The Canterbury Tales meets Kafka in Ismail Kadare’s mini, epic collection entitled Three Elegies for Kosovo. In this elegantly crafted novella, Ismail Kadare draws on the infamous 1389 Battle of Kosovo, now surrounded by legends of treachery and defeat, to illustrate a quarrel that has brewed for more than six hundred years. Today, the Battle of […]
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The Canterbury Tales meets Kafka in Ismail Kadare’s mini, epic collection entitled Three Elegies for Kosovo. The novella presents three interlinked fables about the 1389 Battle of Kosovo between the invading Ottoman empire and the present-day Balkan states. On the Field of Blackbirds, the Ottomans decisively won after 10 hours, but their reigning Sultan Murad
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The Moth never fails to deliver on the quintessential human experience, and this early book proves to be another wonderful collection of 50 true stories. We hear from storytellers from all walks of life, including a Nobel laureate, an astronaut and an unsuspecting editor who was convinced (twice) to jump into a bullring by none other
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Both Matigari and Woza Albert! use Christian motifs to highlight the political injustices against Black Kenyans and South Africans during the 1980s. Cobbling together elements of Gikuyu folklore with a distinctly satirical style, Matigari is technically set in a fictional country. Yet, much of the content is reminiscent of postcolonial politics in Kenya at the time of its publication.
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Matigari tells the story of an ageless freedom fighter of the same name, who returns home after spending years in the forest tracking and eventually killing his oppressors, Settler Williams and Mr. Boy. He returns to civilization hoping to be reunited with his family and live free from colonization and exploitation. He quickly finds, however,
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My favorite and the final story in the collection, “California Gothic” by Taylor Negron never fails to put you in the 1970’s California ethos complete with long hairs, cigarettes and a pinch of helter-skelter. The story includes guest appearances from Jim Morrison, Chuck Negron from Three Dog Night and an adopted ex-circus monkey named Carroll.
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Confederacy of Dunces tells the story of Ignatius J. Reilly, an educated but indolent 30-year-old, who lives with his widowed mother in New Orleans. This picaresque piece follows Ignatius as he confidently blunders through social situations. Despite his academic intellect, Ignatius often employs a child-like approach to real-life circumstances. Toole’s writing is intentionally crafted, creating
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Kings Row tells the story of Joel Martin, a construction worker from Langley, Pennsylvania. To support himself and his four-year-old son, he begins burglarizing construction sites with his brother. In a parallel plot, Christopher Roche moves and settles into the neighboring small town of Waylan as a freshman bachelor’s student. Based on the unfortunate homicide of a
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Kings Row tells the story of Joel Martin, a construction worker from Langley, Pennsylvania. To support himself and his four-year-old son, he begins burglarizing construction sites with his brother. In a parallel plot, Christopher Roche moves and settles into the neighboring small town of Waylan as a freshman bachelor’s student. Based on the unfortunate homicide
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Life is the first piece of Lu Yao’s writing translated into English. Originally published in 1982, the novel tells the story of Gao Jialin, a motivated young man from a small town who loses his teaching job due to corrupt local politics. The novella chronicles Gao Jialin’s struggle against traditional and class norms to feel
