Contemporary Reads: Moral Disorder

Moral Disorder (2006) is a book by Margaret Atwood.

Modern Classics: Dubliners

Dubliners (1914) is a collection of short stories by James Joyce.

Untranslated Lit: Historia Universal de la Infamia

Historia Universal de la Infamia (1935) is a collection of short-stories by Jorge Luis Borges. The settings range for North to South America, from Persia to the Far East. This is a book about men, adventures in exotic locations, things that could have had happened in history but most probably only did in Borges' rich imagination. This book is probably easier to read than The Aleph or Ficciones, nontheless it is just as imaginative and literary worthy.

Untranslated Lit: Ficciones

Ficciones (1944) is a superb collection of short-stories by Jorge Luis Borges. I would personally highlight Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius; Pierre Menard, autor del Quijote; La Muerte y la brújula; and El Sur.

Untranslated Lit: Je Voudrais Que Quelqu'un M'attende Quelque Part (I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere)

Je voudrais que quelqu'un m'attende quelque part (1999) is a collection of short-stories by French writer Anna Gavalda. 12 short-stories set in modern day France, episodes in the ordinary lives of ordinary people told in the first person singular. The language is also everyday French but also blunt and even crude sometimes.

I am not the biggest fan of short-stories but, as a French student, I have greatly enjoyed most of the stories on this collection.

Untranslated Lit: El Aleph (The Aleph)

El Aleph (1949) is a collection of short stories by Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges. The stories are poetical, metaphysical, deep. My favourite ones are Deutsches Requiem, La Espera (The Wait) and El Aleph (The Aleph).

Contemporary Reads: In Between the Sheets

In Between the Sheets (1978) was the second book of short stories written by Ian McEwan. As its title suggests, the stories are largely about sex. They are shocking and at times uneasy. As can be expected, they are nowhere near the quality of his most mature works but still worth reading for his fans.

Contemporary Reads: The Bloody Chamber

This is a book of fairy tale-inspired stories by author Angela Carter (1940-1992). Make no mistake, this is not a children's book and you will find no fairies in it either. What you will find, though, are werewolves, vampires, erlkings and other beasts. You will also find extremely corageous women, fragile grannies and blind benefactors.

Angela Carter was a writer with a fantastic imagination and her death a great loss for English literature. I recommend you read Helen Simpson's introduction of the book. Please click here.

Other books I have read from this author: The Infernal Machines of Dr Hoffman and Angela Carter's Book of Fairy Tales.