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🇨🇦🇺🇦Melanie Kindrachuk

@readermelanie

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Librarian, book talker to the stars.... Well, I think you're all stars.
Also sewing & making @sewmelwyk

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The Stratford Festival put on The Hobbit this year -- in honour of this literary show I thought I would share the most Hobbity memorial bench in Stratford (and also my favourite!)

#hobbit #stratfest #stratfordontario by @readermelanie

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25 days ago

I have finished up my #WITMonth reading with a bundle of Japanese reads. Full reviews of all of these are on the blog now.

I love cozy Japanese fiction & read 2 books from 2 series plus one standalone. All were so enjoyable! Michiko Aoyama's Matcha on Monday was top of the list for its discussion of how we are all connected, so far back & in so many ways that we can't trace them all.

And I read 3 non-cozy books too! All focusing on women, society, friendships, in different ways. Liked them all but found Aoko Matsuda's collection of flash fiction particularly intriguing.

📚 Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon & How to Hold Someone in Your Heart by Mizuki Tsujimura (translated from the Japanese by Yuki Tejima)

📚 Hot Chocolate on Thursday & Matcha on Monday by Michiko Aoyama (translated from the Japanese by E. Madison Shimoda)

📚 The Amberglow Candy Store by Hiyoko Kurisu (translated from the Japanese by Matt Treyvaud)

📚 Idol Burning by Rin Usami (translated from the Japanese by Asa Yoneda)

📚 Hooked by Asako Yuzuki (translated from the Japanese by Polly Barton)

📚 The Woman Dies by Aoko Matsuda (translated from the Japanese by Polly Barton)

#translatedfiction #japaneseliterature #womenintranslation #WIT by @readermelanie

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a month ago

Three short books I read during #WITMonth -- a novella, a short novel & a short story collection!

Killing Stella by Marlen Haushofer (trans. from the German by Shaun Whiteside) is a novella from 1958 about a woman with a philandering husband & a frenemy's daughter living with them temporarily. Sad but definitely situated in its era.

Repetition by Vigdis Hjorth (trans. from the Norwegian by Charlotte Barslund) is a short book looking at a dysfunctional family, centered on a 16 yr old daughter. Similar themes to her book Will & Testament.

Letters From Klara by Tove Jansson (trans from the Swedish by Thomas Teal) is a collection of stories from across Jansson's career. Some, like the title story, are amusing, while others are acerbic or even haunting. Enjoyed this.

More thoughts about all of these books are on the blog now.

#readersofinstagram #womenintranslation #translatedfiction by @readermelanie

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a month ago

This Booker winner is probably familiar to many by now. I listened to the audiobook & found it engaging once I got used to the narrator.

It's the story of Aoyama Chizuko, a Japanese journalist and novelist who has been invited to Taiwan in 1938, by the ruling Japanese government. As part of this, she is assigned an interpreter - Chizuro is a young woman about her age, who even shares some of the characters in her name. They both love eating, so travel around the country eating local foods, among the official visits and readings that Aoyama must do as part of her contract there. She is delighted with her interpreter and wants to become close friends with her, but there is something that Chizuro always holds back. It takes until the end of the story for Aoyama to grasp why.

Did I like it? Mostly. The story makes a strong point about colonialism and autonomy. It also shows clearly that colonialism is not only political or 'big picture' but that it affects intimate relationships just as much. I thought these elements were well done, very delicately included until everything becomes obvious. However, there was SO much description of food and eating that it bored me at times. I can understand how food and regional cooking are also reflections of colonialism, and a visceral, daily way to show its effects. But the lengthy descriptions of food were just not highly interesting to me personally. But it all led to the necessary conclusion so I am glad I persevered. Quite an interesting read. As always, a few more thoughts on the blog now.

#womenintranslation #WITMonth #translatedfiction #mandarinfiction by @readermelanie

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2 months ago

Only a Little While Here by Columbian writer Maria Ospina (translated from the Spanish by Heather Cleary) is a quiet book, which I'd call a collection of linked short stories, more than a novel. But it was also a read that I appreciated and admired.

It looks at the natural world, and how we are all one -- humans, bugs, birds, animals whether domestic or wild -- it's all one. It has a philosophical bent, a quiet narrative that is still honest and full of the natural violence of nature. Another element she investigates through this look at animal life is migration - what are borders, really, and who belongs where.

