talita’s staff picks
Talita (she/her) joined the team in May of 2023 after spending her first year in DC dreaming about what working at Lost City Books would be like. As a Brazilian, she loves Latin American literature, with Clarice Lispector, Conceição Evaristo and Guimarães Rosa at the top of the list. Besides textbooks for her International Relations degree, she gets inspired by Joan Didion’s and Ursula K. Le Guin’s essays and has discovered the beauty of English-written poetry thanks to Ocean Vuong. Creative writing—especially in English—is her new challenge and goal.
HELIOTROPO 37 by Graciela Iturbide
Hay tiempo. This is a sentence Graciela keeps hanging on her office, in Coyoacan, a neighborhood in Mexico City, the same neighborhood where Frida Khalo and Diego Rivera lived, the neighborhood where León Trotsky was murdered, the same neighborhood where Mexico University is placed. Graciela's pictures have a touch of realismo magico, have a touch of mystery, of fantasy combined with an intense dose of realism. I recommend navigating through her work as you were reading a Fantastic Realism novel. Have a shot of mezcal and open pages: 157, 161, 171, 179, 185 and 233. Let me know your favorites, I bet you will.
EMBROIDERIES by Marjane Satrapi
What can you expect from a book written by an Iranian author and about women in her country? Forget, you will probably get it wrong if you try to guess by assuming stereotypes. After reading Persepolis, I wanted more and Satrapi gave us Embroideries. It’s hilarious, it’s surprising and it's full of secrets, revelations and sex stories. Have fun!
THE INVENTION OF MOREL by Bioy Casares
It could be a classic, but usually, it is not as famous as what came next: a movie and then a TV series. They are not the same. Casares is unfairly v known as "Jorge Luis Borge's friend", but he was much more than that. The Invention of Morel is a weird novella, with a touch of sci-fi/mystery. You gonna read it fast and maybe re-read it as I did. The plot has a lost island, mystery, and fantastic happenings, and these characteristics were replicated (partially) by Alain Resnais in Last Year at Marienbad (1961) and later in the TV series Lost (2004). I did not watch Lost; on S4 E4 James Sawyer Ford is seen reading the book
IF AN EGYPTIAN CANNOT SPEAK ENGLISH by Noor Naga
This is the weirdest/most creative format of a book I've ever read. Forget about Cortázar's creativity in building Hopscotch's narrative. First, Noor will make you confused: — Who is telling me this story? Then, she will make you feel very sympathetic to the characters (at the same time you might hate them). Finally, you will be glad to read this book. Get ready to challenge yourself about your conception of identity, love, and guilt.
PS: Additionally, you'll get a stroll through Cairo's streets
COUSINS by Aurora Venturini
I can't believe I had to move to the US to meet a 'neighbor' (She was Argentinian, I am Brazilian). It was a delightful surprise to discover Aurora Venturini's work through reading Cousins. You might be scared and feel nauseous, but you might be glad to decide to read this story as I was. She wrote it when she was 85, but she could still perceive the world under a teen / young adult's skin by bringing life to Yuna. It is as clear as life is: there is no redemption in the end.
MOTHERHOOD by Sheila Heti
I opened this book looking for answers. I finished this book with the same (maybe more) questions. Navigating through Heti's book gave me a bittersweet taste on making a decision to answer the question — Do I want to be a mom? It is fiction, but it is written in a convincing way that you don't know whose thoughts are those. It's clever, it's sweet. you will also find a grumpy mood sometimes.