Instagram story viewer> @translatedlit> Tagged

Translated Lit

@translatedlit

309

followers

63

following

Your resource for world lit

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

What if the biggest act of rebellion is simply allowing a woman to DREAM ? A book about the lives women live & the lives they secretly imagine.
📖 BOOK REVIEW: Women Dreaming by Salma
Translated from Tamil by Meena Kandasamy @k.a.n.d.a.s.a.m.y @rajathisalma

📚GENRE: Literary fiction | Feminist fiction | Women’s fiction | Indian regional literature | Translated literature

Women Dreaming is set in a small Muslim village in Tamil Nadu, where women live within the boundaries created by family, religion, tradition, marriage & patriarchy but their inner worlds are much bigger than those boundaries. The heart of Salma’s novel is:
What does it mean to dream when the world around you has already decided what your life should look like?

The women in this book aren’t presented as one dimensional victims. They love, resent, compromise, manipulate, care, make mistakes, endure, hope & sometimes quietly push against the boundaries imposed on them.

Their stories are deeply personal & the novel explores patriarchy, religion, marriage, motherhood, female desire, autonomy, friendship, education, domestic life, restrictions placed on women & the complicated ways women negotiate with the worlds around them.

These women dream. Even when their circumstances don’t allow them to act on every dream. Even when their choices are limited. Even when wanting something for yourself feels almost selfish. Because sometimes the first step towards freedom is being able to imagine it.

🏆 AWARDS:
• 2022 Dublin Literary Award- Longlisted
• English PEN Translates Award- Winner for the translation project

If you enjoy Tamil literature, south asian literature, translated Indian fiction, feminist literature, women’s fiction, literary fiction, books about patriarchy, Indian Muslim women’s stories & quiet stories of female resistance, put this on your TBR.

#indianauthors #bookreviewers #translatedliterature #indianliterature #womensfiction

38

22

37

2

Colonial India. Land grabbing. Caste. Greed & a narrator with ZERO chill.
📖 BOOK REVIEW: Six Acres and a Third by Fakir Mohan Senapati. Originally written in Odia as Chha Mana Atha Guntha, this landmark of Indian literature was first published in book form in 1902. English editions include translations by Rabi Shankar Mishra.

📚 GENRE: Classic Indian Literature • Social Satire • Social Realism • Historical Fiction • Political Fiction • Odia Literature • Colonial Indian Fiction

I wasn’t expecting a novel written more than a century ago to be this sharp, this satirical & surprisingly this entertaining. It’s a devastating satire on land grabbing, caste, class, feudal power, religious hypocrisy, colonial bureaucracy & the exploitation of the poor.

And Senapati doesn’t preach. He mocks.
The narrator frequently speaks directly to the reader, uses irony and humour & exposes the absurdity of a society where the powerful can manipulate institutions while the vulnerable struggle simply to survive.
That’s what made this book so brilliant for me.

This is one of those classics where you keep thinking:
“Wait… he wrote this in the 1800s?” 😮
Because the questions it asks about wealth, land, power & exploitation still feel remarkably contemporary.
And that’s the mark of great literature.

If you enjoy Indian classics, translated literature, social satire, political fiction, books about caste & class, colonial India, rural India, or novels that use humour to expose social injustice, PLEASE put this on your TBR.

#indianliterature #translatedliterature #historicalfictionbooks #indianbookstagram #translatedbooks

109

27

A little behind-the-scenes from the @inpressbooks office…

Women in Translation Month continues with some very exciting early copies of Pig Data from @prototypepubs, and I’ve been dipping in and out of it all weekend.

Winner of the Ida Gerhardt Poetry Prize, Pig Data is a ground-breaking work of contemporary Dutch poetry by @anne_vegter that explores male gaze, desire and rage.

The collection brings together three formidable figures: South African poet Ingrid Jonker, the mythical Medea, and a provocative poetic ‘I’, in voices that flit between the funny and the disturbing, the vulnerable and the vulgar.

Following Prototype’s publication of Island Mountain Glacier in 2022, this reunites Vegter and translator @albenastrid in another electric collaboration. As Deryn Rees-Jones puts it, Pig Data is “a visceral and fury-driven tableau of violence” with “sudden stabs of absolute tenderness.”

Pig Data lands in all good bookshops 10th September. Don’t walk, run!

50

1

Happy Publication Day to Bury Your Dead!

I’m such a big fan of @maiatravis’ work, so this has been firmly on my wish list, and I’m so glad to finally grab a copy today.

Translated from Portuguese by @padmaviswanathan7792, bringing back the duo who gave us Of Cattle and Men, Bury Your Dead builds another strange and unsettling world where the boundaries between human and animal, life and death, good and evil begin to blur.

Edgar Wilson spends his days collecting roadkill from the rural roads of Brazil, taking the bodies to a facility where they are ground down and turned into fertiliser. Until, one day, he discovers the body of a woman hanging from a tree.

From slaughterhouses to prison life, Maia’s fascination with death continues, finding beauty and meaning in some decidedly unlikely places. I genuinely can’t wait to get stuck into this one.

And with On Earth As It Is Beneath shortlisted for the International @thebookerprizes this year, there’s no better time to discover Ana Paula Maia.