The four sections of this book follow a migrating tanager, a beetle, a porcupine, and two dogs. And we see some of them as passing characters in the others' stories. The themes are carried through each story, with the characters slowly connecting for the reader, although the characters don't see it. But then that's kind of the point: we don't necessarily see the connections that exist in our daily lives, but we are all intimately connected, linked, a part of nature and everything we do is a part of the world.

There is both melancholy and hope in many of the stories, and it's so beautiful -- you need to take this one slowly and savour it. If you love skilled writing and thoughtful reflection on life and impermanence, this is one for you.

Each section begins with poems/quotes, & here is where the title comes from, a poem by Aztec King Nezahualcóyotl.

“Truly do we live on earth?

Not forever on earth; only a little while here.

Although it be jade, it will be broken,

Although it be gold, it is crushed,

Although it be quetzal feather, it is torn asunder.

Not forever on earth; only a little while here.”

#womenintranslation #WIT #WITMonth #translatedfiction #columbianfiction by @readermelanie

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2 months ago

A startling novella for today's #WITMonth pick. Dead Weight by Hildur Knutsdottir (translated from the Icelandic by Mary Robinette Kowal) was a chance find thanks to my library.

It's an Icelandic story but an author who is new to me. I was shocked and surprised by this one, all in the best ways. For something so short, it really packed a wallop, and the ending was on point.

Unnur is a solitary woman but one day a cat appears in her house -- she tries to find the owner & inadvertently makes a friend -- Asta, a younger woman who wants Unnur to keep her cat since her own home life is problematic. But Unnur is practical & if there is a problem then it should be solved.

I didn't predict this storyline, and was genuinely surprised by the plot as it progressed. I really liked the characters - the story is told from Unnur's perspective alone, we are inside her head for the whole book and so things surprise us as much as they do her. This has been called a "cathartic horror story" in publisher blurbs, and I think they got that spot on. The female rage driving the action, and Unnur's no-nonsense reactions feel believable and satisfying. I read this in one go - you can't stop, the story is plainly told but propulsive. It's definitely a one-sitting read. Recommended!

#readersofinstagram #icelandicfiction #womenintranslation #translatedfiction by @readermelanie

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2 months ago

I must catch up on sharing my #WITMonth reads! This is a novel I found by chance, not having heard anything about it. Sea Now by Eva Meijer (translated from the Dutch by Anne Thompson Melo) could be considered as cli-fi -- it's about the ocean deciding not to return to low tide and instead slowly spreads to cover all of the Netherlands. The government downplays it, a youth protest group called Sea Now starts up -- but neither can halt the inexorable flow. The first part of the book follows the crisis; the second half follows a few characters going back into flooded areas to look for family members.

It's a fascinating read, with an ending that I wasn't expecting. The rhythms of the story follow the relentless flow of the water, and the ending does too. There isn't a clear political message to the story -- to me it feels more like a quiet apocalypse, a change that humans aren't asked about or considered in. I couldn't stop reading it, and noted a few passages to copy out - the writing is reflective and yet slightly acerbic, a mix that caught me right away. This was a great accidental find, I would recommend it for the thoughtful reader who enjoys character and writing style; there is a lot to talk about here.

As usual there are many more thoughts on the blog now.

#womenintranslation #dutchliterature #climatefiction #readersofinstagram by @readermelanie

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2 months ago

Two novels both nominated for the International Booker this year. Read them both recently & really liked both.

Two powerful reads about women & patriarchal society.

She Who Remains by Rene Karabash (translated from the Bulgarian by Izidora Angel) is the story of Bekija, who escapes an unwanted arranged marriage by becoming a sworn virgin. This is a specific status in her Albanian society but comes with some dark results. A beautiful debut novel by an accomplished filmmaker.

The Wax Child by Olga Ravn (translated from the Danish by Martin Aitken) is inspired by a real-life witch trial in the 17th century. Christenze Kruckow, an unmarried noblewoman, is accused of witchcraft along with a circle of other women. This includes the charge of making a wax child -- and this story is narrated by the wax child. This was dark & eerie. But also very good.

Lots more thoughts on both are on the blog now.

