Tag Archive
The Pleasure of Language in Vanina Marsot’s “Foreign Tongue”
Vanina Marsot’s Foreign Tongue has as many layered meanings as its playful title. This novel-within a novel is part erotic romance, part insightful musings on the nuances of the French language and the difficulties of translation. Professional writer Anna takes advantage of her dual citizenship and flees to Paris after a bad break-up with LA’s... »
PEN Author Spotlight: Morten Ramsland’s “Doghead” Mixes Highbrow, Lowbrow Humor In Multigenerational Family Saga
“Somewhere in Eastern Germany, my grandfather Askild is running across an open plain. The Germans are after him, and he has lost one of his shoes; it’s freezing. The half moon casts a pale glow over the landscape, transforming it into a ploughed field with frozen soldiers partly buried in mud….My father has not... »
The Arrogance of the Anglo-Saxon, or Why Sartre was Wrong and French Literature is Paying for It
The conversation between the French novelist Frédéric Beigbeder and the American journalist Paul Berman was among the most explosive of the “Festival of New French Writing” conference. The panel got off to a shaky start, when the lanky, long-haired Beigbeder and Tom Bishop, the slightly-balding, distinguished Director of NYU’s Center for French Civilization and Culture,... »
Lost in Translation
This will be the first entry in a series on The Festival of French Writing: French and American Authors in Conversation, taking place February 26-28 in New York City. Friday’s 3:15 session was a conversation between Abdouraham Waberi and Philip Gourevitch, moderated by Lila Azam Zangeneh. Their topic of conversation was one that is close to my heart: why so few French novels... »