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May 2010

Mean Girls and Bad Boys

This month we’re braving the teen terrain. Adolescents may have no monopoly on bad behavior, but they have the market cornered on inventive ways of displaying it. Here teens scheme, double-cross, and otherwise terrorize their peers; "mean" is truly average, and every story includes a plot. Religious ceremonies lead to ritual humiliation, family vacations turn into holidays in hell, and even adults act out. Stand back as Naja Aidt, Andrés Barba, Leonardo Pica Ciamarra, Lars Saabye Christensen, Angela Dutra de Menezes,  Eve Gil, and Etienne van Heerden depict a world of bad behavior.

from “Ru”
By Kim Thuy
I came into the world early in the Year of the Monkey, during the Tet Offensive
Translated from French by Nigel Spencer
from “As Far As We Can See”
By Leonardo Pica Ciamarra
In other words, the young man concluded, even an intelligent person can happen to say something stupid now and then!
Translated from Italian by Stephen Twilley
Gob
By Lars Saabye Christensen
I saw her again today. She came out from the liquor store in Majorstua, the bottles pushed down into a worn brown bag
Translated from Norwegian by Kenneth Steven
A Car Trip
By Naja Marie Aidt
After Nikolaj slams the car door shut they realize that Tobias isn’t in the car.
Translated from Danish by Mark Kline
The May Crowning
By Angela Dutra de Menezes
For five years, Berenice waited for a chance to dematerialize her cousin
Translated from Portuguese by Alison Entrekin
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