Did you know it is Women in Translation Month? I read a question somewhere or other that asked "when was the last time you read a women in translation? And I can honestly answer, well, as a matter of fact I am reading Badriah Albeshr's Hend and the Soldiers (translated by Sanna Dhahir), which is translated into English from Arabic. Serendipity and an excuse to go through my stacks and see what else I have I can read this month in celebration of women authors. This is really only a sampling of books I have I could read (the books that were closest at hand when I first took a peek at my books).
There are some excellent resources for finding books in case you need some inspiration. I have bookmarked Women in Translation, which lists events and links. You can follow other readers on Twitter: @Read_WIT, #womenintranslation, #WITmonth. There is a wonderful (wonderfully dangerous) spreadsheet of new releases of books translated into English by women authors. And there is a new Warwicke Prize for Women in Translation that offers a longlist of 58 books. The shortlist comes out in early October. I even see one of my own books on that longlist.
I am nearing the end of the Albeshr novel and will choose one of these books next:
Lust, Caution by Eileen Chang, translated by Julia Lovell (Chinese) -- "In the midst of the Japanese occupation of China and Hong Kong, two lives become intertwined: Wong Chia Chi, a young student active in the resistance, and Mr. Yee, a powerful political figure who works for the Japanese occupational government. As these two move deftly between Shanghai’s tea parties and secret interrogations, they become embroiled in the complicated politics of wartime—and in a mutual attraction that may be more than what they expected. Written in lush, lavish prose, and with the tension of a political thriller, Lust, Caution brings 1940s Shanghai artfully to life even as it limns the erotic pulse of a doomed love affair."
Half a Lifelong Romance by Eileen Chang, translated by Karen S. Kingsbury (Chinese) -- "Shanghai, 1930s. Shen Shijun, a young engineer, has fallen in love with his colleague, the beautiful Gu Manzhen. He is determined to resist his family’s efforts to match him with his wealthy cousin so that he can marry her. But dark circumstances—a lustful brother-in-law, a treacherous sister, a family secret—force the two young lovers apart."
Suite for Barbara Loden by Nathalie Leger, translated by Natasha Lehrer and Cécile Menon (French) -- "Here, now, is a remarkable new book that does everything―biography, criticism, film history, memoir, and even fiction, all at once, all out in front...In her combination of the conversational and the incantatory, the fragmentary and the infinite, Léger captures something of [Marguerite] Duras's own tones and moods, yet her approach to Loden and her appreciation of 'Wanda' are entirely her own."―The New Yorker
The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami, translated by Allison Markin Powell (Japanese) -- "Objects for sale at the Nakano Thrift Shop appear as commonplace as the staff and customers that handle them. But like those same customers and staff, they hold many secrets. If examined carefully, they show the signs of innumerable extravagancies, of immeasurable pleasure and pain, and of the deep mysteries of the human heart."
Absent by Betool Khedairi, translated by Muhayman Jamil (Arabic) -- "Tightly crafted and full of vivid, unforgettable characters, Absent is a haunting portrait of life under restrictions, the fragile emotional ties among family and friends, and the resilience of the human spirit."
The Vegetarian by Han Kang, translated by Deborah Smith (Korean) -- "Celebrated by critics around the world, The Vegetarian is a darkly allegorical, Kafka-esque tale of power, obsession, and one woman’s struggle to break free from the violence both without and within her."
All the Rivers by Dorit Rabinyan, translated by Jessica Cohen (Hebrew) -- "Banned from classrooms by Israel’s Ministry of Education, Dorit Rabinyan’s remarkable novel contains multitudes. A bold portrayal of the strains—and delights—of a forbidden relationship, All the Rivers (published in Israel as Borderlife) is a love story and a war story, a New York story and a Middle East story, an unflinching foray into the forces that bind us and divide us. “The land is the same land,” Hilmi reminds Liat. 'In the end all the rivers flow into the same sea'."
The Weight of Paradise by Iman Humayden, translated by Michelle Hardman (Arabic) -- "Story of two women set against a post-war backdrop of 1990s Beirut. While making a documentary film about the reconstruction of downtown Beirut, Maya Amer stumbles upon a battered leather suitcase that will change her life forever. Inside it she finds letters, photographs, a diary, and an envelope labeled: Letters from Istanbul. The Weight of Paradise is both the story of Maya and her discovery, and also the story of the owner of these papers, Noura Abu Sawwan, a journalist who fled Syria just before the Lebanese civil war to find greater freedom of expression."
The Pistachio Seller by Reem Bassiouney, translated by Ousman Nusairi (Arabic) -- "Bassiouney's bighearted fourth novel (the first to be translated into English) portrays the agonies of love and identity. When Ashraf Daawood returns to Egypt in 1980, after growing up and becoming a banker in England, his cousin Wafaa falls hard for him. She must deal with her turmoil in secret, however, when Ashraf begins dating Lubna Thaabit, a feisty Communist journalist. After a brief stay in jail for her political leanings, Lubna breaks up with Ashraf, who returns to London and soon loses all his money. Penniless and disgraced, Ashraf flees to America, where his comeuppance involves working as a lowly cashier in a bank and living in poverty in a group house. Meanwhile, Wafaa has become a history teacher, supporting her parents and refusing to get married, doggedly waiting for Ashraf, with whom she shares an initially stilted correspondence that eventually shows signs of something deeper. Though sentimental in places and melodramatic in others, this story of self-discovery and the trials of love is delivered with warmth and humor." -- PW.
So many good books to read this month. I need to find a quiet place away from all distractions and read! I'll be on the lookout for other books, too to try and broaden the languages and cultures I am reading from and about this month!