The Sea Cloak

The Sea Cloak
The Sea Cloak
It’s August and that must mean it’s Women in Translation Month.

“Women in Translation Month is all about appreciating the great women writers who do get translated – and of course the people who bring them to us, their translators and publishers. It’s an opportunity to join in a worldwide conversation about outstanding writing from all over the globe. This month libraries and bookshops in the UK, US, Germany, France and New Zealand are highlighting translated books by women.”

Now as I’ve already posted at the end of July I had chosen my main reads Women in Translation Month, but I really felt that I needed at least a couple of volumes of short stories by women in translation to fill those gaps, or at night when you’ve finished a book but don’t feel like starting another.

So I did what any sensible book blogger would do and did a shout out on Twitter to see if anyone had any suggestions and I was so happy with the response.

There were a few general author suggestions but there were many suggestions for what sounds like magnificent reading.

  • “Aetherial Worlds” by Tatyana Tolstoya, trans. Anya Migdal, pub. Daunt Books
  • “Amora: Stories” by Natalie Borges Polesso, trans. Julia Sanches, pub. Amazon Crossing
  • “An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good” by Helene Tursten, trans. Marlaine Delargy, pub. Soho Press
  • “Cockfight” by Maria Fernanda Ampuero, trans. Frances Riddle, pub. Influx Press
  • “Complete Stories” by Clarice Lispector, trans. various, pub. Penguin
  • “Europa28” ed. Sophie Hughes and Sarah Cleave, trans. various, pub. Comma Press
  • “Flowers of Mold” by Ha Seong-nan, trans. Janet Hong, pub. Open Letter
  • “Mars” by Asja Bakič, trans. Jennifer Zoble, pub. Feminist Press
  • “Mouthful of Birds” by Samantha Schweblin, trans. Megan McDowell, pub. Oneworld Publications
  • “Point of Honour: Selected Poems” by Maria Teresa Horta, trans. Lesley Saunders, pub. Two Rivers Press
  • “Revenge” by Yoko Ogawa, trans. Stephen Snyder, pub. Vintage Publishing
  • “Spark of Light: Short Stories by Women Writers of Odisha” ed. Valerie Henitiuk and Supriya Kar, trans. various, pub. All Press
  • “Terminal Boredom” by Izumi Suzuki, trans. various, pub. Verso Books
  • “Things We Lost in the Fire” by Mariana Enriquez, trans. Megan McDowell, pub.Granta Books
  • “Thirteen Months of Sunrise” by Rania Mamoun, trans. Elisabeth Jaquette, pub. Comma Press
  • “Three Strong Women” by Maria NDiaye, trans. John Fletcher, pub. Quercus Publishing
  • “Touring the Land of the Dead” by Maki Kashimada, trans. Haydn Trowell, pub. Europa Editions
  • “Where the Wild Ladies Are” by Aoko Matsuda, trans. Polly Barton, pub. Tilted Axis Press
  • “Your Ad Could Go Here: Stories” by Oksana Zabuzhko, trans. various, pub. Amazon Crossing

There Once Was A Woman Who Tried To Kill Her Neighbour's Baby
There Once Was A Woman Who Tried To Kill Her Neighbour’s Baby

Though all these sounded wonderful I’ve decided to get these three:

  • “Igifu” by Scholastique Mukasonga, trans. Jordan Stump, pub. Archipelago Books
  • “The Sea Cloak” by Nayrouz Qarmout, trans. Perween Richards, pub. Comma Press
  • “There Once Was A Woman Who Tried To Kill Her Neighbour’s Baby” by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya, trans. various, pub. Penguin

Thanks to all who gave such great recommendations, Twitter comes to the rescue once more.

And of course I’ll be writing reviews for these once I’ve finished them.

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