Life from Elsewhere

Life and literature, and journeys and different places trough the words of famous writers and their translators. Some stories are better than others but all of them are beautifully written.

La vita, la letteratura e i viaggi e i differenti posti attraverso le parole di autori famosi e dei loro traduttori (inglesi). Alcune storie sono meglio di altre, ma tutte sono molto ben scritte.

THANKS TO PUSHKIN PRESS FOR THE PREVIEW!

Life from Elsewhere is a collection of essays all translated to English, that focus on issues of literature, multiculturalism and freedom throughout the world. The essays were moving, with some more thought provoking for me than others, but all superb. The final essay, Elif Shafek, was my favorite. The author wrote, " We must find an embracing, pluralistic narrative that can speak to the minds and hearts of people from different cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds. A narrative that is not afraid to speak louder than exclusivist voices, whether in Europe or the Middle East or elsewhere. What we need is a compassionate but equally radical and courageous type of humanism."

Thank you Net Galley. A very interesting concept. Different writers write about their homeland. The end result is varied and rich. In the course of the book one connects with a wide variety of experiences of humanity. It is abook that will make the reader return to it again.

An outstanding collection of diverse voices telling the stories that are important to their lives. A great anticipated addition to our short stories shelves.

Definitely recommend this one. While the collection as a whole lacked a unifying theme, I really enjoyed each essay individually. I am someone who actively strives to read perspectives that are different from my own, so I fully support the idea of a collection like this.

Life From Elsewhere: Journeys Through World Literature has been published through the Writers in Translation programme, which was established in 2005 with Bloomberg and supported by Arts Council England. It collects and champions the best literature from around the world. Key to the success of the programme is a substantial translation grant which makes it possible not only for new work from around the world to be enjoyed, but to also pay the often unsung heroes of this type of undertaking, the translators, properly for their work.
Although the theme of this collection is about the role of literature in society, from a wide range of viewpoints and nationalities, it is approached relatively loosely. The result is a set of essays from some very perceptive writers who really do get to the heart of the power of literature. There is also a palpable sense of passion and conviction, as well as great eloquence in these essays which manage to convey some quite complex concepts to bring home their message.
Certainly this is the type of book that can be dipped into repeatedly to study the writing style and enjoy the way words have been used to communicate ideas to a reader.
The biographical details of the authors, many of whom I had not heard of, were very useful, and in combination with the writing will encourage me to delve deeper into any translations of their work.
As always the translators of these essays should also not be forgotten as their invisible work has made for a smooth and enjoyable read. It is to be hoped that this will signal even more translations of great writing from authors who might not be heard of outside of their own country were it not for the use of skilled and perceptive translators.

For readers with a curiosity for literature from further afield be it - culturally or geographically - this is a very interesting collection of essays. Each of the authors has a distinct voice and perspective, and more than one essay sparked an appetite to read more of the author. It also brings to mind how much smaller, how much more one-dimensional our literary horizon would be without translators.

This refreshing collection of essays is from all over the world, with diverse topics and styles. I read it an essay at a time, to let the ideas digest. Lots of food for thought!