Books in translation – Equal Opportunity Reader

[REVIEW] The Book of Disappearance, by Ibtisam Azem, translated by Sinan Antoon

The weathered looking Kindle cover of The Book of Disappearance stands propped up against metal balcony bars, overlooking a hill full of houses.

(Buy this book.) One day Alaa’s beloved grandmother gets up, takes a bath, puts on a lovely dress and headscarf, spritzes on her favorite perfume, sits on a public bench overlooking her native Jaffa (also called Tel Aviv), and dies. Heartbroken, Alaa begins to journal his memories of her, and the memories she shared ofContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Book of Disappearance, by Ibtisam Azem, translated by Sinan Antoon”

[REVIEW] Walking Practice by Dolki Min, translated by Victoria Caudle

The cover of Walking Practice by Dolki Min, displaying a weird, grotesque alien,is held in the lap of the writer's sundress. In the background you can see a very gross beach.

(Buy this book here.) Spoilers abound, because there was no other way. Sometimes, it takes a people eating alien to show us just how much dating, gender expectations and hook-up culture can suck. This debut novel by enigmatic queer Korean literary figure Dolki Min follows an alien stranded in Seoul, light years away from home,Continue reading “[REVIEW] Walking Practice by Dolki Min, translated by Victoria Caudle”

[Review] Snowglobe, by Soyoung Park, translated by Joungmin Lee Comfort

A Black woman's hand holds up the icy Kindle cover of Snowglobe in front of a laptop background displaying a frozen mountain range.

(Buy this book here.) This was…cute. That’s not really what I was expecting when I cracked open this Korean YA novel that’s been billed, somewhat stereotypically, as The Hunger Games meet Squid Game. Really, it’s more like Snowpiercer meets Mean Girls meets The Parent Trap. Korean teen Chobahm lives in one of many tiny villagesContinue reading “[Review] Snowglobe, by Soyoung Park, translated by Joungmin Lee Comfort”

Last Year In Books: Words I Adored In 2023

A collage of the 5 books I adored this year

(Purchase these and other books I read this year here.) 2024 is only fourteen days away. In a total departure from the near-panic of previous years, I think I’m totally ready for it. I do hear that there’s this thing called Christmas sometime in between now and the new year that I’m not at allContinue reading “Last Year In Books: Words I Adored In 2023”

[REVIEW] La Bastarda, By Trifonia Melibea Obono, translated by Lawrence Schimel

The simple, solid blue cover of La Bastarda is displayed on a tablet, held up against the twilight sky with the moon high and tiny above it.

(Buy this book here.) This is the first book by a woman from Equatorial Guinea ever translated into English. It follows Okomo, a orphaned teen living in her grandparents house in a traditional village. With her mother dead and her father absent, she only has her favorite uncle to turn to when she begins toContinue reading “[REVIEW] La Bastarda, By Trifonia Melibea Obono, translated by Lawrence Schimel”

[REVIEW] Shubeik Lubeik, by Deena Mohamed

The beautifully designed colorful cover of the graphic novel Shubeik Lubeik is held up by a Black woman's(my) hand on a white shelf in front of a white wall . A matching circular mirror frame and a delicate painted ceramic cup are in the background. The cover illustration depicts an Egyptian woman's hands reaching out in the darkness to grab an illuminated bottle containing a wish.

(Buy this brilliant book here.) “In Arabic folktales, Shubeik Lubeik is the first part of the rhyme a genie speaks once released from a lamp. It means “Your wish is my command.“ It’s been a very long time since I read something so captivating. This graphic novel, recently translated from Arabic into English, drew meContinue reading “[REVIEW] Shubeik Lubeik, by Deena Mohamed”

[REVIEW] Anne-Marie The Beauty, by Yasmina Reza, translated by Alison L Strayer

A very plain photo of a book laying on a piece of cardboard. The book has the words Anne-Marie The Beauty printed on it in green and purple brushstrokes.

(Buy this at Bookshop.) (I am aware that something awful happened this week, as it does every day of every week in America, and that everyone is talking about it. I do not have the emotional bandwidth to discuss it outside of a few safe small places offline, and so I am choosing to loseContinue reading “[REVIEW] Anne-Marie The Beauty, by Yasmina Reza, translated by Alison L Strayer”

[REVIEW] The Passion According To Carmela, by Marco Aguinis (translated by Carolina De Robertis)

(Buy it HERE.) 🌟🌟🌟🌟 This book sat on my Kindle at 35% for months, because frankly, the first 3rd of this book is pretty obnoxious. It starts as a whimsical love story between two privileged elites playing at revolution in Bautista-era Cuba in order to relieve themselves of their pampered boredom and exercise their intellectualContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Passion According To Carmela, by Marco Aguinis (translated by Carolina De Robertis)”

[REVIEW] The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly, Sun-Mi Hwang

(Buy it HERE.) ⭐⭐⭐⭐(4/5) “The important thing is to understand each other. That’s love!” This book follows Sprout, a pathetic old laying hen with a big heart and a dream. She survives a terrifying coop cull and embarks on a new life in the fields as a free hen. Her lowly circumstances don’t keep herContinue reading “[REVIEW] The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly, Sun-Mi Hwang”