Sidewalks

By: Valeria Luiselli

In July 2021, we will read a shorter book that inspires walking on your summer holiday or just in everyday life.  In the next weeks, you will see the discussion questions and other input for this month’s discussion below. Feel free to use the comment section and also follow us on @urbanismbookclub on Instagram for updates!

Description:

Valeria Luiselli is an evening cyclist; a literary tourist in Venice, searching for Joseph Brodsky’s tomb; an excavator of her own artifacts, unpacking from a move. In essays that are as companionable as they are ambitious, she uses the city to exercise a roving, meandering intelligence, seeking out the questions embedded in our human landscapes.

Valeria Luiselli was born in Mexico City in 1983 and grew up in South Africa. Her novel and essays have been translated into many languages and her work has appeared in publications including the New York TimesGranta, and McSweeney’s. Some of her recent projects include a ballet performed by the New York City Ballet in Lincoln Center; a pedestrian sound installation for the Serpentine Gallery in London; and a novella in installments for workers in a juice factory in Mexico. She lives in New York City.

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Discussion Questions

Our Instagram discussion was particularly lively this month. We talked about understanding the urban environment, nostalgia or “saudade” for our favourite cities and about walkings vs. cycling.

You can read two interesting reviews of this book  here:

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