Women in translation and ten books of summer

I aimed to read women in translation this summer (August is earmarked as #WITMonth), and I did read quite a few. I’m happy I got to meet so many new-to-me authors, and revisit a couple of favorites, but regret the lack of diversity in my list. I need to branch out beyond Europe and Japan! Next year I’ll make that a priority.

Here are ten books I read this summer – some of which were on my original Ten Books of Summer list, others picked up along the way. Have you read any of these, or others by the same authors? What books by women in translation can you recommend?

My favorites

Bird Cottage by Eva Meijer, translated from Dutch by Antoinette Fawcette

Piglettes by Clementine Beauvais, translated from French by the author

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa, translated from Japanese by Stephen Snyder

A Single Rose by Muriel Barbery, translated from French by Alison Anderson

The Woman Who Borrowed Memories by Tove Jansson – I’m still in the middle of this book of short stories, but I already know it will be a favorite. Translated from Swedish by Thomas Teal and Silvester Mazzarella.

Also worth reading

The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Afar, anonymous translation from Farsi

Mina’s Matchbox by Yoko Ogawa, translated from Japanese by Stephen Snyder

Barbara Isn’t Dying by Alina Bronsky, translated from German by Tim Mohr

Disappointments

Temple Alley Summer by Sachiko Kashiwaba translated from Japanese by Avery Fischer Udagawa

The Ingenious Language by Andrea Marcolongo, translated from Italian by Will Schutt

10 Books of Summer Survey

Emma shared some questions to wrap up this challenge:

1. Did you manage to finish all 10/15/20 books? If not, what kept you from completing the challenge? – My list varied from my original plan, but I did manage to read at least 10 books. Not listed above are the two books I read for the Jane Austen 2025 – Mansfield Park and Emma. I’m counting those as well.
2. Of all the books you read this summer, which one(s) was/were your favorite and why? – See above – click through the links to my StoryGraph reviews
   Did you DNF any? Why? – There were several books I started but didn’t finish – One was A Good Life by Virginie Grimaldi, a tale of grown up sisters dealing with a traumatic childhood. Though there were some funny and poignant moments, I got bored with the time-switching structure halfway through.
3. Which book surprised you the most, either by being better or worse than you expected? I was surprised and disappointed that The Ingenious Language: Nine Epic Reasons To Love Greek did not give me nine epic reasons to love Greek.
4. Did you notice any patterns in the genres you chose or enjoyed this summer? – Of this list, nearly all were realistic fiction, but with a wide variety of styles and moods: lyrical, ironic, comic, reflective, fantastical…Other than these books by women in translation, and Jane Austen, I tended to gravitate to mysteries this summer.
5. Which one had the best cover? – I like all the cover designs above. I notice a theme of “three elements” – three bicycles, three birds, three branches – that tends to make for a harmonious design.
6. Which one was the longest? And the shortest? – The longest book I read this summer was Emma (431 pages). Shortest was The Ingenious Language (178 pages).
7. Did you read them mostly in print? ebook? audio? All digital – except Jane Austen, which I’m reading from my owned hardcovers.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING MORE CREATIVE:

8. Imagine you’re hosting a “20 Books of Summer” book club wrap party.
Which book would you nominate as the guest of honor, and what kind of toast or speech would you give celebrating it? – I’d nominate The Housekeeper and the Professor for the most touching portrayal of an unusual friendship. In my toast, I’d try to manage to work in some mathematical metaphors, though I might need help with those from somebody whose math is better than mine.

9. Looking back at all the characters you met over the summer, which one would you want as a summer buddy for a weekend getaway, and what activity would you do together? – I’d love to go on a bike trip through France with Mireille from Piglettes!