The last story discussed here, "The Albanian Virgin", leaves the reader with a single, haunting question: which version of the events is the reader intended to believe? 1994; Penguin, 2007 Readers are left with uncertainty. Even the narrator does not weigh heavily on either side, indeed, it is
"I'm not gong to let on I was born here," Jane begins. It's 1977 and she is eighty-four years old, touring the lighthouse at Point Lucia which she last saw when she was 19. Atria Books - Simon and Schuster, 2013 Christina Schwarz's novel immediately immerses readers in another
"I heard this story in the old St. Joseph’s Hospital in Victoria from Charlotte, who was the sort of friend I had in my early days there." 1994; Penguin, 2007 Claire tells the story, in turn, to readers. "In the mountains, in Maltsia e madhe, she must have tried
Imagine the Griffin and Sabine stories. Gallery Books - Simon & Schuster, 2013 But take away the artwork. And substitute notebooks for postcards. Now, combine that with the bizarre otherworldliness of Banana Yoshimoto's novels. Take their spirited heroines, and the matter-of-fact acceptance of a thin veil between the worlds.
Although I had picked up the author's works throughout the years, it was Eleanor Wachtel's interview with Cees Nooteboom that firmly nudged his Rituals onto my reading list for Iris' DutchLit Fortnight this year. (The interview is available in podcast here.) 1980; HBJ, Translated Adrienne Dixon, 1983 Rituals
