August = Women In Translation Month!
Readers, it’s time to get excited. We’re obviously huge translation fans here at &OS, and we also love fiction by women – Elvira Dones’ Sworn Virgin tr Clarissa Botsford might be our only crossover so far, but we’re actively working on redressing the balance, and have fantastic books by the likes of Susana Moreira Marques and Anne Cuneo in the pipeline. We plan to bring you more on them during the month, as well as recs for lesser-known #WIT books and ones by our own fabulous cohort of translators. For now, though, here’s some of the bigger hitters:
Angharard Price, The Life of Rebecca Jones, tr Lloyd Jones, Maclehose Press
One of very few books translated from Welsh, a slender and deceptively simple story of one woman’s life in a sheltered Welsh valley. The rhythm of the sentences in Lloyd Jones’ translation are a perfect counterpart to those of the seasons, the days, and human biology, which governed this bygone world.
Adania Shibli, Touch, tr Paula Haydar, Clockroot Books
A young girl’s coming of age in Palestine, depicted as a collage of sensory impressions, politics rendered imperatively personal – London-based Adania Shibli is one of Clockroot Books’ most impressive authors.
Tove Jansson, Fair Play, tr Thomas Teal, nyrbclassics
Given that Jansson’s centenary also falls in this month, there’s no more apt writer for #WIT. If you’re only familiar with the Moomins, this novella will surprise you with her frank, unconventional attitudes to life and art as a woman.
Kristina Carlson, Mr Darwin’s Gardener, tr Emily & Fleur Jeremiah, Peirene Press
Very possibly the boldest book, stylistically speaking, yet to have come from Peirene. Postmodernism as it should be done, without the posturing and gimmicks – we’re incredibly excited to learn that they’ll be publishing another title translated by this mother&daughter duo next year.
Elvira Dones, Sworn Virgin, tr Clarissa Botsford, & Other Stories
Difficult to praise this one as we’d just be blowing our own trumpet! Luckily, sales and reviews speak for themselves, so we don’t have to – we’ve just had to reprint due to high demand, and only yesterday saw this fantastic review focusing on the “fascinating gender questions” which this intriguing, engaging novel unpicks.
Can Xue, Five Spice Street, tr Karen Gernant & Chen Zeping, Margellos
If Nobel winner Mo Yan left you cold, don’t despair – Can Xue’s entirely different brand of fiction could prove much more your cup of tea, particularly if you’re looking for literary inventiveness (which she has in spades) over an essentialised representation of ‘Chineseness’. Challenging and frustrating in equal measure, we guarantee you won’t be bored.
Marija Knezevic, Ekaterini, tr Will Firth, Istros Books
Balkan specialists Istros deserve special mention for their 50% female list – this Serbian writer’s story of the life of an ordinary Greek woman cleverly subverts the more traditional, masculine idea of biography by providing a female-centred perspective on the passage of history.
Valeria Luiselli, Faces in the Crowd, tr Christina MacSweeney, Granta
Valeria Luiselli is a breath of fresh air in Latin American fiction; rejecting grand narratives and pat conclusions, she straddles the ever-exciting border between fiction and essay. Both her novel Faces in the Crowd & essay collection Sidewalks are brief, vivid, and full of interesting meditations on travel, literature, language and life.
Elena Ferrante, The Story of a New Name, tr Ann Goldstein, Europa Editions
If ever there was a contender for #WIT superstar status, Elena Ferrante is undoubtedly it. Her Neapolitan trilogy is every bit as ambitious as a certain Norwegian’s uber-hyped saga…but we’ve yet to hear of anyone being underwhelmed by Ferrante!
#WITMonth is the brainchild of blogger @biblibio, who recently posted this fascinating essay on the place of women in literature. The ball’s already rolling in the twittersphere: just follow the hashtag for more.