Fiction in translation
Major Books The Tale of Kieu
Book Synopsis
£12.34
Charco Press Chilco
Book SynopsisIndigenous Mapudungun and Quechua words, history, colonialism and cosmology form the chorus to this tropical fever dream of life, love, death, and friendship.
£10.79
Text Publishing One Day I'll Tell You Everything
Book SynopsisA startling and powerful French novel translated into English for the first time.
£10.99
University of Massachusetts Press Freedom Sun in the Tropics
Book SynopsisBased upon the author's own experiences of life, exile, and return under the dictatorship that gripped Brazil in the 1960s and 1970s, Freedom Sun in the Tropics follows Lena, a journalist, as she resists violence and political repression, and decides to flee to Paris. Upon her eventual return, Lena soon discovers that the dictatorship's prison walls have enclosed private lives and hold strong even after the collapse of authoritarianism. With friendship, truth, and family broken, she struggles to make the difficult return to freedom and regain a sense of life -- and simple decency -- on the other side of trauma. Originally published in 1988, Ana Maria Machado's novel vividly captures one of the darkest periods in recent Brazilian history.
£15.26
Norilana Books Siddhartha
£16.15
Open Letter La Grande
Book Synopsis
£14.39
Open Letter The Last Days Of My Mother
Book Synopsis
£12.59
Open Letter The Elusive Moth
Book Synopsis
£13.49
Open Letter The One Before
Book Synopsis
£11.69
Open Letter Navidad And Matanza
Book Synopsis
£11.69
Archipelago Books Ready To Burst
Book Synopsis
£13.49
Feminist Press at The City University of New York Pretty Things
Book Synopsis
£12.34
Archipelago Books An Untouched House
Book SynopsisA brooding meditation on violence by a classic post-war Dutch writer who has drawn comparisons to Joseph Heller and Kurt Vonnegut. An Untouched House is a mesmerising, dark meditation on the legacy of war. An interloper and opportunist makes a grand house his own in the chaos of a war-torn countryside, only to find himself involved with occupying forces and enraged locals.Trade ReviewOne of Ian McEwan’s “most underrated books” "Two contrasting energies galvanize Hermans’s fictions. The wry invitation to find symbols and deeper meanings is balanced by a wealth of detail and meticulously described action, all rapidly delivered, convincingly concrete, and psychologically persuasive . . . Hermans knows life intimately and that his knowledge is devastating." —Tim Parks, New York Review of Books "What’s most interesting, and what connects this novel with [Hermans's] others set in wartime—A Guardian Angel Recalls and The Darkroom of Damocles—are questions of identity, authenticity, and duplicity. As these novels chart the ways in which warfare can deform and degrade us, they measure the gap between their characters’ true inner selves and the false identities they assume: the roles they play and the lies they tell. And all three books monitor the terrifying ease with which that gap can narrow." —Francine Prose, Harper's "Profoundly unsettling . . . haunt[s] the mind for long afterwards." —The Sunday Times, A Book of the Year "Those who do simply open and read will find themselves immersed in a nightmare miniature where philosophical musing gives seamless way to beautiful but unyielding cruelty . . . this newer translation by David Colmer seems to better capture the unsettling horror." —Ben Murphy, Full Stop "Although An Untouched House is brief, it is worth pacing oneself and absorbing its remarkable density. Hermans’ is the architect of a masterful story—concise but expansive in vision...a lucid, exhilarating account." —Peyton Harvey, Zyzzyva "Hermans’s novella is a bleak depiction of the absurdity of war, which knows no winners." —Felix Haas, World Literature Today "A shocking Dutch classic . . . remarkable . . . It takes an hour or two to read, but An Untouched House is the kind of book that stays with you forever." —The Guardian "From the opening pages, the translator David Colmer brilliantly evokes the laconic tone of a narrator who proves intelligent, resourceful and increasingly deranged . . . By any light, this eloquent marvel teases, bewilders and unnerves." —Times Literary Supplement "This novella is a fascinating portrait of a solipsistic mind, a scrupulous rendering of the erosion of human empathy that resonates in these uncivil times." —Christopher Byrd, Vulture ‘I was struck by the compressed farce and horror in the 1951 Dutch novella An Untouched House.’ —Sam Leith, choosing An Untouched House as a Spectator Book of the Year "Taut . . . dark, thrillerish." —New Statesman "As disturbing and powerful as anything by Joseph Heller or Kurt Vonnegut." —Michel Faber "Hermans is as alarming as a snake in the bread bin . . . hugely entertaining." —The Scotsman
£11.69
Archipelago Books Message From The Shadows: Selected Stories
