#Friday56 & #BookBeginnings: Strange Pilgrims


For Book Beginnings:
He sat on a wooden bench under the yellow leaves in the deserted park, contemplating the dusty swans with both his hands resting on the silver handle of is cane, and thinking about death.
- p. 3, from the first short story "Bon Voyage, Mr. President"

For Friday 56:
By the time I managed to board, the other first-class passengers were already in their seats, and a flight attendant lead me to mine. My heart stopped. In the seat next to mine, Beauty was taking possession of her space with the master of an expert traveler. "If I ever wrote this, no one would believe me," I thought. And I just managed to stammer out an indecisive greeting she did not hear.
- p. 56, from the short story "Sleeping Beauty and the Airplane"


Back blurb of Strange Pilgrims by Gabriel Garcia Marquez:
 In Barcelona, an aging Brazilian prostitute trains her dog to weep at the grave she has chosen for herself. In Vienna, a woman parlays her gift for seeing the future into a fortune-telling position with a wealthy family. In Geneva, an ambulance driver and his wife take in the lonely, apparently dying ex-president of a Caribbean country, only to discover that his political ambition is very much intact.

In these twelve masterful stories about the lives of Latin Americans in Europe, Garcia Marquez conveys the particular amalgam of melancholy, tenacity, sorrow and aspiration that is the emigre experience.

***
Have you noticed, it's been a Nobel kind of week around here! For me, personally, the Read Nobels Challenge 2016 is shaping up really well -- I've dug up some new ones and revisited some favourites, including this one, which I reviewed here. I'm a little surprised I've never featured it for Friday 56 and Book Beginnings as it is my absolute GGM favourite - it's got a little of everything and each short story has something you can get your teeth into.

Do the snippets make you want to read more?

(If you want to join in the challenge, you can do so anytime, and you can commit to one or a thousand books. Just check out the sign up post!)


27 comments

  1. Good snippets! Yes, they make me want to read more! Thanks for sharing your post on BBOF!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds like an anthology I need to read! :-)
    I added you to the Linky! happy weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes - i think this sounds like a beautiful book. Short stories, but connected by a theme. Here's my Friday Book Nap

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sounds like I need to read this author! :)
    Check out my Friday 56 (With Book Beginnings).

    ReplyDelete
  5. At first glance I would have passed right over the book, but you have made me curious. Great job and have a wonderful weekend.

    sherry @ fundinmental
    Friday Memes

    ReplyDelete
  6. I really must read this author! Thanks for sharing and tempting me. Here's mine:
    “THE NEXT TIME YOU SEE ME”

    ReplyDelete
  7. I haven't heard of this one before, but I really like the sound of it. Thanks for sharing. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh this sounds fascinating and I love the teasers! Gabriel Garcia Marquez is an author I've been wanting to read for quite some time and I like the sound of these stories.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sounds fantastic!!

    Love the cover.

    ENJOY!!

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    My Book Beginnings

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'm intrigued by the collection. Sounds lovely and quirky.

    My 56 - http://fuonlyknew.com/2016/03/04/the-friday-56-96-forget-tomorrow/

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm not really into short stories much but this sounds like an interesting assortment. Here's my Friday meme

    ReplyDelete
  12. I think I must sound like a broken record! More GGM is coming ... just a warning! Thanks for adding me, I'm slow these days!

    ReplyDelete
  13. That it is ... I've been meaning to read more of GGM's short stories but never seem to get around to them. Happy weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  14. YES YES AND YES! :) This is a good intro to his work if you think some of his full novels seem daunting.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'm glad I got you interested! Happy weekend, Sherry!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Awesome! Thanks for coming by Breana!

    ReplyDelete
  17. This is a wonderful way to introduce GGM in your TBR - without the length or commitment of a full novel! I hope you do pick him up.

    ReplyDelete
  18. It's beyond fantastic! I recommend it to everyone ;)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Try one and you`ll probably keep going ;)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Sounds good. I am not a huge short story reader, but I do try and branch out to them occasionally!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Ohhhhh I love this! As someone who religiously checks on TED Talks that might interest me I can't believe I missed this one!

    One of my reading goals for 2015 and again in 2016 is to read at least one book of translation each month. I love how Ann concentrated a whole year on books in translation. I'm not sure I could be that dedicated but I would like to keep upping my personal goal. Thanks for sharing this talk!

    ReplyDelete
  22. I really want to read The Jungle Book for #ReadtheNobels. Thanks for the wallpaper. Very creative!

    ReplyDelete
  23. You're welcome, Tanya! And whenever you're ready to read - as I'll be looking forward to reliving The Jungle Book! Yay for Mowgli!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Inspiring! So glad you came across this. What a great personal project, Stacy! Happy-discovering-of-new-books-to-read! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hoping this snippet tempts you when you do the occasional "branch out" ... ;)

    ReplyDelete




© guiltless readingMaira Gall