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Five New & Noteworthy Books in Translation
The upcoming International Translation Day (Sept 30) got us thinking about the talented literary translators on the scene. As a way to shine a light on the important and challenging task of translating a work into English, we rounded up five recently released and forthcoming translated books on our radar.
What I Know About You by Éric Chacour
translated by Pablo Strauss (Coach House Books)
A multiple award winner and bestseller in its original Quebec edition, What I Know About You is a poignant tale of family, love, and secrets set against the backdrop of late-twentieth-century Cairo. Translated by literary translator and three-time GG-nominated author Pablo Strauss, Éric Chacour’s novel tells the story of Tarek, a young man from a traditional Levantine Christian family, who is destined to follow a predetermined path. All that changes when he meets Ali whose presence disrupts his carefully planned life. As their forbidden relationship unfolds, it mirrors the political turmoil of the time, from the Six-Day War to the assassination of President Sadat. This is a gripping novel that explores love, identity, and the struggle to break free from tradition—acclaimed for good reason.
Find it here on All Lit Up.
Caesaria by Hanna Nordenhök, translated by
Saskia Vogel (Book*hug Press)
Translated by Berlin-based Saskia Vogel, an award-winning literary translator of more than 20 Swedish-language books, Hanna Nordenhök’s Caesaria is a gothic tale set in 19th-century Sweden that explores gender warfare, class struggles, and the female body. The novel’s protagonist is Caesaria, a young girl kept as a living trophy by a famous obstetrician who delivered her via caesarean section. Confined in his remote mansion, Caesaria endures punishment and isolation, living under strict supervision. The central question of the novel is this: What is reality to those who have grown up trapped in their own bodies, without connection to the outside world? We’re looking forward to picking this one up for its social commentary and dream-like narrative that reviewers have called beautiful and unsettling.
Find it here.
Espejos: Clean by Christine Quintana, translated by
Paula Zelaya-Cervantes (Playwrights Canada Press)
In the case of Christine Quintas’s play, Espejos: Clean, Mexican playwright, director, and translator Paula Zelaya-Cervantes adapts and translates parts of the story into Spanish. In this bilingual play, the lives of two women—Sarah, a Canadian wedding guest, and Adriana, a vibrant Mexican hotel manager—intersect at a luxury resort in Mexico. Sarah’s cynical outlook and Adriana’s obsession with order hide deeper anxieties that begin to surface when their worlds collide. Both women speak in their own language, offering their unique realities that come together to reveal a mutual pain. We’re looking forward to digging into what promises to be a story of female strength and solidarity punctuated by witty, nuanced monologues.
Find it here on All Lit Up.
The War You Don’t Hate by Blaise Ndala, translated by
Dimitri Nasrallah (Véhicule Press)
Blaise Ndala’s multiple award-winning novel Sans Capote Ni Kalachnikov, translated by Dimitri Nasrallah—author of the notable novel Hotline—was released earlier this year, but is on our list for good reason. In Ndala’s powerful novel, the lives of a Canadian filmmaker and two former Congolese rebel soldiers collide in a gripping story of revenge and exploitation. After winning an Oscar for her documentary on sexual violence in the Congo, Véronique Quesnel is thrust into the dangerous spotlight of her own film. Meanwhile, ex-soldiers Red Ant and Baby Che, hardened by the Second Congo War, seek vengeance, finding a new target in Véronique. This is a thoughtful and searing tale with richly developed characters—a highly worthy read for those who enjoy political novels.
Find it here on All Lit Up.
A Dangerous Life: Sewermen, Bank Robbers & Voodoo Killers
translated by David J. MacKinnon (Guernica Editions)
Coming out in November is David J. MacKinnon’s English translation of essays by French-Swiss essayist, novelist, and one of the world’s greatest vagabonds Blaise Cendrars. The book features seven of Cendrars’s works, including his chilling interview with Brazil’s most infamous serial voodoo killer; his narrative of the secret passage leading to the Bank of England, gleaned from a fellow legionnaire while he was trapped in the trenches of the Great War; and the tale of the discovery of a diamond with a curse. Intrigued? We are.
Find it here.
