!!!!! as if you have just ruined my day by reminding me you haven't cracked open the Ditlevsen yet :( at LEAST you're reading The Twilight Zone this month 😉
LOVED this! The Time of Cherries sounds incredible - I studied Spanish at A Level so would love to read this. The cover is gorgeous too. The Winterlings sounds amazing as well.
Can I recommend Green Frog by Gina Chung? I picked it up at my book club swap on a whim and totally adored it. It's a series of short stories, mostly about womanhood, that occasionally veer towards bizarre. It's one of my favourite reads this year so far.
Also looking at Natalie's horror version right now!!!
Thank you Soph!! The Time of Cherries and The Winterlings are both two fab takes on the Spanish Civil War so I'd recommend both! One much more realist than the other!
You absolutely CAN recommend Green Frog - I haven't come across the title before?! I love the cover and I love stories about womanhood that get weird and bizarre - thank you so much for the rec, I appreciate it!
Enjoy Natalie's horror list xxx its a good one - and I co sign The Twilight Zone which is on there which I recommended to her!
i've been intrigued by 'too great a sky' since you first mentioned it because, selfishly, this is very close to my own family history (thousands of polish jews, including both of my grandparents, fled east early in the war and were deported as polish citizens to kazazkhstan. my grandparents' feelings about this were, um, complicated; better to be a pole in siberia than a jew in poland)
personal digression aside, i do in fact feel a call to read a novel i can read in one sitting, so the dry heart is going on the holds list.
Wow at your family history Laurel - thank you for sharing! I think bc of the personal connection Too Great A Sky would be wonderful to read. It is so well written and would also offer such an interesting perspective to go along with your grandparents' feelings (which are so understandably deeply complicated) the novel really doesn't shy away from how complex and frankly awkward alot of the shifting identities were in eastern europe at the time and probably still remain today (don't know enough about them but I am going to hazard a guess)
The Dry Heart is absolutely a novel to be devoured in one sitting - enjoy! Punchy, easy, good summer read.
As per usual, with each new review above, I thought: yes this one is the one I have to prioritize! Actually, this one, no, this one, and so on… which is all to say, your recommendations are always very appreciated (and engaging!!). I so hope Too Great a Sky finds more readers (& thanks for sharing that interview)! Have you read Ginzburg’s Family Lexicon? While the Dry Heart sounds incredible, I found a near-perfect family lexicon nyrb copy in a used bookstore the other day and it might just have to be my first foray into her work
As per usual I love you! Thank you Regan - let me know which one you start with, if any! I also hope Too Great a Sky finds more readers, it remains unlike anything I have read before in the best way! A pleasure to share the interview <3
I have not read Family Lexicon but I want too! I have a copy of The City and The House on my shelf which will probably be my next one. But I have heard great things about Family Lexicon - I'd love to hear what you think of it if you get to it first. And what an unreal second hand bookstore find - it's a sign!!!!
This will keep me busy! Loved the Copenhagen Trilogy and loved Brandy Sour. Brandy Sour set me on a commitment to read all of the Foundry Editions books. While only on book two, "Your Little Matter", once again loving, I am fine with taking its time with their collection.
Haha thank you Kim! I love your commitment to read all of the Foundry Editions books! I am also on a (less officially declared) quest. I have just read Far (will be reviewed in August reads), and have copies of The Palace on the Higher Hill and Just A Little Dinner on my shelf to read soon ish! Taking time with collections is my favourite - there is something about taking it slow which is really indulgent! Let me know what you think of Your Little Matter once you have finished - it is such a fascinating story! They are such a reliable and tight publishing house - everything that is coming out from them is so well done.
How incredible that you interviewed Saou, that book will stay with me for a very long time. I feel so similarly about Childhood, Youth, Dependency—in awe that we get to sit so close to Ditlevsen's thoughts and experiences!! I'm so intrigued by The Winterlings... haven't heard of that one before.