Book SynopsisMessage From the Shadows is a new collection featuring Antonio Tabucchi's finest short stories, spanning the breadth of his career. These playful tales explore Tabucchi's signature themes, from his inventive, lyrical meditations on language, art, and philosophy, to his fascination with the passage of time, and the mystery of storytelling.Trade Review"The 22 elegant short stories in this posthumous collection highlight the international perspective, melancholy tone, humor, and compassion of Italian author Tabucchi ... Tabucchi’s intelligence and humane perspective shine throughout this thoughtful, noteworthy volume." —Publishers Weekly, starred review"A career-spanning story collection from Tabucchi ... exploring the liminal spaces between dream and waking, fact and fiction. ... A fine tribute to a writer defined by his singular command of mood and mystery." — Kirkus Reviews"Tabucchi's prose creates a deep, heart-wrenching nostalgia and constantly evokes the pain of recognizing the speed of life's passing which everyone knows but few have the strength to accept... wonderfully thought-provoking and beautiful."-- Alan Cheuse, NPR's All Things Considered (for The Flying Creatures of Fra Angelico)"Tabucchi's work has an almost palpable sympathy for the oppressed."--The New York Times "Tabucchi is a master of the form in imagination, beauty, scope, and scale even at the tiniest calibration." –Kerri Arsenault, Lit Hub"One could call him a great literary defender of the oppressed and marginalized (political prisoners or revolutionaries are among his stock figures), but he does not so much defend them, in the moralistic, paternalistic sense, as allow them a voice... Tabucchi delights in the metatheatricality of writing: more often than not the narrators in this collection are conscious of their role as storytellers, and are writing or speaking as if to a silent companion – a position that is filled by the reader. As a result, even the tamer stories feel on the verges of reality." — Samuel Graydon, Times Literary Supplement"A surprising tranquility pervades the stories, and it's to Tabucchi's great credit that they never feel muted...The melancholy tunes that fill the pages of Message from the Shadows are enigmas of longing, signals woven in the air that fade and disappear and leave only hunger in their wake...Tabucchi's generally incantatory prose here assumes a heightened air of ritual; the power of inexpressible sorrow becomes a dark vortex, vaguely barbaric in its strength." — The Threepenny Review"Tabucchi's stories — translated from Italian by Martha Cooley, Frances Frenaye, Elizabeth Harris, Tim Parks, Antonio Romani, and Janice M. Thresher, and published posthumously — drip with longing and, too, with a dreamlike quality that is tempting to characterize as magical realism. In these stories, the world as we know it and its author's "shadow world" are often indistinguishable — to the reader's great benefit. " — ThrillistPraise for Antonio Tabucchi:"The book has a mercurial, dream-like quality that is stunning in its subtlety. Never heavy-handed, this quiet novel is as beautiful and profound as a landscape painting."--Mark Haber, Brazos Bookstore for For IsabelTo find one's way through For Isabel is certainly not easy, but it is rewarding, and its joyful confusion always rests firmly on the edge of genius, ready to be found.-- Samuel Graydon, The Times Literary Supplement"[For Isabel is] more than the story of a missing girl; it is history recalled as though in a dream, hovering briefly, through the combination of Tabucchi's elegiac prose and Harris's lucid translation, over life and death."-- Publishers Weekly, Starred Review "An essential testament to Tabucchi's talent, a masterwork written with diligence and care... The novel is an epitome of Tabucchi's work, an account of exotic travels and blossoming, abstruse identities, a dreamlike and ironic limbo... Literary alchemy."-- Javier Aparicio Maydeu, El Pais for For Isabel"What a strange and wonderful book this is! If, like me, you are interested in shipwrecks, whales, the Azores and the unique way in which only literature can bring a location to life, and if you like the unclassifiable, small works by authors such as Michael Ondaatje and Italo Calvino -- then have I got the book for you ... Wildly inventive."-- Minneapolis Star-Tribune for The Women of Porto Pim
£14.24
Archipelago Books Kin
Book SynopsisKin is a dazzling family epic from one of Croatia's most prized writers. In this sprawling narrative which spans the entire twentieth century, Miljenko Jergovic peers into the dusty corners of his family's past, illuminating them with a tender, poetic precision. Ordinary, forgotten objects - a grandfather's beekeeping journals, a rusty benzene lighter, an army issued raincoat - become the lenses through which Jergovic investigates the joys and sorrows of a family living through a century of war.Trade Review* [Jergovic is] a poet, novelist, and journalist of the highest caliber...His concern is for the living and in this collection of stories about Sarajevo and its inhabitants he writes about them with the seriousness, sensitivity, quirky intelligence, and gentle humor of a master of the short story. - The New Republic * Jergovic has the mien of the rare author whose gift is so innate he need only conquer a few demons and steady his hands enough to write it all down. - San Diego Union Tribune * ...a multilayered and complex text, which demonstrates why Jergovic is one of the most prominent Croatian authors and one of the most translated European writers. - World Literature Today on Mama Leone, a winner of Italy's 2003 Premio Grinzane Cavour for Best Book in Translation.
