Is this a Marmite book? Or maybe a sour-plum book, given the colour of the cover. My mum spent a large chunk of her childhood in Hong Kong, so she loves them, but they’re too strong for me. My mum…
Blog Archives
The Polyglot Lovers
Tagged with: And Other Stories, Lina Wolff, Saskia Vogel, Sweden, Swedish, The Polyglot Lovers, Translation, writing
Posted in books, gender, international, translation
Posted in books, gender, international, translation
Sergius Seeks Bacchus
A fellow queer Christian, from an utterly different context. Indonesian literature has been in the literary news since the country guest of honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2015. But now it gets personal: Sergius Seeks Bacchus. This slim…
Tagged with: books, Indonesian, Norman Erikson Pasaribu, Poetry, Sergius Seeks Bacchus, Tiffany Tsao, Tilted Axis Press, Translation
Posted in books, faith, gender, poetry, translation
Posted in books, faith, gender, poetry, translation
The Governesses
Something is happening in French-language literature right now that makes me dearly regret stopping at GCSE. In the last few months I’ve devoured three short and piercingly acute new translations from French that have made me think hard about animal…
Tagged with: Anne Serre, books, French, Mark Hutchinson, The Governesses, Translation
Posted in books, gender, literature, translation
Posted in books, gender, literature, translation
Maresi’s Power
Maresi is home from the abbey. She has left her sisters behind. She has left the horror of death behind too, it seems. It isn’t easy coming home. The journey is hard, and long. And when she gets there, the…
Tagged with: Annie Prime, books, Dublin Literary Award, Finland, Finnish, Maresi, Maresi Red Mantle, Maria Kyrö, Maria Turtschaninoff, Swedish, Translation, YA
Posted in books, gender, translation
Posted in books, gender, translation
Tiger, tiger, burning bright
An odd choice for Valentine’s Day, perhaps? Bear with me, you’ll see. In Blake’s image, a woman powered with sunlight faces down a dragon. This ultimate battle between good and evil from the Book of Revelation is the cover image…
Tagged with: Ana Luisa Amaral, books, Margaret Jull Costa, Poetry, Portuguese, The Art of Being a Tiger, Translation
Posted in books, gender, poetry, translation, Valentine's Day
Posted in books, gender, poetry, translation, Valentine's Day
Finland 100: The Core of the Sun
Finland turns 100 today. Although it’s the darkest and coldest time of the year, consuming the hottest chilli you can get your hands on might not be the obvious way to celebrate. Until you read this book and understand how horribly…
Tagged with: books, Dublin Literary Award, Finland 100, Finnish, Finnish Weird, Johanna Sinisalo, Lola Rogers, Suomi100, The Core of the Sun, Translation
Posted in books, Finland 100, gender, translation
Posted in books, Finland 100, gender, translation
Finland 100: Norma
“The past is the past. No good will come of digging it up.” The story starts with a funeral. Norma Ross’s mother is run over by an underground train in the middle of Kallio, Helsinki’s Kreuzberg. Was it suicide or…
Tagged with: books, Finland 100, Finnish, Norma, Owen Witesman, Penguin, Sofi Oksanen, Suomi100, Translation
Posted in books, Finland 100, gender, translation
Posted in books, Finland 100, gender, translation
The Dove’s Necklace
Last weekend marked the end of Eid al-Adha, when millions of pilgrims gathered in Mecca. In this story, one man makes his way into the Kaaba itself… This story starts with the city: not the pilgrims, but the women and…
Tagged with: Adam Talib, Arabic, International Prize for Arabic Fiction, Katharine Halls, Mecca, Raja Alem, Saudi Arabia, The Dove's Necklace, Translation
Posted in books, gender, translation
Posted in books, gender, translation
Women in Translation Month: Marina Tsvetaeva
The age of the Russian Revolution produced some extraordinary poetry, and the women poets deserve better recognition. For spot-on quick-fire dispatches from a period of unprecedented change, try Teffi, but for poetry, try Tsvetaeva, who died 76 years ago today. Glagoslav…
Tagged with: Glasgoslav Publications, Marina Tsvetaeva, Michael Naydan, Poetry, Russian, Russian Revolution, Slava Yastremski, Women in Translation Month
Posted in books, gender, poetry, translation
Posted in books, gender, poetry, translation
Finland 100: The Red women
“So then they founded a women’s guard here, and anyhow I’m such an enthusiastic person so of course I went there first […] You can’t believe how enthusiastic I was about going to the front. Now I am going back…
Tagged with: books, Finland 100, Finnish civil war, gender, history, Punaisten naisten tiet, Red guard, Suomi100, Tiina Lintunen, Translation, Women in Translation Month
Posted in books, gender, history, translation
Posted in books, gender, history, translation
