Fiction in Translation

Cover image for Stella by Takis Wurger

Stella by Takis Würger (transl Liesl Schillinger): In search of truth

/ 14 Comments

Two years ago, I reviewed Takis Würger’s The Club whose exploration of entitlement through the appalling behaviour of an Oxford University boxing club struck horribly familiar chords. Stella, his new novel, also tackles discomfiting territory this time through a love story about a wealthy young Swiss man and the beautiful artists’ model he meets in […]

Stella by Takis Würger (transl Liesl Schillinger): In search of truth Read More »

Cover image for Kokoschka's Doll by Afonso Cruz

Kokoschka’s Doll by Afonso Cruz (transl. Rahul Bery): Stories within stories

/ 11 Comments

I’d not heard of Afonso Cruz before Kokoschka’s Doll popped through my letterbox, probably because it’s the first of his novels in translation to be published by a relatively mainstream publisher. He turns out to be a prolific and versatile writer, much acclaimed in his native Portugal. Taking its name from the artist so distraught

Kokoschka’s Doll by Afonso Cruz (transl. Rahul Bery): Stories within stories Read More »

Cover image for Gratitude by Delphine de Vigan

Gratitude by Delphine de Vigan (transl. George Miller): The importance of saying thank you

/ 16 Comments

January seems to be Delphine de Vigan month for me. This time two years ago I reviewed the gripping Based on a True Story with which I was very impressed; last year’s Loyalties not so much. This year it’s Gratitude and I’m back to being a de Vigan fan. This brief of novellas explores ageing

Gratitude by Delphine de Vigan (transl. George Miller): The importance of saying thank you Read More »

Twelve Nights by Urs Faes (transl. Jamie Lee Searle): Christmas is coming…

/ 17 Comments

Given my bah humbug attitude, readers are unlikely to have expected a Christmas read from me but I couldn’t resist a literary trip to the snow-covered German landscape with Urs Faes’ Twelve Nights, set not far from the Black Forest. Beginning just before Christmas, Faes’ brief novella tells the story of Manfred who’s returned home

Twelve Nights by Urs Faes (transl. Jamie Lee Searle): Christmas is coming… Read More »

Cover image

There’s No Such Thing As An Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura (transl. Polly Barton): Giving it your all

/ 17 Comments

I’ve often wondered why more fiction isn’t about work given how much of our lives most of us spend doing it which is what drew me to Kikuko Tsumura’s There’s No Such Thing As An Easy Job, her first novel to be published here in the UK. Having experienced harassment in her first job, Tsumura

There’s No Such Thing As An Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura (transl. Polly Barton): Giving it your all Read More »

Cover image for Dog Island by Philippe Claudel

Dog Island by Philippe Claudel (transl. Euan Cameron): A twenty-first century morality tale

/ 17 Comments

From Grey Souls, a novel about three murders set in First War France, to Parfums, his scent memoir, each book I’ve read by Philippe Claudel has been different from the others. What they have in common is a strong sense of humanity and all are beautifully expressed. Set on a tiny volcanic island in a

Dog Island by Philippe Claudel (transl. Euan Cameron): A twenty-first century morality tale Read More »

Cover image for The Invisible Land by Hubert Mingarelli

The Invisible Land by Hubert Mingarelli (transl. Sam Taylor): The devastation of war

/ 19 Comments

Hubert Mingarelli’s The Invisible Land comes billed as the final part of a trilogy linked by the theme of war. I’ve read and reviewed both A Meal in Winter and Four Soldiers, struck by Mingarelli’s exquisite writing, not a description I’d expect to spring to mind when reading about the grimmest of subjects. This third,

The Invisible Land by Hubert Mingarelli (transl. Sam Taylor): The devastation of war Read More »

Cover image for London Under Snow by Jordi llavina

London under Snow by Jordi Llavina (transl. Douglas Suttle): Wintery Catalonian tales

/ 21 Comments

Recently launched, Fum D’Estampa Press is a small publisher dedicated to introducing Catalonian literature to English-speaking readers. A little niche you might think but if Jordi Llavina’s London Under Snow is anything to go by, worth seeking out. I was attracted to Llavina’s collection partly thanks to enjoying a short story roll after reading Dierdre

London under Snow by Jordi Llavina (transl. Douglas Suttle): Wintery Catalonian tales Read More »

Cover image for The Pear Field by Nana Ekvtimishvili

The Pear Field by Nana Ekvtimishvili (transl. Elizabeth Heighway): Not the best days of your life

/ 19 Comments

I’ve learned not to expect a cheery read from Peirene Press. The closest I’ve got is Guđmundur Andri Thorsson’s And the Wind Sees All. I know that what I will get is an insight into a country and its culture, often one that I may never visit and even if I did, might see only

The Pear Field by Nana Ekvtimishvili (transl. Elizabeth Heighway): Not the best days of your life Read More »

Cover image for Freetown by Otto de Kat

Freetown by Otto de Kat (transl. Laura Watkinson): Chasing the past

/ 10 Comments

When I spotted Freetown in the schedules, I put up my hand straight away. I’d come across Otto de Kat’s name several times, registering that he was probably an author whose writing would appeal, but somehow never getting around to reading anything by him. This beautiful, contemplative novella explores the lives and memories of Maria

Freetown by Otto de Kat (transl. Laura Watkinson): Chasing the past Read More »

Cover image

Songs for the Flames by Juan Gabriel Vásquez (transl. Anne MacLean): Stories within stories

/ 18 Comments

Given that Juan Gabriel Vásquez has not only won the prestigious International Dublin Literary Award but has also been shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize, together with his translator Anne MacLean, I feel I really should have read something by him before now. Songs for the Flames is his first short story collection for

Songs for the Flames by Juan Gabriel Vásquez (transl. Anne MacLean): Stories within stories Read More »