£26.03
New Vessel Press Some Day
Book SynopsisGripping family saga, filled with sex and cooking, some readers have called it the Israeli One Hundred Years of Solitude.
£14.39
New Vessel Press The Missing Year Of Juan Salvatierra
Book SynopsisThis story about family secrets and art is a feast of images lingering long after the final page is turned.
£10.79
New Vessel Press All Backs Were Turned
Book SynopsisAll Backs Were Turned, set in Israel, is a story of sexual passion, violence, and betrayal, in classic hardboiled prose.
£10.79
New Vessel Press Who Is Martha?
Book SynopsisA rollicking tale about facing death with verve and style, richly told with great feeling and historical depth.
£12.59
New Vessel Press Guys Like Me
Book SynopsisAn ode to Paris as rarely seen - a minutely observed tale about searching for love and a new lease on life.
£12.59
New Vessel Press The 6:41 To Paris
Book SynopsisBrilliant psychological thriller constructed like an intensely intimate theater performance, a high-wire act of emotions on rails.
£12.59
New Vessel Press The Madonna Of Notre Dame
Book SynopsisThis police novel illuminates the shadowy corners of Notre Dame Cathedral, shedding light on good and evil with wry humour.
£12.59
New Vessel Press The Year Of The Comet
Book SynopsisA stunning novel about growing up in Russia on the brink of collapse, from the preeminent storyteller of his generation.
£12.34
New Vessel Press Exposed
Book SynopsisA dangerous intimacy emerges between a French teacher and a former student who has achieved art world celebrity: the painting of a portrait upturns both their lives.
£12.59
New Vessel Press Villa of Delirium
Book Synopsis
£21.56
New Vessel Press The Drive
Book SynopsisA compelling novel about the urgent personal quest of an Israeli soldier to reconcile duty, expectations and individual instinct.
£13.49
New Vessel Press The Piano Student
Book SynopsisA riveting and sensitive tale of musical perfection, love, and longing denied, with multiple historical layers and insights into artistic creativity
£12.59
Open Letter Lies, First Person
Book Synopsis
£14.39
Open Letter Rock, Paper, Scissors
Book Synopsis
£14.39
Open Letter Rochester Knockings
Book Synopsis
£14.39
Open Letter Loquela
Book Synopsis
£12.59
Open Letter Party Headquarters
Book Synopsis
£11.69
Open Letter The Pets
Book Synopsis
£10.79
Open Letter Bardo Or Not Bardo
Book Synopsis
£12.59
Open Letter Abahn Sabana David
Book Synopsis
£11.69
Open Letter One Of Us Is Sleeping
Book Synopsis
£14.39
Open Letter Gesell Dome
Book Synopsis
£16.19
Open Letter A Greater Music
Book Synopsis
£12.59
Open Letter Chronicle Of The Murdered House
Book SynopsisThis never-before-translated classic of Brazilian literature is a Faulknerian saga depicting the unraveling of a traditional patriarchal family.
£15.29
Open Letter The Invented Part
Book SynopsisA whirlwind tour of writers and muses, madness and genius, friendships, broken families, and alternate realities.
£16.19
Open Letter Salki
Book SynopsisA work of contemporary reportage in which the author traverses Europe while recounting stories from his family's past.
£13.49
Open Letter Tomas Jonsson, Bestseller
Book SynopsisIceland's first modernist novel is a wild excursion through the mind of a senile man trying to write his memoirs.
£15.29
Open Letter Island Of Point Nemo
Book SynopsisTwo stories - one a grandiose adventure-mystery, the other a tale of erotic exploits - humorously intertwine in a French e-reader factory.
£12.59
Open Letter The Same Night Awaits Us All
Book SynopsisAnarchism, dissent, poetry, and the avant-garde mix in this playful retelling of the assassination of Bulgaria's greatest poet.
£14.39
Open Letter The Bottom Of The Sky
Book SynopsisInspired by Slaughterhouse-Five, this is a love letter to the science fiction genre as a whole.
£14.39
Open Letter Narrator
Book SynopsisThe World Cup, La Grande Bouffe, and the post office drive this journey through Reykjavik and the narrator's mind.
£13.49
Open Letter Night School: A Reader for Grownups
Book SynopsisA tongue-in-cheek textbook for how to live in our modern age.
£14.39
Open Letter 77
Book SynopsisHaunting, paranoid story of a gay insomniac forced to make very uncomfortable choices to stay alive during the Argentine dictatorship.
£12.59
