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Francesca Lazzarato

    Francesca Lazzarato is a seasoned editor and writer with a deep connection to popular and children's literature. She has meticulously curated collections of folk tales and penned essays exploring these genres. Lazzarato's work extends to extensive translation from Spanish, focusing particularly on Latin American and Spanish literary works. Her dedication to these vibrant literary traditions offers readers rich insights and a unique perspective on storytelling.

    La volpe e l'allodola
    Taming the Divine Heron
    Il luogo senza confini
    L'erede dello sceicco
    The Witches
    Il sultano di Luxor
    • Taming the Divine Heron

      • 200 pages
      • 7 hours of reading

      From the famous Mexican author, Sergio Pitol, comes his 1988 classic translated by George Henson. Taming the Divine Heron, tells the semi-autobiographical story of a novelist working on his newest masterpiece. The protagonist struggles to tell the perfect story-his own, imagined protagonists mere imitations of the likes of Lord Jim and Alyosha Karamavoz. To help eradicate writer's block, Pitol uses his vessel to praise his own favorite authors. Pitol applauds Bakhtin's world building, Gogol's "carnivalesque [literary] breath", and Dante's dizzying intensity. The character finds a muse in Marietta Karapetiz who he aptly dubs Dante C. de la Estrella, and the two debate the literary greats. As the pair attempt to pull from the techniques of the world's best writers, Pitol creates a love letter to literature from around the globe while simultaneously telling his own magical story. To quote Pitol's protagonist, "the quality of the story, its effects, its brilliance, its intensity, ma[k]e the most absurd circumstances plausible". Taming of The Divine Heron, second in a trilogy including already-published The Love Parade (Deep Vellum, 2022), houses history, hyperrealism, myth, folklore, and memoir; to read Pitol is to appreciate the power of language.

      Taming the Divine Heron2014
      2.8
    • Il luogo senza confini

      • 149 pages
      • 6 hours of reading

      Un romanzo eccentrico e scandaloso, ambientato fra le stanze di un bordello di campagna, ultimo avamposto di svago e libertà nella decadente cittadina di El Olivo. Morta la Giapponese Grande, la casa è gestita adesso da Manuela, un travestito dal passato oscuro, e dalla Giapponesina, sua figlia. Ma il latifondista Don Alejandro Cruz, che possiede tutti i terreni del circondario, punta ad acquistarla per diventare il signore indiscusso della zona. Una narrazione che gioca con lo specchio ingannevole del sesso, in un posto senza tempo dove le passioni dei protagonisti e dei variopinti personaggi di contorno (le prostitute Lucy, Cloti, Nelly; l’attaccabrighe Pancho Vega) vengono raccontate con una pirotecnica vivacità di linguaggio e di stile che sovverte ogni tradizione.

      Il luogo senza confini2013
      3.8
    • A young boy and his Norwegian grandmother, who is an expert on witches, together foil a witches' plot to destroy the world's children by turning them into mice

      The Witches2000
      4.2