The Dinner Guest | 
so-soAutofiction—not my favorite. In this short and quick read, Ybarra looks at the kidnapping and killing of her grandfather by Basque separatists (6 years before she was born), and her mother‘s decline and death from colorectal cancer 30-odd years later. But this isn‘t a memoir, it‘s a novel. By it doesn‘t read like a novel, it reads like a memoir or essays. What‘s real what‘s not? Why didn‘t she just write a memoir? Longlisted Booker intl 2018.
pickI‘m addicted to independent press book subscriptions! This book hails from Transit Books which publishes “enduring works that carry readers across borders and communities.” Translated from Spanish this unconventional *fictional* account of the author‘s grappling with the deaths of her grandfather and mother was on the Man Booker International longlist. It‘s haunting. Ybarra does not flinch at death. To the departed she says, I will remember. 🌲
pickA lot of books try very hard to construct lives and relationships out of brief, episodic vignettes and so many of them end up pretentious and I‘m-so-symbolic sounding, and this one managed what they failed at perfectly. Small episodes built up complicated webs of love and politics, and the translation was pure and simple. Can‘t believe this didn‘t make the Man Booker International shortlist last year.
2/50 this year for reading my owned tbr
Lunchtime reading 🥰 this book is amazing and I‘m so glad I had something Spanish on my shelves in advance of my trip. A clean desk, nice leftovers, a ginger shot for my crap immune system = pretty much ideal lunch break
Bought this when it was nominated for the Man Booker International last year and didn‘t get round to it so it‘s become book 2/50 of my plan to get through my owned tbr and live in a more minimalist way. I also wanted to read something translated from Spanish in advance of my trip in March
Continuing to assemble the long listed books for #manbookerinternational2018! It‘ll be a big challenge to read them all in time, but I‘m giving it a try. Currently I‘ve bought 7/13 and read 2.5/13. This will be my Spain book for #litworld2018gb as well so it‘s not all that important if I don‘t manage it in time for the prize list!
pickIntimated story of the author and her family (with the focus on kidnapped grandfather and dying mother) is painted on the historical background - the terrorist activism of the separatist group ETA in Spain. It is an emotional story, but without excessive sentimentality, and precisely this narrative voice is the strongest element in this average, but very readable story. For now ⭐️⭐️⭐️ but I have a feeling that this is a slowly sneaking up story...
And yet another longlist: the one for the Man Booker International Prize. I am ashamed to notice I have read none of them, although the Binet is high on my wishlist...
Anyhow, exciting again! #manbookerinternationalprize
