August is one of the best months of the year for celebrating and discovering great books. Why? Because it's Women in Translation Month. If translated literary fiction is already underrepresented in Anglophone book markets, then such work by women is even more so.
This means the wonderful #WITMonth campaign is a great chance to share and find recommendations. If you missed them, check out my lists from 2019 and 2020. After all, books don't have an expiry date, these are recommended reads for any month and any year.
Read on for my Women in Translation Month recommendations for 2021.
Theatre of War - Andrea Jeftanovic (translated from the Spanish by Frances Riddle)
I think a lot of people have been sleeping on this one. An excellent, wonderfully crafted novel that gives so much to think about and only improves with re-readings. As the title suggests, the book takes many influences from the stage, such as in its structure and formal innovations. It is a work which deals with the weight of memory, both lived and inherited, as well as themes of landlessness, borders, maps and more. Read my full review of it here.
The Story of my Teeth - Valeria Luiselli (translated from the Spanish by Christina MacSweeney
A short and exquisitely written novel about an auctioneer who collects teeth, but really he collects stories - aren't we all collectors of stories, after all? It explores the value of stories, people, places and our roles in the world. Some are keepers, others sellers, buyers, guardians. We sometimes inhabit the same spaces, but not the same reality, but perhaps reality is just one way of seeing things, anyway.
Havana Year Zero - Karla Suárez (translated from the Spanish by Christina MacSweeney)
A brilliant, intense mystery where the past resurfaces in the present to suggest new possibilities for the future, amidst growing tension and constantly subverted expectations. One of the best books I've read in the last couple of years, this novel is a sort of detective story revolving around the hunt for a missing document which would prove that the telephone was invented by an Italian man in Cuba. Full of intrigue, psychological twists and ruminations on order, chaos and control, this is a book to be devoured but savoured at the same time. Read my full review here.
Forty Lost Years - Rosa Maria Arquimbau (translated from the Catalan by Peter Bush)
A forgotten gem that deserves to be forgotten no more. Published in the original Catalan in 1971, this novel reflects on the effects of the Spanish Civil War and the ensuing fascist dictatorship, offering fresh perspectives on that period while remaining startlingly relevant today. Issues such as gender roles, class and equality are explored as Laura, a seamstress, tries to make sense of the changes around her over forty years of her life. Read my full review here.
Little Eyes - Samanta Schweblin (translated from the Spanish by Megan McDowell)
You can't go wrong with Schweblin, a writer who is always worth reading. This disturbing, thought-provoking, futuristic yet very present novel does some of the things that Schweblin does best, exploring the dark corners of the human mind, our weaknesses, desires and insecurities. The narrative alternates between various characters who either keep or inhabit 'kentukis', which are somewhere between a soft-toy and a pet, but controlled by a random user. The book explores the human character and our relationship with technology, both positive and negative, and how we regulate it.
Have you read any of these books? Do you have any #WITMonth recommendations to share? Let me know in the comments or on social media.
Click on the book covers below to find them on Bookshop.org.
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