I’m so surprised you don’t have Jhumpa Lahiri on your list, but then, there are so many books in the world. Her short stories live on in me a decade after I first read them. Interpreter of Maladies & Uncommon Earth are two beautiful collections of stories.
Jhumpa Lahiri is a wonderful writer! I love her stories. But I was listing short novels, and her novels tend to be longer. I can still remember the first time I read Interpreter of Maladies...it was one of the books that begged me to become a writer. She is masterful— she also has recently begun translating book from Italian to English; I wrote about one this summer, called Trust. A very good book and unbelievable that she decided to learn Italian as an adult and is now translating works!
I was only listing her collections of short stories but I agree, I love the novella.
Back to Lahiri, her love for Italian late in life is so inspiring. She’s not only translating works, but she wrote her latest (short) novel _Whereabouts_ in Italian, then translated it herself!
As a multi-lingual person, I found her non-fiction work _Translating Myself and Others_ to be comforting. Living in the spaces between words, where meaning is up for grabs feels like a metaphor for life, itself.
Novellas I love:
The Alchemist (who doesn’t?), Paulo Coelho
Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
The Stanger (going to read it in English for the first time!), Albert Camus
Candide, Voltaire
and the Time Machine, H.G. Wells.
I really enjoyed the slightly problematic Shopgirl by Steve Martin - would that be considered a novella?
My favorite of all time remains Kleider Machen Leute (commonly translated as clothes make the man, but literally translates to clothes make people) by Gottfried Keller, and I am now inspired to give it another read to see if it holds up!
Thank you for this post and the list of shorter novels. How have I never read The Wide Sargasso Sea? Taking time to re-read my favorites is a luxury I have withheld from myself these last few years of parenting. It’s time to pick it back up. My youngest and I love to share books (They read Anna Karenina 2 summers ago) so I’ve been into a lot of fun YA fantasy, too.
Anna Karenina is one of my faves! And I also loved Shopgirl. I read it a long time ago, and can’t remember it being problematic but that was before I went back to college. I love that you’re going to read some Rhys!!!
Oct 11, 2022·edited Oct 11, 2022Liked by River Selby (they/them)
Thank you for this beautifully written newsletter. I had the same thought this morning! I decided to soak in the autumn sun, leaves and smell and take a different walk than I usually do to explore. The town where I live has lovely old stone buildings and streets. Which are supported by the autumn colours. It made me very happy !
I’m so surprised you don’t have Jhumpa Lahiri on your list, but then, there are so many books in the world. Her short stories live on in me a decade after I first read them. Interpreter of Maladies & Uncommon Earth are two beautiful collections of stories.
Jhumpa Lahiri is a wonderful writer! I love her stories. But I was listing short novels, and her novels tend to be longer. I can still remember the first time I read Interpreter of Maladies...it was one of the books that begged me to become a writer. She is masterful— she also has recently begun translating book from Italian to English; I wrote about one this summer, called Trust. A very good book and unbelievable that she decided to learn Italian as an adult and is now translating works!
I was only listing her collections of short stories but I agree, I love the novella.
Back to Lahiri, her love for Italian late in life is so inspiring. She’s not only translating works, but she wrote her latest (short) novel _Whereabouts_ in Italian, then translated it herself!
As a multi-lingual person, I found her non-fiction work _Translating Myself and Others_ to be comforting. Living in the spaces between words, where meaning is up for grabs feels like a metaphor for life, itself.
Novellas I love:
The Alchemist (who doesn’t?), Paulo Coelho
Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
The Stanger (going to read it in English for the first time!), Albert Camus
Candide, Voltaire
and the Time Machine, H.G. Wells.
I really enjoyed the slightly problematic Shopgirl by Steve Martin - would that be considered a novella?
My favorite of all time remains Kleider Machen Leute (commonly translated as clothes make the man, but literally translates to clothes make people) by Gottfried Keller, and I am now inspired to give it another read to see if it holds up!
Thank you for this post and the list of shorter novels. How have I never read The Wide Sargasso Sea? Taking time to re-read my favorites is a luxury I have withheld from myself these last few years of parenting. It’s time to pick it back up. My youngest and I love to share books (They read Anna Karenina 2 summers ago) so I’ve been into a lot of fun YA fantasy, too.
Anna Karenina is one of my faves! And I also loved Shopgirl. I read it a long time ago, and can’t remember it being problematic but that was before I went back to college. I love that you’re going to read some Rhys!!!
Thank you for this beautifully written newsletter. I had the same thought this morning! I decided to soak in the autumn sun, leaves and smell and take a different walk than I usually do to explore. The town where I live has lovely old stone buildings and streets. Which are supported by the autumn colours. It made me very happy !
that sounds like such a wonderful walk! I can almost see the old stone buildings and the autumn leaves. 🍁