Born to reputed anthropologist couple Alfred Louis Kroeber and writer Theodora Kroeber, Ursula K. Le Guin is an American novelist who mostly crafted her stories in fantasy or science fiction genre. David Streitfeld of The New York Times praised her as “America’s greatest living science fiction writer” when Library of America honored her by publishing her work. Though she wrote science fiction or fantasy, her stories were always about being human. Her profound knowledge of anthropology is evident in her writing as she blends various human traits and creates her characters.
The book I am taking up for this TBR listing is “The Birthday of the World and Other Stories”. The book contains 8 stories out of which 7 are published previously. While reviewing this book on Goodreads, Lyn says, “Creating a panorama of humanity with frank sexuality and sincere emotion, LeGuin again creates a speculative fiction work that transcends that genre and bridges the gap with works that evoke human behavior, group dynamics, cultural and social foundations.” While Boston Globe says, these necessary stories will send you home with new eyes just like a visit to some other country will.
When you read such strong recommendations and reviews about something, you just pick and put it on your TBR list. You can check out the following link if you want to get your own copy.
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (4 March 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060509066
ISBN-13: 978-0060509064
Adding this to the amazing bucket of blogs at #BlogchatterA2Z.
Tobias Wolff, An American author born in Alabama State is in his 70s. Writer, memoirist and novelist, he is most famous for This Boy’s Life and In Pharaoh’s Army. Tobias has written stories which takes you to small-town America where joys, struggles despair and aspirations are equally small. The landscapes where Tobias sets his stories are so familiar that you just blend in them. Tobias was working at Syracuse University as an instructor in the graduate writing programme where Jay McInerney, George Saunders, William Tester, Alice Sebold and Paul Watkins were his students.
Wolff’s first short story collection, In the Garden of the North American Martyrs, was published in 1981 the stories have reappeared in many anthologies. The collection I want to read titles as Our Story Begins which is the title of one of Wolff’s earlier short fiction published in 1985. In this collection, there are 21 of his best works and 10 new stories spanning three decades. These stories of war, morality, frustration, loneliness and love trace a path through the everyday and the extraordinary, shedding a poignant yet hopeful light on American life and the intricate truths of human nature. (From the blurb of the book)
Satyajit Ray is not at all a new name for any Indian. He is a fantastic filmmaker with award-winning films like Pather Panchali, Aparajito and Apur Sansar on his name. However, Ray Saab has written numerous novels and stories predominantly of YA Fiction genre. His young detective Feluda and Professor Shonku from his science fiction stories are his most famous characters. While independent cinema, he has written several Tarini khuro (Tarini Uncle) stories of in which Tarini is an aged bachelor who tells a stories about his weird experiences.Many of his Tarini khuro stories are borderline horror or spooky stories.
Classic Satyajit Ray is a collection of best short stories written by Ray published by Penguin India in 2012. This collection contains 49 gems which Ray have carved. These Bengali short stories are translated in English by Gopa Mujumdar. Stories in the collection are not Feluda, Prof. Shonku or Tarini Khuro stories. They are his most timeless gems including as ‘Khagam’, ‘Indigo’, ‘Fritz’, ‘Bhuto’, ‘The Pterodactyl’s Egg’, ‘Big Bill’, ‘Patol Babu, Film Star’ and ‘The Hungry Septopus’. Though written for young readers, readers of all ages will enjoy these stories. Short stories in this collection are full of the macabre and suspense gives an interesting view of psychological aspect of his characters.
The copy of this book lies on my shelf for years and somehow I am not able to pick it up and read. With this blog post, I would like to commit myself in reading this as soon as possible. The cover with refreshing yellow background on which the blue head of robot is designed by Isa Esai. This cover was the main reason behind my purchase of this book. Unfortunately this book is out of print for now. Hope you guys can find it in some library near you if you are interested in reading it.
Ainee Apa to her friends and admirers, Padma Bhushan Qurratulin Hyder is one of the most outstanding name in Urdu literary circles. Though she is best known for her novel Aag ka Darya (River of Fire) she is a fantastic short story writer. Starting at the age of 11, Ainee Apa has written 12 novels and novellas and 4 short story collections. Her first short story Bi-Chuhiya (Little Miss Mouse) was published in children’s magazine and she wrote her first novel “Mayray Bhee Sanam khanay” at the age of 19. While describing her writing style, Amitav Ghosh writes that “hers is one of the most important Indian voices of the twentieth century.”
In 1989 her novel Aakhir-e-Shab ke Hamsafar (Travelers Unto the Night) brought her the honor of Jnanpith Award while in 2005, she was conferred Padma Bhushan for her contribution to Urdu literature and education. The book I am referring to is a story collection which spans from realism to the fabular, and from history to time-travel. Street Singers of Lucknow and Other Stories is a collection of stories which revolves around mercurial, identity-changing adventures. Blurb of the book says “This versatile writer takes imaginative native flight in unusual stories spanning decades, or even centuries. Her arsenal of techniques – pastiche, satire, collage – takes us to the place most important to her, the human heart in all its varied seasons”. I am looking forward to read this eminent story writer from Lucknow
When you spend your childhood pretty much in solitary in the company of books in rural Waterford and your youthful years traveling in Eastern Europe doing many jobs like writer, newspaper editor, freelance journalist and volunteer for clinical trials, you certainly develop a knack of storytelling with the capital of experience you have gathered while traveling. Philip Ó Ceallaigh 1968 born Irish storyteller has lived this life and developed fabulous style of story writing. Philip has a command over 6 languages and he has translated Romanian playwright, essayist and novelist Mihail Sabastian’s autobiographical novel ‘For two thousand years’.
According to Eve Patten; Philip has developed an ambitious story writing style with long narratives and taking time to evolve the mood giving reader a time and space to see and think in between the drifts and stretches of prose. (https://www.irishtimes.com/news/when-time-slows-down-1.705527) He has avoided using the set Irish storytelling style and sets his stories in various places around the world where his protagonists of the stories are either solitary male or a female leading happening life. He has acknowledged being influenced in his writing style by Charles Bukowski, Anton Chekhov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Ernest Hemingway, Jack Kerouac, and Ivan Turgenev.
I would like to put his debut short story collection containing 19 stories ‘Notes from a Turkish Whorehouse’ on my TBR list through this blog. “The stories of Philip Ó Ceallaigh create a world that is utterly original and yet immediately recognizable – a world of ordinary people grappling with work and idleness, ambition and frustration, wildness and sobriety, love and lust and decay. Scabrously honest, screamingly funny and beautifully crafted, Notes from a Turkish Whorehouse is a brilliant debut from a writer who cannot be ignored by anyone who cares about the art of fiction.” When I read this so compiling blurb of this story book, I couldn’t choose any other author or a book for my Letter P of this 2018 April A to Z challenge. Every day we see the same emotions of idleness, ambition, frustration, love and lust all around us. This connection is an influencing factor for me to read anything. I am looking forward to reading this book as soon as I can.