Reading Globally

Without translation, I would be limited to the borders of my own country. The translator is my most important ally. He introduces me to the world.

~ Italo Calvino ~

We are always on the lookout for works from other nations. Here are 6 new books from the first three months of 2023 that we find intriguing.

In the Belly of the Congo by Blaise Ndala

Translated from French by Amy B. Reid

Translated by Amy B. Reid, an award-winning translator and Professor of French and Gender Studies at New College of Florida. In the Belly of the Congo is a gripping multigenerational novel that explores the history and human cost of colonialism in the Congo.

Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez

Translated from Spanish by Megan McDowell

Our Share of Night is a novel like no other: a family story, a ghost story, a story of the occult and the supernatural, a book about the complexities of love and longing with queer subplots and themes--this is the masterwork of one of Latin America's most original novelists.

In the Land of the Cyclops by Karl Ove Knausgaard

Translated from Norwegian by Martin Aitken, Ingvild Burkey & Damion Searls

In the Land of the Cyclops is Karl Ove Knausgaard's first collection of essays to be published in English. It is a collection of ambitious, erudite essays on art, literature, and culture.

The Last Pomegranate Tree by Ali Bachtyar

Translated from Kurdish by Kareem Abdulrahman

The Last Pomegranate Tree is an extraordinary chronicle of war and an occult story of love between a father and his son from one of Iraq’s most celebrated contemporary writers.

The Words the Remain by Stênio Gardel

Translated from Portugese by Bruna Dantas Lobato

The Words the Remain explores Brazil’s little-known hinterland as well its urban haunts, this is a sweeping novel of repression, violence, and shame, along with their flip side: survival, endurance, and the ultimate triumph of an unforgettable figure on society’s margins.

The Flowers of Buffoonery by Osamu Dazai

Translated from Japanese by Sam Bett

A glimpse into the lives of a group of outsiders in prewar Japan, The Flowers of Buffoonery is a darkly humorous and fresh addition to Osamu Dazai’s masterful and intoxicating oeuvre.