Most of these texts should be available at the UBC bookstore, or you may prefer to order them from Pulp Fiction, “Vancouver’s legendary independent bookstore,” which is often able to offer them at a lower price, though they sometimes need up to two weeks to get the books in. (Where I know the Pulp Fiction price and availability, I indicate that below.)
You will not be required to read all these books, so do not buy them before the first day of class, except for the compulsory texts, which are in bold. Beyond these compulsory texts, please read this short guide to the texts, which should help you decide which you want to read.
Below, I am also providing links to online versions of some, if not all, of the texts. But my very strong suggestion is that, where possible, you buy the physical books rather than relying on digital versions.
- Agualusa, José Eduardo. The Book of Chameleons. [$19.99 from Pulp Fiction; roughly two weeks to order]
- Amadou Amal, Djaïli. The Impatient. Trans. Emma Ramadan. New York: HarperVia, 2022. [$23.99 from Pulp Fiction; roughly two weeks to order]
- Arguedas, José María. Deep Rivers. Trans. Frances Horning Barraclough. Long Grove, IL: Waveland, 2002. [out of print, unavailable to order via Pulp Fiction]
- Arlt, Roberto. Mad Toy. Trans. Michele McKay Aynesworth. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2002. [$40.95 from Pulp Fiction; roughly three to four weeks, perhaps longer, to order]
- Bombal, María Luisa. The Shrouded Woman. House of Mist and The Shrouded Woman. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1995. 155-259. [out of print, unavailable to order via Pulp Fiction]
- Breton, André. Nadja. Trans. Richard Howard. New York: Grove, 1960. [$22.95 from Pulp Fiction; roughly two weeks to order] or Breton, André. Nadja. Trans. Mark Polizzotti. New York: NYRB Books, 2025. [$22.95 from Pulp Fiction; roughly two weeks to order]
- Calvino, Italo. If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler. Trans. William Weaver. New York: Harcourt, 1981. [$23.99 from Pulp Fiction; often in stock, or roughly two weeks to order]
- Cercas, Javier. Soldiers of Salamis Trans. Anne McLean. New York: Vintage, 2018. [$24.95 from Pulp Fiction; roughly two weeks to order]
- Debré, Constance. Love me Tender. Trans. Holly James. South Pasadena, CA: Semiotext(e), 2022. [$23.95 from Pulp Fiction; roughly two weeks to order]
- Duras, Marguerite. The Lover. Trans. Barbara Bray. New York: Pantheon, 1985. [$20.99 from Pulp Fiction; roughly two weeks to order]
- Ferrante, Elena. My Brilliant Friend. Book One: Childhood, Adolescence. Trans. Anne Goldstein. New York: Europa, 2012. [$29.50 from Pulp Fiction; often in stock, or a few days to order]
- Laforet, Carmen. Nada. Trans. Edith Grossman. New York: The Modern Library, 2008. [$27.95 from Pulp Fiction; roughly three weeks to order]
- Lispector, Clarice. The Hour of the Star. Trans. Benjamin Moser. New York: New Directions, 2011. [$19.95 from Pulp Fiction; often in stock, or a few days to order]
- Luiselli, Valeria. Faces in the Crowd. Trans. Christina MacSweeney. Minneapolis: Coffee House, 2014. [$26.50 from Pulp Fiction; a few days to order while stock remains at the local supplier, then a few weeks to import]
- Manea, Norman. The Trenchcoat. Compulsory Happiness. Trans. Linda Coverdale. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1994. 191-259. [out of print, unavailable to order via Pulp Fiction]
- Moravia, Alberto. Agostino. Trans. Michael Moore. New York: New York Review of Books, 2014. [$22.95 from Pulp Fiction; roughly two weeks to order]
- Piglia, Ricardo. Money to Burn. Trans. Amanda Hopkinson. London: Granta, 2003. [out of print, unavailable to order via Pulp Fiction]
- Proust, Marcel. “Combray”. Swann’s Way. Trans. Lydia Davis. London: Penguin, 2003. 1-191. [$24.95 from Pulp Fiction; often in stock, or one to two weeks to order]]
- Rodoreda, Mercè. The Time of the Doves. Trans. David Rosenthal. Minneapolis: New Graywolf, 1981. [$23.00 from Pulp Fiction; a few days to order]
- Zobel, Joseph. Black Shack Alley. Trans. Keith Warner. London: Penguin, 2020 (1997). [$24.95 from Pulp Fiction; roughly two weeks to import]
