August 21 Staff Picks
August is Women in Translation month — an affinity month our staff loves to celebrate! Take a look below at some recommendations to broaden your reading habits beyond the borders of the US.
You can find all our past staff picks here.
The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani, trans. Sam Taylor
Translated from the French, Leila Slimani’s The Perfect Nanny is a psychological thriller set in a posh, ever-darkening corner of Paris. When Myriam, a French-Moroccan lawyer returns to work, her children are left in the care of Louise, their devoted caretaker. What follows is an intense relationship between Myriam and Louise, one that spells destruction for them both. The ending of this book will haunt you for years. — Aatia
Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Miaojin, trans. Bonnie Huie
Bonnie Hue the translator perfectly describes this book as a "survival manual for teenagers, for a certain age when reading the right book can save your life" and I wish I had this when I was younger. This queer cult classic anti-novel follows a bunch of college aged misfits coming to terms of their sexuality and gender identity in 1980’s Taipei. Read this book, share it with your friends, share it with your relatives, it could be exactly the book they need right now. — Anthony
Poetics of Work by Noémi Lefebvre, trans. Sophie Lewis
If you’ve ever found yourself floating through the world, un- or underemployed, wondering what it is we do all day anyway, you may love this book. An unnamed poet wanders around Lyon, France, smoking weed, ruminating on the nature of capitalism, authoritarianism, and the useful(less?)ness of work and art, amid the fallout from the 2015 terror attacks and protests against police violence. Fractured and a bit disorienting, this is a great book for reading under the clouds and thinking about the ways the police-state has shaped our every day lives. — Colleen
The Scent of Buenos Aires by Hebe Uhart, trans. Maureen Shaughnessy
These 25 vignettes give you a sense (you could even say a scent) of everyday life in Buenos Aires. Not much happens. A priest realizes he's unhappy. A lonely young man has a moment of transcendence. A woman goes to a hair salon. A cat can't poop. By the time you finish, you will yearn for more of Uhart's endearing and eccentric characters. — Eddie
Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri
Jumpa Lahiri wrote this book in Italian and then translated it into English. NBD! I found it fascinating to read this and think about her writing and brain work in different modes, and how the fiction itself is affected by the language. Whereabouts feels moodier and more physical than Lahiri’s previous books. See if you agree! — Emma
The Hole by Hiroko Oyamada, trans. David Boyd
An unsettling, surrealist little horror story. In not so much more than 100 pages Oyamada creates an extreme allegory on the expectations of women in (Japanese) society. Pick this slim book up if you desire to venture out of your normal reading preferences. It's a trip. — Jacque
Flowers of Mold & Other Stories by Seong-Nan Ha, trans. Janet Hong
A haunting collection of stories that are strung together in the most unexpected ways. Simple on the surface, each tale will linger on your mind til you can't help but pick the book up again. — Kristina
The Woman in the Purple Skirt by Natsuko Imamura, trans Lucy North
Our narrator knows everything about The Woman in the Purple Skirt's daily schedule: when she goes shopping, what she gets from the local bakery, which bench she sits on in the park. Then, one day The Woman in the Purple Skirt gets a job with the same company as our narrator. Each day, circumstances escalate more and more, culminating in a dramatic ending which leaves you wondering exactly what the motives of these two women are. — Lindsay
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata, trans. Ginny Tapley Takemori
This book is a mindblower and not for the faint of heart. The story revolves around Natsuki & her struggle to fit in & concludes that she is an alien. This book has it all! Cannibalism! Incest! Murder! It’s a wild ride and at times completely batshit crazy. — Michael FS
Variations on the Body by Maria Ospina, trans. Heather Cleary
Hear ye! Hear ye! Fans of Carmen Maria Machado's Her Body and Other Parties, here are some more fantastic tales centered around women's bodies. These six subtly connected stories explore the obsessions and desires of women in Colombian society. Prose doesn't get any better than this folks, and Maria Ospina has written such a tight debut full of humor and heartbreak. It's sweet and short, and you're going to like the way you look! — Natalie
The Bridegroom Was a Dog by Yoko Tawada, trans. Margaret Mitsutani
This brief, bizarre tale is a spectacular novella. You will be mesmerized by this short but complex fabel. A classic and Tawada's most famous work, though hardly known in America. — Nick
Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin, trans. Aneesa Abbas Higgins
If you, like me, relish a slim, atmospheric novel, then you’ll be as enchanted by this one as I was! It follows a young woman working listlessly as a receptionist in the off-season resort of a coastal, tourist town that borders South and North Korea. While there, she meets an unexpected and enigmatic guest, a French comic book illustrator who she becomes fixated on despite her perfunctory engagement to a vapid, mostly-absent model. A stylish, sexy, and cinematic novel that can be read in a day! — Serena
Colorful by Eto Mori, trans. Jocelyne Allen
"Congratulations! You've won the lottery!" The angel smiled. The lottery in question, is another chance for the soul of our dead narrator to enter the rebirth cycle instead of being turned to nothingness for a grievous mistake they made while alive. They must enter the body of fourteen-year-old Makoto, who has just died of suicide. What follows is a life-changing story about loneliness, disconnect, and mental health as the soul begins to live life on their own terms. Colorful is like the warm and encouraging presence of a good friend next to you, and this fantastic translation has brought me comfort I didn't know I was looking for. — Shulokhana
We choose new staff picks every month, so stay tuned for regular updates.
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