Women in Translation

If you enjoyed Things We Lost in the Fire, then you’ll love The Dangers of Smoking in Bed.

“"The Dangers of Smoking in Bed" by Argentine writer Mariana Enriquez, translated from the Spanish by Megan McDowell, revisits themes found in her 2017 collection "Things We Lost in the Fire." Her disquieting stories, populated by ghosts, disappeared adults and exploited children, examine economic pain, social unrest and violence through the lens of literary horror. Characters observing the slow burn of a society in decay find themselves asking, as the titular story does, "Why not just let the fire keep going and do its job?" Supernatural elements become compelling metaphors for societal breakdown. In ""The Cart,"" a poor neighborhood experiences bad luck after a homeless man--worse off than the people there--is driven away. ""There had to be an accumulation of misfortune for the neighborhood to feel like something strange was going on,"" says the narrator. Jobs are lost, utilities turned off and food is hard to come by, causing people to turn feral to survive. The only family left untouched by bad luck, one that offered some comfort to the homeless man, is forced to flee before neighbors turn on them. ""We were scared, but fear doesn't look the same as desperation,"" the son in this family knows. Child exploitation is represented as an actual haunting of society. In ""Rambla Triste,"" abused children wander the streets of Barcelona, leaving a stench and creating havoc for everyone. In ""Kids Who Come Back,"" children in Buenos Aires who were lost or disappeared begin to reappear, unchanged, at the same time. People have ""no idea what was happening and couldn't explain it; they only knew that they were very afraid."" Josefina, in ""The Well,"" discovers her paralyzing fears result from trusted adults who used a sorceress to rid themselves of fear and pass it to her when she was only a child. ""They said they would take care of you. But they didn't take care of you,"" she is told. Adults do not save the children in these stories. It's impossible to miss the fear that permeates The Dangers of Smoking in Bed. Young girls are afraid to leave their homes, a ghost baby is afraid to be alone and young men are afraid to stay in the cities. Throughout, Enriquez skillfully uses the tropes of horror to expose the everyday atrocities that occur in societies that abandon the fight against corruption. Even as these stories provide chills, they elicit a deep feeling of sadness for innocence lost. -reviewed for Shelf Awareness 11-17-20"”

Cindy, The River's End Bookstore

The long-awaited first short story-collection by the author of the cult sensation Convenience Store Woman, tales of weird love, heartfelt friendships, and the unsettling nature of human existenceWith Life Ceremony, the incomparable Sayaka Murata is back with her first collection of short stories ever to be translated into English. In Japan,... Read more »

For readers of Leila Slimani’s The Perfect Nanny or Ling Ma's Severance: a tight, propulsive, chilling novel by a rising international star about a group of young colleagues working as social media content monitors—reviewers of violent or illegal videos for an unnamed megacorporation—who convince themselves they’re in control . . . until the... Read more »

PARASITE MEETS THE GOOD SON IN THIS PIERCING PSYCHOLOGICAL PORTRAIT OF THREE WOMEN HAUNTED BY A BRUTAL, UNSOLVED CRIME. In the summer of 2002, when Korea is abuzz over hosting the FIFA World Cup, eighteen-year-old Kim Hae-on is killed in what becomes known as the High School Beauty Murder. Two suspects quickly emerge: rich kid Shin Jeongjun,... Read more »

A NEW YORKER “ESSENTIAL READ”

“Just as awe-inspiring as the Nobel judges claimed.” – The Washington Post

“Olga Tokarczuk is one of our greatest living fiction writers. . . This could well be a decade-defining book akin to Bolaño’s 2666.” –AV Club

“Sophisticated and ribald and brimming with folk wit. . . The comedy in this novel blends, as it... Read more »

My Brilliant Friend meets Blue is the Warmest Color in this lyrical debut novel set in a working-class neighborhood of the Canary Islands—a story about two girls coming of age in the early aughts and a friendship that simmers into erotic desire over the course of one hot summer.High near the volcano of northern Tenerife, an endless ceiling of... Read more »

As a child, Natsuki doesn’t fit into her family. Her parents favor her sister, and her best friend is a plush toy hedgehog named Piyyut who has explained to her that he has come from the planet Popinpobopia on a special quest to help her save the Earth. Each summer, Natsuki counts down the days until her family drives into the mountains of... Read more »

