Blog Archives

Reading Women in Translation Sept 2021 to Aug 2022 #WITMonth #amreading

30/8/2022

August is women in translation month, a time when readers prioritise books by women in translation – yes, it does what it says on the tin! – and I share the qualifying books I’ve read over the last twelve months. This year’s dozen represents 7 languages (one up from last year): Arabic, Danish, French, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish, with almost half the books being translated from the French. The books come from 8 different publishers: Europa editions, Granta books, Heinemann, Maclehose Press, Peirene Press, Quercus, V&Q Books, Zed Books.

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Feminist crime: Woman at Point Zero & After the Silence

25/8/2022

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Here are two novels in which issues of female disempowerment are explored within a murder narrative. The first is a modern classic, translated from Arabic, set in a culture where women have no custody over their own bodies. The second is a contemporary Irish crime novel, set in a society where men have learnt ways of controlling their partners without leaving a physical mark.

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Fostered: Lily & Careless

19/8/2022

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I’ve recently read a historical novel and a contemporary YA novel featuring fostered girls. In the first, it’s idyllic, especially in contrast to the institution she’s sent to at the age of six. In the second, it’s more problematic with a foster mother who can’t put her own needs aside to support the child in her care.

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Nine mini reviews

11/8/2022

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It's not often I showcase a bunch of exclusively male authors, although there's no reason why not. This includes two translations, a short story collection and a crime novel in addition to my usual literary novels. Of the latter, two prioritise illustrating 20th-century sociopolitical changes in England over story. The other three take us to Punjab, Yemen and and fantasy library midway between life and death. Read on to see what I thought of them.

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Chasing the King of Hearts by Hanna Krall translated by Philip Boehm #WITmonth

3/8/2022

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When word reaches the Warsaw ghetto of the terrible consequences Nazis have in mind for Jews, Izolda feels a great responsibility to save her family. And if she can’t protect her parents and in-laws, she is determined that she and her husband will live.

Changing her name, her hair, her religion, she sets about finding hiding places, travelling in and out of the ghetto via the sewers. She faces rape, imprisonment, forced labour, torture and a spell in a concentration camp, surviving on her wits and her love. But is that enough and is it worth it? As an old woman with no language in common with her Israeli granddaughters, she’s not sure.

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Welcome

Reading Women in Translation Sept 2021 to Aug 2022 #WITMonth #amreading

Feminist crime: Woman at Point Zero & After the Silence

Fostered: Lily & Careless

Nine mini reviews

Chasing the King of Hearts by Hanna Krall translated by Philip Boehm #WITmonth

2022 Reading Challenge

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