Bret Easton Ellis and the Other Dogs

A captivating, compelling book, with memorable characters and a delightful feminist sensuality. I'm so glad I came across this book.

Lina Wolff is a Swedish writer with the accent firmly on the Spanish. This is the first time she’s been translated into English and the book has already won some prestigious awards. I’m not surprised. The writing is very good. Unusual but accessible. Engaging yet with an elusive quality. Intriguing, economical, unfluffy.It’s not a straightforward narrative, seeming at first to be interlinked stories about girls, women, poverty. But as the chapters go on, it does coalesce into a cohesive whole. The central voice is Araceli’s, a young girl brought up by a single mother in a tiny run-down apartment in Barcelona. Araceli is not entirely clueless but she is passive and gets pushed into places she’s not sure she wants to go by the female characters who come into her orbit. The mysterious neighbour in the apartment below, the frosty teacher at her language school, the confident friend she makes in class. They each have an impact on her life and lead her to a destination she might not have imagined. There she meets the man who tells the final story.It seems somehow fitting that this novel is published by And Other Stories. (Brilliant name.) Hats off to them for bringing this to a wider audience and also to Frank Perry whose unobtrusive translation is excellent. There are echoes here of Bolaño, parallels with Ferrante, but this book is unique unto itself.

Another great one from And Other Stories Press. Wolff's language is raw and dark but also lush. Great sensory details and settings. If you want a simple, straightforward plot you might be disappointed but if you like fiction with a strong voice, this is worth checking out. Looking forward to her next one.

The story is pretty unremarkable but what I find totally unbearable is the translation, It is almost impossible to read