Life and literature, and journeys and different places trough the words of famous writers and their translators. Some stories are better than others but all of them are beautifully written.

La vita, la letteratura e i viaggi e i differenti posti attraverso le parole di autori famosi e dei loro traduttori (inglesi). Alcune storie sono meglio di altre, ma tutte sono molto ben scritte.

THANKS TO PUSHKIN PRESS FOR THE PREVIEW!

Life from Elsewhere is a collection of essays all translated to English, that focus on issues of literature, multiculturalism and freedom throughout the world. The essays were moving, with some more thought provoking for me than others, but all superb. The final essay, Elif Shafek, was my favorite. The author wrote, " We must find an embracing, pluralistic narrative that can speak to the minds and hearts of people from different cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds. A narrative that is not afraid to speak louder than exclusivist voices, whether in Europe or the Middle East or elsewhere. What we need is a compassionate but equally radical and courageous type of humanism."

Thank you Net Galley. A very interesting concept. Different writers write about their homeland. The end result is varied and rich. In the course of the book one connects with a wide variety of experiences of humanity. It is abook that will make the reader return to it again.

An outstanding collection of diverse voices telling the stories that are important to their lives. A great anticipated addition to our short stories shelves.

Definitely recommend this one. While the collection as a whole lacked a unifying theme, I really enjoyed each essay individually. I am someone who actively strives to read perspectives that are different from my own, so I fully support the idea of a collection like this.

For readers with a curiosity for literature from further afield be it - culturally or geographically - this is a very interesting collection of essays. Each of the authors has a distinct voice and perspective, and more than one essay sparked an appetite to read more of the author. It also brings to mind how much smaller, how much more one-dimensional our literary horizon would be without translators.

This refreshing collection of essays is from all over the world, with diverse topics and styles. I read it an essay at a time, to let the ideas digest. Lots of food for thought!