve la identidad? Probablemente, ésta fue la pregunta que motivó a Andrés Ybarra, Nick Vaca y el profesor Octavio Romano a lanzar la revista literaria […]
“Pues justo es que los hispanos Estudien su lengua propia Porque es el tesoro y copia De recuerdos tan ufanos De que está llena su historia”. —La lengua española, Jesús María Alarid Con estas líneas, el abogado, maestro y director de orquesta, Jesús María Alarid nos recuerda lo que […]
Zama me parece una novela fabulosa. Primero, capta el ensueño de un funcionario de la corona española en Asunción de Paraguay a fines del siglo dieciocho, poco antes de las grandes revoluciones que barrerían el continente. Segundo, narra los acontecimientos y pensamientos del protagonista, con una prosa a la vez […]
(Note from the writer: I wrote this back in March, but never published it. Given the recent news of HBO dropping the film then picking it back up, I figured to give this piece some light.) Folks up in flames over recent Oscars? “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give […]
4.0 out of 5 stars: Universal, catchy, and real Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2020 In Craig’s book we are introduced to a legend of 10 personalities, each an attempt to map a particular set of behavioral patterns in adults. The evidence for these patterns are […]
“The joy of being alive and young suddenly took hold of her — and she spun around and kissed him, quite recklessly.” Before reading any book, I used to go to the last page and read its final line. At best, that would tell me if the whole book was […]
New Eyes They say that the natives on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean never saw Columbus’s boats coming, because they had never learned to recognize the four-mast ships, let alone imagine one previously. Now, look here: I am in a new country, surrounded by a new culture, […]
Noé? Who he? Only one of my top three favorite directors. Ever since I watched his 2002 Irréversible, and it hit me in the stomach with a glass fist, I have been a junkie, in debt to him and his style. Inside his career’s stash box one finds films, […]
To borrow from a professor of mine, about analyzing literature, you should do three things to understand and share your understanding of a work: 1. Quote it. 2. Comment on it. 3. Question it. With this formula, the QCQ, let us speak to this 2013 novel about a writer who […]
A good book invites you to a world. A great book enters yours. Both happened when I read the Alchemist. Storytime. I was on my way to the airport, on my way to Europe to help the lady move her things to Bucharest. Per tradition, I made my […]
Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, Life is but a dream. (English Language nursery rhyme) I wouldn’t have read Finnegans Wake if it hadn’t been for Ela. It was a winter weekday, stopping at a sidewalk book vendor, when I saw […]
The Elements of Style by Strunk and White rests on my bookshelf like a couple at the beach. Eyes closed, enjoying the sun, a tan, the sounds of the literary world tossed at sea, though thoroughly relaxing. We have all, in our mission for clarity and acuteness, turned to […]
4.0 out of 5 stars A conversation with the divine Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2019 Some of us are too busy rubbing our thumbs against a phone screen, or sticking our nose between the pages of good books. (Hey, I’m one of them, one of us […]
4.0 out of 5 stars A telling tale Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2019 Of family, war, racism, mystery. Essentially, a novel. Close to real life, this story follows the lives of a Jewish family in romantic Naples, as the consequences of an unfolding WWII pummel every […]
“I would like to be able to look Maitreyi in the eyes…” — Bengal Nights, 1933 For a powerful narrative set in postcolonial India, told by two powerful minds, one pair stands to be compared and contrasted. These are Mircea Eliade’s 1933 Bengal Nights and Maitreyi Devi’s 1974 It […]
3.0 out of 5 stars A moving wartime narrative, written from the heart Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2018 This mitten, this red mitten! I too hold it close to my chest, as Nels does throughout the novel. How can we let go? We must. Please, allow […]
Last Friday night, in bed with a cup of chamomile tea, I finished the last chapter of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Quartet. What a rush, I thought, staring at the wooden end of an exhausted incense stick on my desk; what a rush, despite the peace around me. I closed the […]
Wouldn’t it be nice to dive a little deeper, to investigate, to engage? Curiosity can sometimes feel like holding our breath, but at least this way we can swim down into a deep subject, without swallowing any water. Metaphors enough. For this weekend’s post the idea of interviewing a […]
4.0 out of 5 stars Purchase, learn, reflect. Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2018 After viewing this documentary, I can only say one thing, a single word echoed various times near the end, the answer to the question asked of friends and of colleagues of Maryla Mikalowsi-Dyamant, […]
Relative Genitive is a brilliant book, presenting the original work of poet-translator Val Vinokur, alongside his translations of works by two of the 20th century’s most influential Russian poets, Osip Mendalstam and Vladimir Mayakovsky. Seriously, full of tasty sounds and bright woven text, simply brilliant. I should know, I was […]