Books I like the most - II This time, I am giving my list (oh so difficult:))) of the ten books of Latin American Spanish. It features first as I like to read Latin American fiction the most. If I believed in rebirths, I would have liked to be reincarnated in Latin America. :-)) I would also like to thank Abhijit Bhattacharya aka Bhatta who before becoming the Master of Spices ( and Spice is not a plural of spouse. :-))) used to run various kinds of lending libraries in late 1980s in a sleepy little town called Anand in a state called Gujarat (no parts of which had declared themselves to be a part of Hindu Rashtra yet. :-))). Bhatta needs to be thanked as I remember borrowing many Llosas and Marquezs from him. Also remember @ Rishikesha Krishnan, ever the generous, who gifted Who killed Palomino Molero by Llosa on my birthday in 1993. So here is the list: 1. Twenty poems of love and one song of despair ( Neruda) And here is you for Ketan, one line explanations. Two lines are too much. :-)) The best selling book of poetry in the world. Gives a glimpse of Neruda as one of the best love poets. I could include most of the Pablo Neruda in the list. :-)) 2. One hundred years of solitude Gabriel García Márquez An interesting allegorical writing about the history and fate of Latin America. I could easily include many more Marquezs in the list. 3. Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa One of the most entertaining coming of age novels in any language. I could include all of his work in the list. 4. Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges 5. Hopscotch by Julio Cortazar It should be read for its design which presaged postmodern techniques. You can read the book in many ways with different endings. 6. Memories of Underdevelopment by Edmundo Desinas A very lyrical and ruminative mediation on post revolution Cuba, turned into gem of a movie by the same name by Tomas Gutierrez Alea. 7. The savage detectives by Roberto Bolaño A great book which starts as a thriller to find the protagonists of a shortlived literary movement almost hundred year back and gets into vivid descriptions of history and contemporary life in a quirky and profound way. 8. Movies of my life by Alberto Fuguet A novel by a young Chilean novelist with an interesting device. He talks about then movies he has seen throughout his life and talks about his life and times through the movies. 9. Paradiso by Jose Lezame Lima Another coming of age novel, set in the turn off the 20th century Cuba. 10. I, the Supreme by Augusto Roa Bastos Especially for you Ketan Bhai. :-)). One of the finest books in the Dictator genre, based ion the life of a Paraguan dictator. Sudhanva, remembered you for our common fondness of Cortazar. :-)) Would love it if some friends try them out, or tell us more about these books or add to the list. :-))
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 06:58:41 +0000
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