Hayley's Women in Translation Month 2021 Highlights
Last month was Women in Translation Month, a time when publishing houses and booksellers highlight and celebrate books in translation that have been written by women (bonus points if they have also been translated by women). Here are a few novels that I came across during August that I am excited to dive into soon and that I think you might enjoy too.
The Liquid Land by Raphaela Edelbauer, translated by Jen Calleja
Shortlisted for both the Austrian and the German 2019 Book Prizes, this new German translation looks at what happens when life literally gives out from underneath you. Following the death of her parents, Ruth, a young physicist, tries to find their mysterious home town where they wish to be buried. She arrives to find that thanks to a merciless entrepreneur’s hapless attempts to make a fortune through mining, the town threatens to collapse at any minute. Although disaster could be right around the corner, none of the residents want to talk about it. Much of the town’s history is unrecorded so as Ruth begins to piece together it’s past through stories and legends, she uncovers more about her parents as she goes. I think this novel seems like a really unique and intriguing portrait of grief. Ruth’s experience trying to understand the chaos around her that no one else wishes to confront mirrors so much of the grieving process and I am interested to see how this is explored.
The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-Eun, translated by Lizzie Buehler
For the past ten years Yona has worked for Jungle, a travel company that offers holidays to destinations affected by natural disasters and climate change. In order for her company to avoid any commotion after she experiences a run in with a predatory colleague, Yona is sent to the remote and unprofitable island of Mui. Posing as a tourist to assess whether the Jungle should continue to operate there, she encounters first-hand the lengths the company will go to turn a profit, right up to manufacturing disasters themselves. As well as being a dark and compulsive thriller, the novel deals with topics such as the #MeToo movement, ‘dark’ tourism and climate activism. With issues such as climate change and environmental exploitation that have a global effect, I find it really interesting to read perspectives from different countries and to think about how they may be discussed differently. The premise of this book reminds me of Gathering Evidence by Martin MacInnes which I read last year and really enjoyed. It is also an atmospheric mystery that similarly looks at corporate environmental intervention, and the exploitative lengths companies might go to for profit.
The Road to the City by Natalia Ginzburg, translated by Frances Frenaye
Since 2018 Daunt Books Publishing have been reviving the work of Italian author and activist Natalia Ginzburg (1916-1991). Ginzburg was born in Palermo, Sicily and throughout her life wrote a large volume of essays, short stories, plays and novels. In 1963 she was awarded the Strega Prize for her novel Family Lexicon. Ginzburg was also extremely politically active, working alongside her husband Leone Ginzburg and other activists to oppose the fascist regime in Italy, and went on to serve in the Italian parliament between 1983 and 1987. Continuing to build on their republishing of Ginzburg’s work, some of which hasn’t been published in English in 30 years, Daunt Books Publishing have recently released The Road to the City, a novel about youth, aspirations, and the cruelty of trying to achieve. Originally published in 1942, The Road to the City follows Delia, a young girl from a poor working class family who rejects her family’s way of life and is seduced by the wealth and glamour of the upper classes. This short novella serves as a documentation and critique of the time period, particularly from a female perspective. Options for social mobility were few and the choices offered to Delia are all mediated by her position in society. Ginzburg herself sounds like an incredible figure and I am really interested to read her commentary on the issues that she saw facing women and the working class.
Ms Ice Sandwich by Mieko Kawakami, translated by Louise Heal Kawai
From the author of Breast and Eggs and Heaven is this sweet novella about a young boy’s crush. Everyday he visits the supermarket sandwich counter to watch his beloved, whom he has nicknamed Ms Ice Sandwich. While other members of the public are often put off, the boy embraces her eccentricities, such as her electric-blue eyeshadow and lack of customer service skills. He wants nothing more than to spend his days watching her work, but life gets in the way. Through dealing with his grandmother’s illness, his friendship with classmate Tutti and his distant mother, the protagonist begins to learn about the complexities of relationships, loss, and the bizarre rules of the adult world. Kawakami writing gives the boy’s narration a very casual tone which really emphasises his honesty and naivety. As I’ve written about above, I often read books that are about heavier or more intense topics so it is refreshing to read something more uplifting. If you are looking for a quick and sweet novel about love this one is for you.
Request a copy here.