Called "a masterpiece" by The Guardian, this courageous and honest trilogy from Tove Ditlevsen, a pioneer in the field of genre-bending confessional writing, explores themes of family, sex, motherhood, abortion, addiction, and being an artist. This program contains all three volumes of her memoirs

Tove Ditlevsen is today celebrated as one of the... Read more »

“Spectacular...An absorbing and distinguished work...The House of the Spirits with its all-informing, generous, and humane sensibility, is a unique achievement, both personal witness and possible allegory of the past, present, and future of Latin America.” —The New York Times Book Review

Our Shared Shelf, Emma Watson Goodreads Book Club Pick... Read more »

Convenience Store Woman

“Keiko loves rules. Having worked a part-time job in a Japanese convenience store for 18 years, she loves having a corporate script to recite, sales goals to reach, and a list of tasks to complete. What she doesn't love - or even understand - are the more complicated rules of society at large. She doesn't want a husband, or children, or a real job. What she does want is a satisfactory answer to the endless personal questions that will allow her to be left alone. Convenience Store Woman is a quirky and hilarious look at society and its misfits, and what happens when we try to bend ourselves to the needs of others.”

Rachel, The Book Table

From the bestselling author of Breasts and Eggs and international literary sensation Mieko Kawakami comes a sharp and illuminating novel about the impact of violence and the power of solidarity in our contemporary societies.Hailed as a bold foray into new literary territory, Kawakami’s novel is told in the voice of a fourteen-year-old student... Read more »

Working at the local processing plant, Marcos is in the business of slaughtering humans—though no one calls them that anymore.

His wife has left him, his father is sinking into dementia, and Marcos tries not to think too hard about how he makes a living. After all, it happened so quickly. First, it was reported that an infectious virus has made... Read more »

An arresting collection of short stories, reminiscent of Shirley Jackson and Julio Cortazar, by an exciting new international talent. Read more »

The Lying Life of Adults

“Ferrante’s latest novel gives an insightful and intriguing look at the life of a budding Italian teenage girl, both internally and externally. I found Ferrante’s ability to delve into Giovanna’s psyche fascinating, especially since I’ve never parented a girl and don’t always feel like I understand them. Her sensitivity to the myriad of issues and the fragility of Giovanna’s relationships make for a marvelous read. Ferrante is a gifted writer, and this latest offering does not disappoint. I loved this story! Fabulous read!”

Stephanie Crowe, Page and Palette

“[Makes] the very convincing case that, until and unless there is a full accounting for what happened with Donald Trump, 2020 is not over and never will be.” —The New Yorker

“Riveting…we can never be reminded too often to never forget.” —The Wall Street Journal

Journalist Géraldine Schwarz’s astonishing memoir of her German and French... Read more »

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: NPR · Marie Claire

“A taut and compelling depiction of loneliness and obsession.” --Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train

“[It] will keep you firmly in its grip.” --Oyinkan Braithwaite, bestselling author of My Sister, the Serial Killer

“The love child of Eugene Ionesco and Patricia... Read more »

WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE
 
WINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST FOR TRANSLATED LITERATURE

A visionary work of fiction by "A writer on the level of W. G. Sebald" (Annie Proulx)

"A magnificent writer." — Svetlana Alexievich, Nobel Prize-winning author of Secondhand Time

"A beautifully fragmented... Read more »

Fever Dream

“The creepy child vibes are strong with this one, and narrator Hillary Huber absolutely nails it. One mother’s attempt to save her child is met with a curse, and another’s vacation is brought to a screeching halt when she wakes up dying with little memory of how she got there. This is one of those books where you don’t really know what’s going on at first, the story gradually unfolding through its final pages. Fever Dream has a sense of foreboding, unsettling urgency and reads like a short story. In search of 'the exact moment' everything went wrong, you won’t want to put it down.”

Mary, Raven Book Store

“The Wonders is a poet’s novel, delicate but strong, impressing its images firmly on the imagination.”​ —Hilary Mantel  

NOW TRANSLATED INTO FIFTEEN LANGUAGES 

From award-winning Spanish poet Elena Medel comes a mesmerizing new novel of class, sex, and desire. 

Already an international sensation, The Wonders follows Maria and Alicia through the... Read more »

Earthy, magical, and utterly charming, this tale of family life in turn-of-the-century Mexico became a best-selling phenomenon with its winning blend of poignant romance and bittersweet wit. The classic love story takes place on the De la Garza ranch, as the tyrannical owner, Mama Elena, chops onions at the kitchen table in her final days of... Read more »