Bibliofilia: Dedalus Press
I swear, I can't write this post without a tear in my eye. But then again, knowing there's such a treasure trove of books out there in the world... *sniff* well, let's get on with it.
At the moment, I'm constantly on the lookout for fantastical fiction that's non-North American in origin. Consider it shaping of a global perspective of the fantastic. Yes, I'm also open to the idea of Latin American magic realism-- even given how Philippine literature had been mixing it up with magic realism even before LatAm did. Still, I figure there's much more to it than what's available (read: mainstream/genre) on our local bookshelves.
If you're not looking, you won't find it. So I was quite surprised at the number and types of books being put out by non-mainstream publishing firms. Take the case of UK publisher Dedalus Books, which prints primarily fiction-- though as their website says, they've invented their own distinctive genre, which they term distorted reality, "where the bizarre, the unusual and the grotesque and the surreal meld in a kind of intellectual fiction which is very European." So, in other words, what we have here is tasty European fantasy!
And how tasty is this lot? Well, given their series of Dedalus Books of European Fantasy, quite diverse indeed. As of present, the series of books include:
At the moment, I'm constantly on the lookout for fantastical fiction that's non-North American in origin. Consider it shaping of a global perspective of the fantastic. Yes, I'm also open to the idea of Latin American magic realism-- even given how Philippine literature had been mixing it up with magic realism even before LatAm did. Still, I figure there's much more to it than what's available (read: mainstream/genre) on our local bookshelves.
If you're not looking, you won't find it. So I was quite surprised at the number and types of books being put out by non-mainstream publishing firms. Take the case of UK publisher Dedalus Books, which prints primarily fiction-- though as their website says, they've invented their own distinctive genre, which they term distorted reality, "where the bizarre, the unusual and the grotesque and the surreal meld in a kind of intellectual fiction which is very European." So, in other words, what we have here is tasty European fantasy!
And how tasty is this lot? Well, given their series of Dedalus Books of European Fantasy, quite diverse indeed. As of present, the series of books include:
- Dedalus Book of Polish Fantasy
- Dedalus Book of Greek Fantasy
- Dedalus Book of Austrian Fantasy
- Dedalus Book of British Fantasy
- Dedalus Book of Dutch Fantasy
- Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy
- Dedalus Book of Portuguese Fantasy
- Dedalus Book of Spanish Fantasy
Finnish? Portuguese? My mind reels at the possibilities. The only thing stopping me from going on an all-out online shopping spree is three things: (a) no money, (b) no credit card, and (c) I'd rather order this through a local bookstore (probably Booktopia). And it doesn't help that Dedalus is having funding problems, dammit.
Given such a sad state of affairs, I am relegated to "window-shopping", i.e. browsing through their online catalogue and promising all that is (un)holy that someday, my ship will come in. Preferably with my order of Dedalus books with it.
For more frustration, incorporated, here are the covers for these lovely books...
Given such a sad state of affairs, I am relegated to "window-shopping", i.e. browsing through their online catalogue and promising all that is (un)holy that someday, my ship will come in. Preferably with my order of Dedalus books with it.
For more frustration, incorporated, here are the covers for these lovely books...
*sigh*
(And just in case you're wondering, this is the first bibliofilia post wherein I talk about book series. What kind of book series? A lot. *grins*)
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