I started this post on Sunday. I really did. But….. after just getting back from Argentina (yes, on Sunday), I was too tired to put any coherent thoughts together. Actually, I’m still too tired!
Anyway, I thought I’d take a moment to talk a little (a very little) about South American literature. As preparation for my trip to Argentina, I bought Ficciones by Borges from barnesandnoble.com. Miraculously, it came the morning of my flight — it was supposed to come the day before. This is really a unique work, and while I’m not finished with it, I did find the parts I read fascinating. I read a few of the stories on the plane flying down there, and the young (cute!) Argentinian student sitting next to me was impressed that I was taking the time to read some of Borges’ work. I also plan on reading some of Cortazar and also The Oxford Murders by Guillermo Martinez. Although set in Oxford, England, Martinez is an Argentinian writer, and the book was recently made into a movie starring John Hurt and Elijah Wood. I’m particularly excited about this book as it qualifies as ‘math fiction,’ and as I have an engineering degree, I’m always interested in math and science topics in fiction.
One of my favorite writers is Paulo Coelho, who is Brazilian and writes in his native Portuguese. I have really enjoyed The Alchemist and Veronika Decides to Die by Coelho, and I have several of his other works that are patiently waiting on the shelf for me. One of the fun things about traveling is meeting people from other countries, and while at Iguazu Falls, I had an opportunity to meet with a young German couple who love books as well. It was so refreshing to find young people who love to read! One of the young woman’s favorite authors was Isabel Allende, and she really encouraged me to finally read one of Allende’s books. They both also liked Coelho.
The most recent Bookworms Carnival is about Latin American literature, so I encourage you to read the recommendations given there this month as well. I know I’ll be putting many more writers on my TBR list! If you have any South American or Central American author/book suggestions, I’d love to hear from you.
