Author: Kathleen Wheaton
Synopsis:This
loosely-linked collection of stories is above all about people in exile –from
their native countries, their families, their objects of desire. Political
refugees from Argentina’s “dirty war,” survivors of a Cuban shipwreck and of
Franco’s Spain, all navigate life far from home, whether in Madrid, Buenos
Aires or suburban Washington, D.C. Minor
characters in one story become protagonists of another, as different
generations confront a legacy of loss and longing.
Author Bio:
Veteran journalist Kathleen Wheaton’s byline has appeared in publications all over
the world, and this fall, her name will grace the cover of her newest work,
“Aliens and Other Stories.”
Wheaton was born in 1957
on a U.S. Army base in Germany and grew up in Pasadena and Palo Alto, Calif.
After graduating from Stanford University in ’79 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in creative writing and Spanish, she
packed her bags and headed to Madrid, Spain, where she taught English for two
years. Wheaton earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from Boston University in ‘82. She lived in New York until ‘86 and returned to Spain for a year to write and
edit a travel book for Insight
Guides. She then
traveled to Argentina for a second guidebook, where she met NPR reporter David
Welna. They married in 1988 and lived
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Tepoztlan, Mexico before returning to the
United States in ’97 along with their two sons, Ben and Alex, both born
in Latin America.
Wheaton
has been honored with three Dateline awards from the Society of Professional Journalists
for profiles of public radio host Diane Rehm and opera singer Denyce
Graves as well as a story
about teen suicide published in Bethesda
Magazine. She has received three grants from the Maryland Arts Council
and in 2005, and she claimed the top spot at The Baltimore Review’s fiction
contest. Her interviews and articles have appeared in The
New York Times, The
Philadelphia Inquirer, The San Francisco Examiner, The
Paris Review, Town &
Country, European Travel & Life, Via, Applause and Smithsonian Magazine.
Wheaton’s short stories have been published in The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, Byline, Flyway, The Baltimore
Review, Timber Creek Review, New South, Smokelong Quarterly, Green Hills Literary Lantern, Artisan, River Oak Review and Narrative as well as anthologies Flash Fiction Forward and Amazing Graces.
My Review:
When JKS Communications
offered me to review Wheaton´s book, I checked the synopsis and I instantly
said yes. Do you know why? Because despite it is not the genre I usually read,
I love reading books that deal with Spanish or Latino American issues because it
make me feel that they know about us.
Aliens
& Other Stories is a collection of short stories focused
on Spanish or South American characters, war refugees, exiles. They are aliens
in other countries who are taking a burden with them: political issues, past,
the consequences of leaving the family behind, the struggle of being in a new
country…. All the stories are intertwined perfectly. Each character and story
are perfectly developed, making the reader aware that we are all connected in
some way or the other. The book has different kind of characters, each with a
personality, a past, a desire. I loved the way the author was able to create a
mini master piece in each story. I am intrigued by how she could have created such
a detailed background in each story that she always left me wanting to know
more about the story. I do know that creating a novel is difficult but after
reading Aliens & Other Stories, I
am aware that writing a short story is by far, more difficult. The fact that
the author needs to think a whole plot, just to write some pages. To decide on
what she is going to focus and what she is going to leave behind, in the “backstage”.
Wheaton has been able to create “a whole” by adding apparently unconnected
pieces.
I really liked every
short story that was included in the book. They made me learnt about los desaparecidos from Argentina (which
I have heard about them but never really know who they were), it took me to
places such as Buenos Aires, Mexico, Maryland or Madrid. But I do have my favorite
ones: “Flames” and “Looker”. “Flames” because I was curious about
Joaquin and his relationship with Edith and because this family is the one that
gets more attention, I think there are 3 stories about them. And “Looker” because it is placed in Madrid
and though I am from Zaragoza, I love reading thing about Spain. And most
importantly, how they see us ( I have always thought that foreigners think
Spain is party, siesta, paella, sevillanas and lazy people) and I am really
happy to see that the author has portrayed a realistic view of what Spain is.
I really loved reading
the sentences that were in Spanish, they were perfectly translated and I love
it because I have read other books with Spanish sentences that are incorrect.
Wheaton´s narrative style is fluid, it has the perfect tempo. Words flow
naturally, there is no fast or slow rhythm.
Aliens
& Other Stories is a contemporary book that deals with
the struggle that exiles deal with everyday. It is a perfect read for the
lovers of South American or Spanish history and language.
Mi reseña:
Cuando JKS Communications me ofreció reseñar el libro de Wheaton, comprobé
la sinopsis e instantáneamente dije que sí. ¿Sabéis por qué? Porque a pesar de
que es un género que habitualmente no suelo leer, me encanta leer libros que
vayan sobre temas Latinoamericanos o españoles porque me hace ver que saben de
nosotros.
Aliens & Other Stories, es una colección de historias cortas centradas
en personajes españoles o sudamericanos, refugiados de guerra y exiliados. Son
extraños en otros países, llevan una carga con ellos: temas políticos, el
pasado, las consecuencias de dejar a la familia, las dificultades de vivir en
un nuevo país….Todas las historias están perfectamente enlazadas; cada
personaje y cada historia está perfectamente desarrollado, haciendo que el lector se de cuenta de que todo está conectado, de una forma u otra. El libro tiene diferentes tipos de personajes, cada uno con una personalidad, un pasado, un deseo. Me encanta la forma en la que la autora fue capaz de crear una pequeña obra maestra en cada historia. Me intriga cómo ha sido capaz de crear un fondo tan detallado para cada historia y es que siempre me dejó con ganas de leer más sobre cada historia. Sé que la creación de una novela es difícil, pero después de leer Aliens & Other Stories , soy consciente de que escribir una historia corta ,es sin duda mucho más difícil. El hecho de que la autora tiene que pensar en toda una trama, sólo para escribir algunas páginas; decidir en lo que se va a centrar y lo que va a dejar atrás , en el " backstage " . Wheaton ha sido capaz de crear " un todo " , añadiendo piezas aparentemente inconexas .
Me gustó mucho cada historia de del libro. Me hicieron aprender sobre los desaparecidos de Argentina (de los cuales he oido hablar , pero nunca sabía muy bien quiénes eran) , me llevó a lugares como Buenos Aires, México , Maryland o Madrid. Pero tengo mis favoritas : "Flames " y " Looker " . "Flames " porque tenía curiosidad acerca de Joaquín y su relación con Edith y porque esta familia es la que recibe más atención , creo que hay 3 historias sobre ellos . Y " Looker ", ya que ocurre en Madrid y, aunque soy de Zaragoza , me encanta leer cosas sobre España . Y lo más importante , cómo nos ven ( siempre he pensado que los extranjeros piensan que España es fiesta, siesta, paella, sevillanas y gente perezosa ) y estoy muy feliz de ver que el autor ha retratado una visión realista de lo que es España .
Me encantó leer las frases que estaban en español , estaban perfectamente traducidas y me encanta porque he leído otros libros con frases en español que no están escritas correctamente . El estilo narrativo de Wheaton es fluido , tiene el tempo perfecto. Las palabras fluyen naturalmente , no hay un ritmo rápido o lento.
Aliens & Other Stories es un libro contemporáneo que trata de la lucha que los exiliados padecen todos los días . Es una lectura perfecta para los amantes de la América del Sur o España y de su historia e idioma.
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