International Weird

[Michael]

Hi everyone

I apologize if there is already a thread for this but I couldn't find one on this specifically. Know there are threads for Japanese Weird, for example, but I wanted to make a thread specifically for International Weird. I'd also like to expand it (even though the title says International WEIRD) to sci fi, horror, etc. basically any writing that is international that would be relevant.

So here's mine. Amos Tutuola, "The Palm Wine Drinkard" and "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts." Got this as a paperback at a library book sale a few months back and it's freakin awesome. Incredible, Incredible writing. This book has been out since the 50's so many of you may know it but it was new to me. West African Weird. Beautiful.

What gems have the rest of you found?

[Michael]

Was rereading Marquez (100 years) and when I first read it, I was pretty young. Now rereading it, I'm struck by the "weird" elements that are imbued in his magical realism. Melquiades as a character (concept?) and Remedios the Beauty floating up to the heavens are just two instances. The exact thought that struck me was "This would fit really well in Simon's run at the most current Weird Fiction anthology, volume 3." Not necessarily needing to categorize it into either or, but was just reflecting on the "weird" elements and the magical realism tradition in Latin America. Any thoughts on this?

[Mr. Veech]

I really enjoyed Premendra Mitra's “The Discovery of Telenapota.”

[Mr. D.]

I'd like to suggest Juan Rulfo's Pedro Paramo. Marquez read it dozens of times before he started writing his 100 Years and he always acknowledged his great debt to Rulfo. Rulfo published a collection of short stories (The Burning Plain and Other Stories) and the above mentioned short novel (not a novella; the main character is too well developed for this to be a novella) in the early 1950s. After that he turned to photography but his influence has been great. He created the magical realism movement and so many Mexican and Latin American writers are in his debt.Pedro Paramo is the story of a man who goes to the town of his mother's birth to find his father, Pedro. When he gets there he finds decay and neglect. It's hard to tell which of the inhabitants are ghosts or still living persons. The dividing line has blurred so much.It has one of the best opening few sentences in literature. It goes: "I came to Comala because I had been told that my father, a man named Pedro Paramo, lived there. It was my mother who told me. And I promised her that after she died I would go to see him."There are very good English translation of his works available

[Michael]

Anyone read Remembrance of Earth's Past series

Amazon.com: The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earths Past) (9780765377067): Cixin Liu, Ken Liu: Books

 

Amazon.com: The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earths Past) (9780765377067): Cixin Liu, Ken Liu: Books

Chinese Sci-Fi set against the backdrop of the Cultural Revolution. Looks interesting.

[Michael]

Anyone hear of this book?

The Glory of the Empire: A Novel, a History (New York Review Books Classics): Jean DOrmesson, Barbara Bray, Daniel Mendelsohn: 9781590179659: Amazon.com: Books

 

The Glory of the Empire: A Novel, a History (New York Review Books Classics): Jean DOrmesson, Barbara Bray, Daniel Mendelsohn: 9781590179659: Amazon.com: Books

NYRB typically has solid rec's but I've never heard of this one. Looks great though.

[Gnosticangel]

Michael wrote, "Anyone hear of this book?" (The Glory of the Empire)

... No, Michael, but it looks great! Ordered, and thanks for pointing it out.

[yellowish haze]

I think the following links will be of interest to those following this thread:
Strange Fiction in Translation | diseased gardens.com
100 Must-Read Works of Speculative Fiction in Translation

International Weird in translation (or suffering from a lack of translations!) is one of the subjects of my blog. I hope I will find time next year to contribute more posts on some great writers of visionary fiction whose works definitely deserve more attention. When I finally do so, I will be happy to report it back here on this thread.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Hanns Heinz Ewers is my favourite horror novel, although it deals with spiritual ideas more than being a traditional weird tale. Its sequel Alraune is more explicitly supernatural.

[Michael]

Yellowish Haze, thanks a TON for the link! This is awesome! Very, very appreciated.

And James, Ewers is one of those writers who I keep meaning to read and then he gets unfairly put to the back burner. I've heard so many good things about him and about this book in particular. I'm moving him up my list. No more back burner.