More #WomeninTranslationMonth reading coming soon!

207

7

I’ve just closed the cover of my second translated book of the month, and I thought I’d share some thoughts.   Published in June with @dauntbookspub, Bait by @eugeladra, translated from the Spanish by @miriam_tobin, is one of those novels where place feels just as alive as the people. Paso Chico, a small fishing town in Uruguay, is all oppressive heat, muddy riverbanks, dusty roads and endless summer afternoons.

Told through the eyes of thirteen-year-old Marga, Ladra explores the uneasy space between childhood and adulthood with remarkable restraint. Bait builds its power through atmosphere, lingering on the silences and unspoken rules of a community where certain kinds of violence have become so commonplace they’re barely acknowledged. It’s unsettling precisely because so much is left unsaid.

With echoes of Lolita, but also comparisons to Samanta Schweblin and Pilar Quintana, it reminded me mostly of recent book club pick Girlbeast by @sececilie, trans. @thehazertazer (@prototypepubs). From beast to bait… perhaps a little more boredom, but just as much bite.

Quietly haunting and spare, this is perfect small town summer reading. And another excellent reminder of why reading in translation opens doors to new voices and fascinating places.

Have you picked this one up yet?

Stay tuned for more Women in Translation this August!

74

3

BIG thanks to everyone who joined us for tonight’s book club to discuss She Walks at Night by Seishi Yokomizo.

Translated by @kirkywoody and published by @pushkin_press, the conversation ranged from mystery tropes and that big final twist, to its Gothic atmosphere, post-war setting and Golden Age inspirations. We chatted about Kindaichi’s unconventional detective style, unreliable narrators, and how the novel balances themes of family, tradition and class.

We also reflected on the role of translation in detective fiction, and the legacy of Yokomizo’s work finally reaching more English-language readers.

Thanks again for making it such a canny chat and to @fqnewcastle for hosting us.

Can’t wait to see you all at the next one!

50

0

NEW EVENT KLAXON! 📣

We’re delighted to announce the next event in our Crossing Borders series.

On Monday 14th September we’ll be joined @fqnewcastle by @ryanfalzonreads to celebrate the UK publication of You Know The Sun Bothers Me, translated by Joe Gatt and published by @foundryeditions.

A literary sensation in Malta, the novel is a funny, poignant and beautifully observed portrait of love and longing, set over one long, sweltering Mediterranean summer. It’s a book about situationships, missed connections, late-night drives, ageing Fiats, and trying to work out who you are before life moves on without you.

We’re also thrilled that You Know The Sun Bothers Me is our September Opt Indie Book Club pick. Come and hear Ryan discuss the novel before joining us to talk about it together for a special Foundry Editions double-bill.

Tickets are on sale now, with book and ticket bundles available for both events.

We can’t wait to welcome Ryan to Newcastle for what promises to be a fantastic evening.

Link in bio for more details and to claim your place!

34

0

ONE WEEK TO GO!

Next Monday we’ll be back @fqnewcastle to discuss She Walks at Night by Seishi Yokomizo (translated by @kirkywoody), the acclaimed Japanese mystery writer behind the legendary detective Kosuke Kindaichi. Set within the shadowy world of the Furugami family estate, this atmospheric mystery begins with a series of unsettling letters and a shocking murder, leading to a carefully crafted investigation full of secrets, suspicion, and surprises.

If you’ve already signed up, we hope you’re enjoying the book and piecing together the clues. We can’t wait to hear your thoughts, theories, and favourite moments.

There’s still time to join us if you haven’t booked yet, and plenty of time to finish the book before we meet.

Book via the link in our bio… if you dare!

23

0

PERSEPOLIS (2003–2004)
by Marjane Satrapi

Is a truly unique graphic memoir. Walking in the footsteps of Art Spiegelman (Maus), Satrapi has crafted a deeply moving story that absolutely deserves a spotlight here.

It is a powerful tale of trauma during the Iranian Revolution, brilliantly balanced with a sharp, unexpected sense of humor. Highly recommended!

For full sip , visit me on Substack ^ Link in Bio.

#marjanesatrapi #nonfictioncomics #GraphicNovel #iran #bannedbooksweek Photo by TEA ’N TEA in Tehran, Iran with @goodreads, @books_of_shelf, and @translatedlit. May be a doodle of poster, book and text that says "PERSEPOLIS ΤHE STORY OF A CHILDHOOD MARJANE SATRAPI".

3

0

Self care moments 🌱

Finished Hollow Inside by Asako Otani. A a witty, poignant mirror to the pressures placed on women such as marriage, motherhood, conformity, and what happens when you choose your own path🐚

16

3

pbfyFast global shipping (5-7 days) from a trusted HK luxury supplier. Unbelievable prices await you at @luxury.kandy27 @luxury.handy8

#LV#Gucci#Chanel#Hermes#Rolex#Cartier#Prada#Dior#Burberry#Tiffany#Versace#Ferrai#Balenciaga#Valentino#Givenchy#YSL#BottegaVeneta#Fashion#Trend#Design#Outfit#Style#Chic#Popular#

0

0