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September 2008

Reversals

“BE HERE NOW”: An Introduction to “Yalo”
"How can I describe to you what happened to Yalo…the truth, sir, the truth that only God knows, is that my memory is distorted and I don't know." Yalo takes place during Beirut's…
on Translating “Yalo”
Drake Stutesman: Yalo is interesting for the various different voices that it employs, and the ways in which it combines vernaculars, languages and perspectives into a single narrative. What do you think…
Heading South
By Dany Laferrière
At the age of twelve I realized that I could do whatever I wanted with women. That’s just the way it is. I can’t do anything about it. My sister’s friends are always making eyes at me,…
Translated from French by Tanyika Carey
The Model
By Danilo Kiš
The first thing she did was remove her red shawl. Then she draped her coat on a hanger next to the podium where she would be posing. She slid off her dress; its fabric was colorful. And there she stood,…
Translated from Serbian by John K. Cox
Justice Unbalanced
By Machado de Assis
One night, many years ago, I was strolling with a friend on the terrace of the São Pedro de Alcântara Theater. It was between the second and third acts of the play The Sentence, or The Tribunal of the…
Translated from Portuguese by Clifford E. Landers
Episode #18 of “Joseph and His Brothers”
By Karim Zaimović
The world is a vast tapestry, and everything in it happens at random. There are no laws, no rules. Chance determines the place each of us holds. In the weaving we are the warp and the knots, and, with…
Translated from Bosnian by Ellen Elias-Bursać
The Brother’s Keeper
By Vladimir Makanin
My brother ran away from me at Kursky. The depot then was an ordinary railroad station, not the modern monstrosity of cement and colored tile that it is today. It housed a crowd of people in its lobby…
Translated from Russian by Byron Lindsey
from “The Eternal Son”
By Cristovão Tezza
The most brutal morning of his life started with interrupted sleep.
Translated from Portuguese by Alison Entrekin
Luís Paulo Neto
By Carlos Eduardo de Magalhães
When Elisângela threw the box out, with all the authority of a woman who wears the pants, he didn’t really care. To tell the truth, what shocked him most was that it had been two years since he’d…
Translated from Portuguese by Anthony Doyle
from “Laundry”
By Suzane Adam
Laundry is a novel of psychological suspense that focuses on family relationships and the aftermath of childhood trauma. It is not a novel of the Holocaust, but like much Israeli literature, Laundry is…
Translated from Hebrew by Becka Mara McKay
Farewell to the Queue
An era can be judged by street conversations. “Look, there's a line.” “What're they giving out?” “Just get on it, then we'll find out.” “How much…
Translated from Russian
At Dusk: Afterglow
Translator's Note: China has always been an agricultural society. In spite of recent industrial development, the majority of Chinese are officially identified as farmers, holding what is called the…
Translated from Chinese
Memory of My Yellow Hometown
Translator's Note: China has always been an agricultural society. In spite of recent industrial development, the majority of Chinese are officially identified as farmers, holding what is called the…
Translated from Chinese
Six Pots of Hot Water
Translator's Note: China has always been an agricultural society. In spite of recent industrial development, the majority of Chinese are officially identified as farmers, holding what is called the…
Translated from Chinese
Before a Birth
Translator's Note: China has always been an agricultural society. In spite of recent industrial development, the majority of Chinese are officially identified as farmers, holding what is called the…
Translated from Chinese
Village and Me
Translator's Note: China has always been an agricultural society. In spite of recent industrial development, the majority of Chinese are officially identified as farmers, holding what is called the…
Translated from Chinese
Home Town
Translator's Note: China has always been an agricultural society. In spite of recent industrial development, the majority of Chinese are officially identified as farmers, holding what is called the…
Translated from Chinese