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Women in Translation Month is .... this one! My favorite book-publisher-marketing-themed month of any year.

Let's use this thread to share favorite lists and articles on #WITMonth, favorite translated works, links to member reviews, really anything our members think is on topic.

Yesterday, Words Without Borders shared this list of "31 Recent Works By Women Writers To Read for #WITMonth."



This theme is the sweet spot of my own reading, so I often find these lists don't present me with anything new, but this one introduced me to so many new works, especially non-fiction, that I'd not heard of before. I highly recommend it.

1947: Where Now Begins (translated from Swedish) by Elisabeth Åsbrink

Abandon (translated from Bengali) by Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay

Anatomy. Monotony. (translated from Norwegian) by Edy Poppy

Bad Words: Selected Short Prose (translated from German) by Ilse Aichinger

Blue Self-Portrait (translated from French) by Noémi Lefebvre

Bride and Groom (translated from Russian) by Alisa Ganieva

Brother in Ice (translated from Catalan) by Alicia Kopf

Chintungo: The Story of Someone Else (translated from Spanish) by Soledad Marambio

Cigarette Number Seven (translated from Arabic) by Donia Kamal

Convenience Store Woman(translated from japanese) by Sayaka Murata

Disoriental (translated from French) by Négar Djavadi

The Emissary (translated from Japanese) by Yōko Tawada

Empty Set (translated from Spanish) by Verónica Gerber Bicecci

Flights (translated from Polish) by Olga Tokarczuk

Fox(translated from Croatian) by Dubravka Ugrešić

Hotel Silence (translated from Icelandic) by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir

The House by the River (translated from Greek) by Lena Manta

and more

and from Helen Vassallo of the Translating Women project, "20 books to inspire your summer reading":



Horror

Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enríquez (Spanish - Argentina)

Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin (Spanish - Argentina)

Short Stories

Fish Soup by Margarita García Robayo (spanish - Colombia)

Thirteen Months of Sunrise by Rania Mamoun (Arabic - Sudan)

whimsical

Memoirs of a Polar Bear by Yōko Tawada (Japan)

social comment

Tokyo Ueno Station by Miri (Yū Japan)

City of Jasmine by Olga Grjasnowa (Germany) (but the title refers to Damascus and the subject matter is the Syrian resistance)

LGBTQI+

Tentacle by Rita Indiana (Spanish - Dominican Republic)

Memoir

The Little Girl on the Ice Floe by Adelaïde Bon (France)

Selfies by Sylvie Weil (France)

page-turner

Waking Lions by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen (Hebrew - Israel) - I adored this. PM me if you want more details.

The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist (sweden) (dystopian)

Non-fiction

Second-Hand Time by Svetlana Alexievich (Russian - Belarus)

The Years by Annie Ernaux (France)

Dystopian

The Last Children of Tokyo by Yōko Tawada (Japan)

One Hundred Shadows by Hwang Jungeun (South Korea)

And the blog, Translationista, writer and translator, Susan Bernofsky,

pointed me to Rachael Daum's new blog Bookaccino which also offers reviews of translated books by women. Linked below.



And Bookaccino offers several valuable links. The first is to a Google docs spreadsheet of 150 works of translated fiction - each of which is either authored or translated by a woman - and it presents both the original language of publication and the author's country of origin, too.



Next, a google docs list described as "The annual Women in Translation reading list from" Meytal Radzinski, best-known for her Women in Translation Project. Truly, this list with its 168 precious rows of data is a keeper.



and an insightful interview with Ms. Radzinski is here:



I may not leave the house this weekend what with all of these new resources to explore.

These are awesome resources, Carol. I saw the article from Words without Borders a couple of days ago and thought it is a great list too.

Wow. Thank you so much Carol. A lot of books are being added to our tbr's I think :)

I've been perusing this list from booksandbao.com celebrating Asian women in translation


Happy birthday month Kristin!

Carol wrote: "And the blog, Translationista, writer and translator, Susan Bernofsky,

pointed me to [author:Rachael Daum|14..."

your google doc links are more precious than gold to me right now. thank you so much

ooh I love WITmonth! I always end up with so many new recommendations of books and authors to check out. Thanks for all these links to blogs and resources. I'll be looking through them to find some new gems.

This year, I'm particularly trying to find and read more non-fiction by women in translation. The first I read this month (The Book of Emma Reyes) blew me away!

Kristin wrote: "Thank you, Carol! I have. Even trying to read more translated literature, in addition to books by womxn. This also happens to be my birthday month so it feels like a great birthday gift.

The Man ..."

I raise a virtual glass to our August birthdays!

Anita wrote: "Carol wrote: "And the blog, Translationista, writer and translator, Susan Bernofsky,

pointed me to [author:R..."

I'm so glad you enjoyed them, too. I was incredibly excited when I saw that they'd included the countries and languages. *swoon*

carissa wrote: "whoa, Carol...time to get list-making! :)"

Good friends don't help winnow TBRs. Do they, lol?

Sanne wrote: "ooh I love WITmonth! I always end up with so many new recommendations of books and authors to check out. Thanks for all these links to blogs and resources. I'll be looking through them to find some..."