#womenintranslation #WITMonth #translatedfiction #danishfiction #bulgarianfiction by @readermelanie

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2 months ago

Two for #WITMonth -- both books that I had heard a lot about but were not home runs for me. They were both solid reads but I didn't quite connect with either. Lots of thoughts on both are on the blog now.

The Book Censor's Library by Bothayna Al-Essa (translated from the Arabic by Ranya Abdelrahman & Sawad Hussain) was an interesting premise. A man in an unnamed dictatorship gets a job as a government censor but discovers that he loves literature & so becomes part of an underground movement. While I found it a little uneven, and a little strange that all the literature discussed in it is by men, it was still an intriguing read. Written by a Kuwaiti bookseller with experiences of her own of governmental censorship, it feels real, and communicates her love of books very strongly.

Women Without Men by Shahrnush Parsipur
(trans. from the Persian by Faridoun Farrokh) is a classic with a new translation. It was quite magical - one character decides to turn into a tree - and full of women's stories. Worth reading even though I felt like I was missing something somewhere.

Do you ever feel like you're not up to a book, like it's just not catching you?

#readersofinstagram #readwomen #womenintranslation #WIT by @readermelanie

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2 months ago

Khrystia Vengryniuk's "The Hamlet Called America " (translated from the Ukrainian by Kate Tsurkan & Dmytro Kyyan) is a forthcoming title, due out in October. It's an intriguing book, something quite different from my recent reading. It's set in the near past, in a small Ukrainian hamlet, focusing on the lives of a small group of eccentric villagers.

It reads like a heightened folktale, with stock characters who are somehow made into complex people in their own right. There are bits of superstition, folklore, unexplained moments, and a bit too much familial togetherness. It has a cast of characters all as important as the next. Their stories intertwine and depend on one another's stories to exist.

It's an unusual, earthy read, with a lot of the story so dependent on the setting and the characters' life stories. The small cast of characters is deeply entwined, even with the arrival & departure of a few outsiders. It was unsettling in some ways & a bit surreal, to me anyhow.

But it was a compelling read that I had to finish. Look for it in October!

More thoughts on the blog now.

#ukrainianliterature #ukrainianwriter #khrystiavengryniuk by @readermelanie

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2 months ago

Some Ukrainian history in graphic novel format for #WITMonth today. A Brief History of a Long War by Mariam Naiem (translated from the Ukrainian by Nata Hrytsenko) with illustrations by Yulia Vus and Ivan Kypibida, aims to give an overview of how long Ukraine has been resisting Russian aggression.

For those new to Ukrainian history, this will be a good introduction to the fact that Russia has been oppressing and attacking the country for a very long time. Moving from the middle ages and the rise of the Cossacks, to 19th C. Imperial decrees banning the Ukrainian language in a linguicide, then to the 30s and the Stalin-led Holodomor (death by famine), and continuing into the present invasion, this book will give a sense of Ukraine and all it has stood against for centuries.

I found that the text and imagery in this book worked well together; it was memorable and covered all the information without sounding like a dry list or textbook. There is a focus on the experiences of people during these events and what current wartime is like. Really solid intro, not too overwhelming. More thoughts are on the blog now.

#graphicnovel #ukrainianhistory by @readermelanie

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2 months ago

I don't see a lot of Ukrainian books shared during #WITMonth so I have decided to share some that I've read -- and a few on my TBR on the last slide.

There's a wide variety of styles here, & they range from contemporary to historical-- and of course we can read them in English thanks to many translators.

You can find reviews of all of these on my blog for more info!

I really recommend all of these but my top faves are probably these:

⭐ The Museum of Abandoned Secrets by Oksana Zabuzhko, translated by Nina Murray
⭐ Cecil the Lion Had to Die by Olena Stiazhkina, translated by Dominique Hoffman
⭐ Daughter by Tamara Duda, translated by Daisy Gibbons

Special note that the series on slide 4 is published by Language Lanterns (a Canadian press) & is a collection of historical stories by a wide variety of women, all translated by Roma Franko. Despite the dull covers these are a fantastic intro to many little known writers (& a few very famous ones).

#translatedfiction #WIT #ukrainianliterature #ukrainianwriter by @readermelanie

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2 months ago