A variety of titles to add to your reading list
Celebrating the vital role of literary translators, whose work allows readers to access writing in different languages.
To Live
Translated by Michael Berry
Launched in 1993 and originally banned in China, To Live by Yu Hua is considered one of the nation’s most influential books today. It narrates the challenges faced by the son of a wealthy landlord, Fugui, whose youth is filled with debauchery. After blowing his entire family fortune on gambling, he realises the folly of his actions and works as an honest farmer to redeem himself. Unfortunately, ongoing political events in China force him to join the Nationalist Army and he returns home after a few years to a mute daughter and dead mother. Gritty and unsettling, this novel highlights the impact of governmental instability on society.
Rental Person Who Does Nothing: A Memoir
Translated by Don Knotting
Tokyo-based Shoji Morimoto was told off by his former employer who said he had made zero contribution to the team’s productivity and there was no difference whether he showed up at work or not. That made him wonder if one who “does nothing” could still have a place in the world. With the rental person service he started in 2018, Morimoto has become a stranger who quietly watches a student complete an assignment and makes a marathon participant run faster by simply waiting at the finish line, among other things. His experiences with this odd profession are recorded in his unique memoir.
Three Strong Women
Translated by John Fletcher
Marie NDiaye, one of France’s celebrated prose stylists and playwrights, impressed the world with Three Strong Women, which won the Prix Goncourt in 2009, making her the first black woman to clinch the French literary prize. Delving into the themes of survival, inheritance and power dynamics, it features three main protagonists, Norah, Fanta and Khady, each with their own stories to tell about the men in their lives. The narrative moves between France and Senegal, relating the characters’ migrant experiences with personal issues involving a tyrannical father, a depressive and delusional boyfriend and oppressive in-laws.
January
Translated by Frances Riddle + Maureen Shaughnessy
Published in 1958, January by Sara Gallardo was the first piece of Argentine fiction to discuss taboo topics such as rape and abortion from the survivor’s perspective as well as the risks of teenage pregnancy. Translated from the Spanish just last year, this radical feminist text follows the life of 16-year-old farmworker Nefer who is sexually assaulted and has no idea what to do or who to confide in when she becomes pregnant. Will the young girl be able to overcome her nightmare and redeem her freedom in this conservative Catholic society?
At Dusk
Translated by Sora Kim-Russell
Author Hwang Sok-yong writes the story of protagonist Park Minwoo, director at a large architectural firm who began life in Seoul’s slums. With a childhood defined by parents who struggled financially and a circle of budding criminals always causing trouble in the neighbourhood, Park was determined to leave these conditions. Slogging through school and scoring a respectable job allowed him to be part of the advancement of South Korea. Now in his twilight years, he looks back on his journey to reflect on what he has lost and the price he had to pay for modernity and development.
What You Can See from Here
Translated by Tess Lewis
Originally published in German, this 2017 bildungsroman that blends the real and magical worlds follows Selma, her 10-year-old granddaughter Luisa and a group of superstitious villagers. Okapi — a cross between a zebra and a giraffe — in the Western German countryside unsettles the characters because its recurrence in Selma’s dreams portends an imminent death within the next 24 hours. Painting a bittersweet portrait of small towns, Mariana Leky deals with the absurdity of life and death as well as how love and loss shape not just one person but an entire community.
The Paradise of Food
Translated by Baran Farooqi
At the heart of this provocative work of fiction by Khalid Jawed is a kitchen, which he claims to be the locus of a house. The Indian novelist and professor examines the space’s ability to support life — the place women use to prepare nourishing food for family members — and at the same time, destroy it. In one instance, a relative comes down with fever after drinking tea made using milk contaminated by a lizard. Building on this same idea of duality, he blames the kitchen for being complicit in decreasing the quality of life of women who spend most of their time within its confines.
Thirteen Months of Sunrise
Translated by Elisabeth Jaquette
Sudanese fiction writer and journalist Rania Mamoun explores the breadth of human experience in this debut collection of stories, focusing on topics such as alienation, isolation and estrangement in contemporary Sudan. Tragic tales of a young woman sitting by her father’s deathbed, lamenting her failure to keep a promise to him, and another of a girl who collapses by the roadside due to extreme hunger are among the realistic portrayals of life in the North African country. With this book, the author aims to draw attention to the pressing issues in her homeland.
This article first appeared on Sept 2, 2024 in The Edge Malaysia.
