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| Severina
ISBN: 9780300208498
Platform/Publisher: JSTOR / Yale University Press
Digital rights: Users: unlimited; Printing: chapter; Download: chapter
Subjects: Andrews Chris 1962–;
"Books have always been my life," says one character in Rey Rosa's delightful novella, about an unnamed bookseller with literary aspirations, who falls in love with the title character, an irresistible book thief. Obsessed with this "severe" young woman, the narrator experiences an erotic frisson when they connect-as when he frisks her in his shop or when inertia presses them together in an ambulance. When Severina disappears and later returns, the hero becomes more intrigued and infatuated with her and her older male companion. Rey Rosa's book is both precious and precise. Its intense dreams, aphorisms, and literary lists are best read in one sitting. The author keeps readers on tenterhooks as issues of identity and desire ebb and flow along with a suspenseful episode involving the burying of a body. The fable here is a tale of love and forgiveness, which also includes the thievery of a book from Jorge Luis Borges's library. And while it would be impertinent to steal a copy, it is hard not to be tempted to grab a copy of this slim, terrific book. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Rodrigo Rey Rosa is perhaps the most prominent writer on the Guatemalan literary scene. Along with the work of writers like Roberto Bolaño, Horacio Castellanos Moya, and Fernando Vallejo, Rey Rosa's fiction has been widely translated and internationally acclaimed. His books include Dust on Her Tongue, The Beggar's Knife, and The Pelcari Project, all of which were translated into English by the late Paul Bowles. In addition to his many novels and story collections, Rey Rosa has translated books by Bowles, Norman Lewis, François Augiéras, and Paul Léautaud. Â
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Chris Andrews t eaches at the University of Western Sydney and is a prize-winning poet. He has translated the works of numerous Latin American authors, among them Roberto Bolaño and César Aira.
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