What I’m Reading Brannavan Gnanalingam
I have been trying to catch up on Tamil literature (Sri Lankan, Indian and diaspora) because that’s a big cultural blind spot for me. I’ve just read (and they’re all brilliant) Funny Boy by Shyam Selvadurai, the Story of a Brief Marriage by Anuk Arudpragasam and Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi. Next is Perumal Murugan’s One Part Woman.
Palestinian novelist Adania Shibli’s Minor Detail blew my mind. I don’t think a book has stunned me like this one did for some time.
The great folk at Wellington’s Food Court Books also sent over Blur by the by Malaysian poet, Cham Zhi Yi (released by Aussie independent publisher Subbed In). It was great!
The hard-hitting novel Eve Out of
Her Ruins by Mauritian novelist Ananda Devi was so interestingly rooted in place (even though the suburb was fictional).
My plan this year, in addition to reading more Tamil literature, is to read (finally) some Primo Levi and writing from Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar. So much to read, but not enough time…