{"id":50201,"date":"2023-01-15T12:11:38","date_gmt":"2023-01-15T17:11:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/?p=50201"},"modified":"2023-01-14T13:51:40","modified_gmt":"2023-01-14T18:51:40","slug":"bonsai-by-alejandro-zambra-translated-by-megan-mcdowell-in-booklist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/bonsai-by-alejandro-zambra-translated-by-megan-mcdowell-in-booklist\/","title":{"rendered":"Bonsai by Alejandro Zambra, translated by Megan McDowell [in Booklist]"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-50133\" src=\"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/11\/Bonsai-Alejandro-Zambra-BookDragon-523x800.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"523\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/11\/Bonsai-Alejandro-Zambra-BookDragon-523x800.jpg 523w, https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/11\/Bonsai-Alejandro-Zambra-BookDragon.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 523px) 100vw, 523px\" \/><strong>*STARRED REVIEW<\/strong><br \/>\nAn outstanding trio delivers another fabulous performance. This is international-prize-winning Chilean poet\/writer Alejandro Zambra\u2019s 2006 debut novel, English-enabled by lauded Megan McDowell and distinctly embodied by actor Gisela Ch\u00edpe (who also narrated Zambra\u2019s 2022 novel, <em>Chilean Poet<\/em>).\u00a0With a mere 1:16 runtime, a single listen is an easy must, but like its title\u2019s art form \u2013 magnificently truncated with meticulous attention \u2013 Ch\u00edpe ensures that the intricately multi-layered narrative achieves lasting resonance.<\/p>\n<p>The opening begins backwards: \u201cIn the end Emilia dies and Julio does not. The rest is literature\u201d&#8230; and it is literal and literary as well. The pair initially \u201cfollar\u201d (f*ck) \u201cby mistake\u201d when they should be studying for a Spanish Grammar II exam. Their \u201cfollando\u201d quickly becomes habitual, preceded always by co-reading out loud, from Yukio Mishima, George Perec, Raymond Carver, even Nietzsche. They make it to page 369 of Proust\u2019s <em>Swann\u2019s Way\u00a0\u2013 <\/em>claims of previous reading having been their first mutual lie \u2013 before their follando stops, but telling, inventing, and creating stories ingeniously continues.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Emilia wanders, Julio writes, Emilia dies, Julio survives. Ch\u00edpe\u2019s polyglot talents effortlessly, distinctly transform Zambra\u2019s pruned text into mellifluous accomplishment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Review<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.booklistonline.com\/Bonsai-\/pid=9772342\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">&#8220;Media,&#8221; <em>Booklist<\/em>, December 1, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Readers:<\/strong> Adult<\/p>\n<p><strong>Published<\/strong>: 2006 (Spain), 2022 (United States)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>*STARRED REVIEW An outstanding trio delivers another fabulous performance. This is international-prize-winning Chilean poet\/writer Alejandro Zambra\u2019s 2006 debut novel, English-enabled by lauded Megan McDowell and distinctly embodied by actor Gisela Ch\u00edpe (who also narrated Zambra\u2019s 2022 novel, Chilean Poet).\u00a0With a mere 1:16 runtime, a single&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50133,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,81,9664,6,6535,201,66],"tags":[10714,84,10713,6608,6668,58,75,11,10686,51,13,7561,195],"class_list":["post-50201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adult-readers","category-audio","category-chilean","category-fiction","category-repost","category-south-american","category-translation","tag-alejandro-zambra","tag-betrayal","tag-bonsai","tag-bookdragon","tag-booklist","tag-coming-of-age","tag-death","tag-friendship","tag-gisela-chipe","tag-identity","tag-love","tag-megan-mcdowell","tag-suicide"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.14 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Bonsai by Alejandro Zambra, translated by Megan McDowell [in Booklist] - BookDragon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/bonsai-by-alejandro-zambra-translated-by-megan-mcdowell-in-booklist\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bonsai by Alejandro Zambra, translated by Megan McDowell [in Booklist] - BookDragon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"*STARRED REVIEW An outstanding trio delivers another fabulous performance. This is international-prize-winning Chilean poet\/writer Alejandro Zambra\u2019s 2006 debut novel, English-enabled by lauded Megan McDowell and distinctly embodied by actor Gisela Ch\u00edpe (who also narrated Zambra\u2019s 2022 novel, Chilean Poet).\u00a0With a mere 1:16 runtime, a single...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/bonsai-by-alejandro-zambra-translated-by-megan-mcdowell-in-booklist\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"BookDragon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-01-15T17:11:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-14T18:51:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/11\/Bonsai-Alejandro-Zambra-BookDragon.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"918\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@SmithsonianAPA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Bonsai by Alejandro Zambra, translated by Megan McDowell [in Booklist] - BookDragon","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/bonsai-by-alejandro-zambra-translated-by-megan-mcdowell-in-booklist\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Bonsai by Alejandro Zambra, translated by Megan McDowell [in Booklist] - BookDragon","og_description":"*STARRED REVIEW An outstanding trio delivers another fabulous performance. This is international-prize-winning Chilean poet\/writer Alejandro Zambra\u2019s 2006 debut novel, English-enabled by lauded Megan McDowell and distinctly embodied by actor Gisela Ch\u00edpe (who also narrated Zambra\u2019s 2022 novel, Chilean Poet).\u00a0With a mere 1:16 runtime, a single...","og_url":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/bonsai-by-alejandro-zambra-translated-by-megan-mcdowell-in-booklist\/","og_site_name":"BookDragon","article_published_time":"2023-01-15T17:11:38+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-01-14T18:51:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":918,"url":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/11\/Bonsai-Alejandro-Zambra-BookDragon.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@SmithsonianAPA","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/bonsai-by-alejandro-zambra-translated-by-megan-mcdowell-in-booklist\/","url":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/bonsai-by-alejandro-zambra-translated-by-megan-mcdowell-in-booklist\/","name":"Bonsai by Alejandro Zambra, translated by Megan McDowell [in Booklist] - BookDragon","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-01-15T17:11:38+00:00","dateModified":"2023-01-14T18:51:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/#\/schema\/person\/a00f6dcfcb279c75f3f992ad2919d51d"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/bonsai-by-alejandro-zambra-translated-by-megan-mcdowell-in-booklist\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/bonsai-by-alejandro-zambra-translated-by-megan-mcdowell-in-booklist\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/bonsai-by-alejandro-zambra-translated-by-megan-mcdowell-in-booklist\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Bonsai by Alejandro Zambra, translated by Megan McDowell [in Booklist]"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/#website","url":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/","name":"BookDragon","description":"Books for the Diverse Reader","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/#\/schema\/person\/a00f6dcfcb279c75f3f992ad2919d51d","name":"Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/79b5f08575e8962bd00388cd126d374b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/79b5f08575e8962bd00388cd126d374b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/@SmithsonianAPA"],"url":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/author\/riemert\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50201"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50201"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50231,"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50201\/revisions\/50231"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}