Book
Introduction to “Roberto Bolaño: The Last Interview & Other Conversations”
Last interview by Mónica Maristain. Translation by Sybil Perez. Annotations by Tom McCartan. Melville House, 2009.
Newspapers & Magazines
Since 1998, Marcela Valdes has published more than 400 book reviews, news articles, profiles, columns, and feature articles. Her work appears in The Nation, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Los Angeles Times, The Virginia Quarterly Review, The Believer, Bookforum, and Publishers Weekly, among other periodicals. Highlights include:
“Life’s Towering Complications”
The Washington Post. September 20, 2011. Style section, front page.
Review of Aravind Adiga’s “Last Man in Tower.”
Narrated by a decapitated head, ‘Destiny’ stays detached
The Washington Post. February 1, 2011.
Review of Carlos Fuentes’s “Destiny and Desire.”
Karen Tei Yamashita’s “I Hotel” is a finalist for the National Book Award
The Washington Post. November 11, 2010. Style section, front page.
Review of Karen Tei Yamashita’s “I Hotel.”
Isabel Allende’s ‘Island Beneath the Sea’
The Washington Post. June 8, 2010.
Review of Isabel Allende’s latest bestseller “Island Beneath the Sea.”
Seed Projects
The Nation. July 6, 2009.
Review of Alejandro Zambra’s novels “Bonsai” & “La vida privada de los árboles.”
An Unsettling but Vibrant ‘Unit’ of Social Measurement
The Washington Post. June 30, 2009.
Review of Ninni Holmqvist’s dystopic novel “The Unit.”
Alone Among the Ghosts
The Nation. December 8, 2008.
Investigative essay on Roberto Bolaño’s masterful novel “2666.”
Souljah On
The Washington Post. December 3, 2008.
Review of Sister Souljah’s problematic bestseller, “Midnight: A Gangster Love Story.”
Windows Into the Night
The Nation. March 31, 2008.
Review of Roberto Bolaño’s posthumous collection of essays, “Entre paréntesis.”
His Stupid Heart: Roberto Bolaño’s Novels Were a Love Letter to His Generation, But What He Had to Say Many Chileans Didn’t Want to Hear
Virginia Quarterly Review. Winter 2008.
Investigative essay on Roberto Bolaño’s short novels “Distant Star” and “By Night in Chile.”
Rules of the Game
The Nation. December 3, 2007.
Review of José Maria de Eça de Queirós’s 19th-century masterpiece, “The Maias.”
Spanglish Fly
Bookforum. Sept/Oct/Nov 2007.
Review of Junot Diaz’s award-winning novel, “The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.”
Tales of Power
The Washington Post Magazine. September 23, 2007.
Personal essay.
Campaign Tools
The Washington Post Book World. November 5, 2006.
Book World column on the rise of the book as political tool.
Embargoed
The Washington Post Book World. October 22, 2006.
Book World column on history and mechanics of the book embargo.
The Old–Fashioned Way
The Washington Post Magazine. September 3, 2006.
Cover story on the marriage of two devout Catholics immigrants.
Instant Bestseller, American Style
The Washington Post Book World. August 20, 2006.
Book World column on the manipulation of online bestseller lists.
What a Change in Genre Means to African Americans
The Washington Post Book World. June 18, 2006.
Book World column on controversy surrounding “street lit.”
Some Stories Have to Be Told by Me: A Literary History of Alice Munro
Virginia Quarterly Review. Summer 2006.
Essay on the life and fiction of Alice Munro
A Long Look Home
Publishers Weekly. June 13, 2005.
Profile of the Congolese author Emmanuel Dongala.
Yukio Mishima and the Dream of the Holy Explosion
The Believer. February 2004.
Essay on the Japanese author Yukio Mishima and the psychology behind suicide bombs.