I need to work on this, too, Sanne. If you have resources or blogs that have been good sources of non-fiction reads, please share them whenever you get around to it.

Carol wrote: "I need to work on this, too, Sanne. If you have resources or blogs that have been good sources of non-fiction reads, please share them whenever you get around to it."

I haven't found any resources solely dedicated to non-fiction. But here's two that do include non-fiction:

The only resource I know where you can filter on gender and genre is the Three Percent database. That gives some titles, but know that it is woefully incomplete (only American published books, and the non-fiction titles are far for complete)


You can also check out the website for the Warwick prize, which is dedicated specifically to books in translation written by women. It has a list of all books eligible for this year, and that includes non-fiction:


But without any specific resources, perhaps it's okay that I share some of the books I found? I recommend:

Journalism / reportage
A Simple Story: The Last Malambo by Leila Guerriero

Vera Gran-The Accused by Agata Tuszyńska

The Bookseller of Kabul by Åsne Seierstad

Essays
Those Whom I Would Like to Meet Again by Giedra Radvilavičiūtė

Frantumaglia: A Writer's Journey by Elena Ferrante

Memoir
The Book of Emma Reyes by Emma Reyes

In Other Words by Jhumpa Lahiri

Sanne wrote: "Carol wrote: "I need to work on this, too, Sanne. If you have resources or blogs that have been good sources of non-fiction reads, please share them whenever you get around to it."

I haven't found..."

This rocks! Thanks very much for sharing both your specific recs and several resources.

update: I created a listopia list for translated non-fiction by women. When you haven't found the resources you need, create one yourself :) So, feel free to add the books on your TBR or those which you loved.
/list/show/1...

Sanne wrote: "update: I created a listopia list for translated non-fiction by women. When you haven't found the resources you need, create one yourself :) So, feel free to add the books on your TBR or those whic..."

Most excellent. I'll be augmenting it ...

My beach bag is packed full of women in translation books thanks to these lists Carol! And by that I mean I've downloaded a whole bunch to my kindle, hehe.

I also wanted to tie in a link to one of our member's (Bibliobio) 100 Best Women In Translation survey in which they ask for our help in compiling the Best Women in Translation data. If you have the time, please head to the link and offer her a few of your favorite reads from this month (or ever) asap, the deadline is August 25th

Anita wrote: "My beach bag is packed full of women in teanslation books thanks to these lists Carol! And by that I mean I've downloaded a whole bunch to my kindle, hehe.

I also wanted to tie in a link to one of..."

The beach is never better than when you have lots of choices. Lol.

Will do. That’ll be a mighty long list.

I started The Bear Whispers to Me by Chang Ying-Tai yesterday and it’s unlike anything else I’ve read. I was unaware that there are indigenous peoples in Taiwan.

Carol wrote: "I started The Bear Whispers to Me by Chang Ying-Tai yesterday and it’s unlike anything else I’ve read. I was unaware that there are indigenous peoples in Taiwan."

I read that book last year! It wasn't my cup of tea, but it was certainly interesting to read about the experience of indigenous people in Taiwan!
I also read The Man with the Compound Eyes, which has many indiginous characters as well and I got on better with that one. It's translated by the same translator and I can remember reading in an interview with him that he's especially interested in Chinese language literature representation of indiginous cultures. So I'll be keeping an eye out for what he'll translate next. It's bound to open up new worlds to me.

Sanne wrote: "Carol wrote: "I started The Bear Whispers to Me by Chang Ying-Tai yesterday and it’s unlike anything else I’ve read. I was unaware that there are indigenous peoples in Taiwan."

I read that book la..."

I’ll have to look for The Man With the Compound Eyes. Indeed!

I just finished Confessions by Kanae Minato, from Japanese. After I got through Part 1 (which was uncomfortable for its direct first person narrative style) the book just hooked me. I stayed up super late because I couldn't put it down.

Next, The Lonesome Bodybuilder: Stories by Yukiko Motoya, also from Japanese

I finished The Mussel Feast by Birgit Vanderbeke. It's a German novella about a domineering father's effect on his wife and children. Very well written...read it in one sitting.

Now I'm about a 30% through a Korean novel, The Hole The Hole by Hye-Young Pyun. quite gripping so far.

Carol, The Bear Whispers to Me sounds really good! On to the TBR it goes.
Anita, I'll be looking forward to hearing what you think of The Lonesome Bodybuilder which has been on my TBR for a while.

Anita wrote: "I just finished Confessions by Kanae Minato. After I got through Part 1 (which was uncomfortable for its direct first person narrative style) the book just hooked m..."

I loved Confessions! And I started Lonely Bodybuilder earlier in the year but put it aside for a book club read and failed to get back to it. I look forward to seeing what you think of it.

Storyheart wrote: "I finished The Mussel Feast by Birgit Vanderbeke. It's a German novella about a domineering father's effect on his wife and children. Very well written...read it in ..."

Thanks for reminding me about The Hole. I need to move that up my TBR.

