Books in Translation

The Simple Art of Killing a Woman – Patricia Melo

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While violent fantasy is cathartic, it does not bring about justice. That, the narrator comes to realize, is found elsewhere.

kochanie, today i bought bread – Uljana Wolf

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It’s a testament to Nissan’s work as a translator that this collection of Wolf’s poems offers an abundance of doorways for English-language readers. You don’t need to be steeped in the history of German poetry to engage with this book deeply and powerfully.

The Sanctuary – Gustavo Eduardo Abrevaya

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Álvaro, an Argentinian indie filmmaker traveling to a cabin in the south of his country to finish writing a screenplay . . . simply can’t shut off his attempts to turn every real-life event into a plot point.

Barefoot Doctor – Can Xue

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The writing has nothing to hide behind. That alone can make a reader nervous. What’s even more nerve-rending is the prospect of living inside an artistic experiment when its creator has warned you there’s no trapdoor.

The Remains – Margo Glantz

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Nora grieves, remembers, and writes, and the streams of her inward life flow through a text that vibrates with texture.

Our Philosopher – Gert Hofmann

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OUR PHILOSOPHER is no celebratory Bildungsroman. But why should it be, when, for Hans, growing up means integrating into a sick society?

The Case of Cem – Vera Mutafchieva

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The Case of Cem takes place in the fifteenth century, when the world was crudely split between East and West—not unlike the Cold War world in which the novel was written.

Your Name, Palestine – Olivia Elias

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As a child of the Nakba, Elias has dedicated her oeuvre to the Palestinian cause and to the memory of the repeated cycles of Palestinian displacement and oppression.

Recital of the Dark Verses – Luis Felipe Fabre

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Fabre blends serious (but not self-serious) social and religious commentary with punny nameplay humor and mutilated bodies to make a point about how fundamentalism itself arises from relatively picayune squabblings.

Open Heart – Elvira Lindo

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What Lindo offers is not necessarily “forgiveness”—for her father, or for anyone else—but rather the privilege of being faithfully and thoroughly observed.