The rat is the most destructive, the most gluttonous, and the most reproductive animal. It doesn’t kill just when it is hungry, but also, and especially, because it enjoys destruction.
The Physics of Sorrow – Georgi Gospodinov
It is a sincere vision, a sincere request for forgiveness, and yet still something laughable. He means to honor the shit, not demean the religions.
Apocalypse Baby – Virginie Despentes
Solving a missing person case is more a matter of waiting for that person to connect back to the grid, even for just a moment.
Midnight in the Century – Victor Serge
Whether or not the arc of the universe bends towards justice, it might be better if we could hold onto the idea that it might. If we try to bend it that way, maybe it could.
Texas: The Great Theft – Carmen Boullosa
It’s an interesting counterpart to a mainstream Anglo-Texan version of this history that erases the violence.
Half a Lifelong Romance – Eileen Chang
Tragedy is a condition, rather than the failure to act heroically.
The End of Days – Jenny Erpenbeck
Sentences repeat as situations repeat. The sense of relief at yet another opportunity to imagine the future of a life that was lost is cut by the knowledge that loss will win out in the end.
Captives speaks to Sebald’s call to stick within the register of memory, even if memory has been stripped of its supporting features.
Aidt perceives with great clarity the intricacies of relationships, not just romantic or sexual, though they are prominent, and she does it with an apparent cool distance.
By Night the Mountain Burns – Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel
It is a melodic text rife with images of hollowed canoes and mist-enveloped mountains.