I may have inadvertently volunteered to create a WIT display for the college library I work at for next year. Know that y'all have been a great help as I begin to do my research! Thanks

Sara wrote: "I may have inadvertently volunteered to create a WIT display for the college library I work at for next year. Know that y'all have been a great help as I begin to do my research! Thanks"

We have your back on this, Sara. lol

For members interested, check out WWB's article on Women Translating the Classics: An Interview with Emily Wilson, Sholeh Wolpé, and Arshia Sattar

Here's the introduction:

Translator and cofounder of the Women in Translation tumblr Alta L. Price spoke with three women translators of classical literature—Emily Wilson (Homer’s The Odyssey), Sholeh Wolpé (Attar’s The Conference of the Birds), and Arshia Sattar (Valmiki’s The Ramayana)—about their work, their approach to the canon, and the unique challenges of bringing the classics into English...

so, by the way, I stumbled on to a UK publisher which offers a great many novels by women in translation: andotherstories.org


They offer 2, 4 and 6 book subscriptions. (Heart, be still.) If you sign up for their enewsletter, you get a code good for 10% off your first order. Plus there's a #WIT Book Bundle.

Buy The Remainder by Alia Trabucco Zerán (translated by Sophie Hughes), Brother in Ice by Alicia Kopf (translated by Mara Faye Lethem), and The Polyglot Lovers by Lina Wolff (translated by Saskia Vogel) as a discounted bundle for only £22.50 for all three books (full price £30.00).

and here are "6 must-read Women Writers from Asia and the Pacific" from IWDA:



Featuring:

First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung

Kaluti by Shazia Usman (children's book - not on GR yet)

Smile As They Bow by Nu Nu Yi

My Walk to Equality: Essays, Stories and Poetry by Papua New Guinean Women by Rashmii Amoah Bell

Givers of Wisdom, Labourers Without Gain: Essays on Women in Solomon Islands by Alice Aruhe'eta Pollard

Beatriz's War - co-written by Irim Tolentino (not on GR)

Carol wrote: "Thanks for reminding me about The Hole. I need to move that up my TBR"

I just finished and it's definitely worth a read, Carol.

Sanne wrote: "update: I created a listopia list for translated non-fiction by women. When you haven't found the resources you need, create one yourself :) So, feel free to add the books on your TBR or those whic..."

Wow. Yaas and Thank you!

Sara wrote: "I may have inadvertently volunteered to create a WIT display for the college library I work at for next year. Know that y'all have been a great help as I begin to do my research! Thanks"

I love this! I wish my library had a WIT display.

Storyheart wrote: "I finished The Mussel Feast by Birgit Vanderbeke. It's a German novella about a domineering father's effect on his wife and children. Very well written...read it in ..."

@ Carol and Storyheart, I really loved The Lonesome Bodybuilder: Stories. If you're into magical realism, or a little quirkiness, I highly recommend it. It went onto my favorites shelf and I really wish I had more by Yukiko Motoya to read.

So good to hear that Anita! I've reserved a copy from my library.

Anita wrote: "Storyheart wrote: "I finished The Mussel Feast by Birgit Vanderbeke. It's a German novella about a domineering father's effect on his wife and children. Very well wr..."

Thanks for giving me a great reason to get back to it. I so wish I could order my books and docs on my Kindle in the order i want to read them. I forget about what's there if it's not in the top 8. *grumble* *grumble*

Storyheart wrote: "So good to hear that Anita! I've reserved a copy from my library."

Storyheart - you gave Granta 127 only 3 stars. Do you remember why or can you offer an opinion on it?

Sorry, Carol. Can't remember. But like most Granta collections, it was probably a mixed bag.

Storyheart wrote: "Sorry, Carol. Can't remember. But like most Granta collections, it was probably a mixed bag."

makes sense. Thanks!

with 1 week to go, I found another list from BooksandBao, "11 Amazing Books by Women in Translation" which included several books I'd not heard of and want to add to my TBR. All appear to be 2019 releases and include links to full reviews.



Featured are:

The Wind That Lays Waste: A Novel by Selva Almada. Translated from Spanish.


Tokyo Ueno Station by Miri Yū. Translated from Japanese.

The Faculty of Dreams by Sara Stridsberg. Translated from Swedish.

Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin. Translated from Spanish.

Flowers of Mold by Ha Seong-nan. Translated from Korean.

The Ten Loves of Mr Nishino: The Politics of Feeling by Hiromi Kawakami. Translated from Japanese.

A Nail, A Rose by Madeleine Bourdouxhe. Translated from French. (I so love Pushkin covers.)

Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi. Translated from Arabic.

Arid Dreams by Duanwad Pimwana. Translated from Thai.

Thirteen Months of Sunrise by Rania Mamoun. Translated from Arabic.

The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa. Translated from Japanese.

An excerpt from a new book in translation by a French-Tunisian author: This Tilting World



What luscious prose! On to my TBR it goes

Storyheart wrote: "An excerpt from a new book in translation by a French-Tunisian author: This Tilting World



What luscious prose! On to my TBR it goes"

very interesting - I agree!