It was so incredible - I had SO many ideas for Qs it was incredibly hard to narrow it down, in another universe I would have liked to have talked her ear off all day about the book. Hunchback will also stay with me for a very long time - so provocative in so many ways. She wrote something which such incredible staying power.
Ditlevsen is remarkable! I need to read more of her soon.... The Winterlings is so strange and enjoyable - I hope you pick it up!
Co-Wives, Co-Widows sounds excellent, adding to my TBR immediately. My favorite translated work of recent times is Voyager by Nona Fernandez. Have you read it?
It IS excellent Raksha - enjoy reading it! A truly lovely book - let me know what you think when you get round to it! I have not read Voyager but I have always intended too. Maybe this will be a nudge for me to grab a copy next time I see one. I have read The Twilight Zone by Fernandez which I still think about almost 3 years after reading it!
Love this, Martha (this is my second time writing this comment, I had written it all out and it just somehow...disappeared! I went through to get my laptop to type it out then because I couldn't face retyping it on my phone lolol). I'd just wanted to say that your women in translation posts hold a special place in my heart - I always come away with a massive list. I wanted to say as well how much I love the "you'll enjoy this if..." section after each recommendation - so thoughtful and helpful, it really helps to decide which to prioritise / which I'm most in the mood for. Thanks for the thought and effort you put into writing and sharing these, it's very appreciated.
Omg losing a comment is so testing - that happened to me recently and I had to wait a few days to get over it and then come back and type it all again lol. Well done for over coming such hardship! xo
Thank you for all the love Kelly - I appreciate it so much! <3 I hope you feel raring to go with such a massive list - let me know what you read first. I love that you love the 'to read if you' section, they are so fun to write!
lolol the idea of having to work yourself up for a few days to rewrite the comment, I can relate!! I'll definitely get in touch to tell you my thoughts on any I read that you've mentioned here :) at the mo, I'm reading Whereabouts my Jhumpa Lahiri. She is one of my absolute top 5s - I would read anything by her. I've read most of her short story collections, and I must look into her novels next. I am saving Translating Myself and Others for last because I know it will hit close to home - I always find it very emotional reading her because of the Italy connection, and in particular to read about a life spent between English and Italian might be more that I can bear on a sunny August day lolol
I have never read any Jhumpa Lahiri!! Where should I start?! And yes the heat this summer in the UK has been too much to bear lol. Ready for Autumn now!
omg I've never been lucky enough to be the one to put someone onto her, life achievement unlocked, here we go!! Read any of her short story collections -- I'm in love with Roman Stories so so much, I always want to reread it and have to remind myself there are other books I want to read that i need to start lolol. So, maybe start there, but if you don't want it so Italy-focussed, try Unaccustomed Earth, or Interpreter of Maladies.
Heat has been v OTT here in Ireland, too, starting in March this year. It's been bizarre - the past few years, even in summer, has been just lots of rain, but this year has defo been more sun and heat. The worst is when it's nearly 100% humidity with it... which is what we get from living on an island whose natural habitat before humans chopped it all down was temperate rainforest!
Great summary review of translated books Martha. I read Ditlevsen's book a few years ago and still remember it's power. She opened up early Denmark society to me, the grip of addiction and the challenge of becoming a recognized female writers. It's on a par with Frame's An Angel at my Table I think. Hunchback is on my list of books to read.
Thank you Lucy! I need to read more Ditlevsen - nothing has touched me again like the trilogy. I read my first Frame last year (The Edge of the Alphabet) and ever since I have wanted to read her memoir! This comment has nudged me to track down a copy, especially if you’re comparing it to the trilogy. Will be very interested to hear what you think of Hunchback when you great round to it!
Someone just told me that after reading The Neapolitan Quartet and some of Annie Ernaux’s autobiographical / autofictional work, I must read The Copenhagen Trilogy and your write up just seals it.
I have never read either BUT from what I understand about how Ernaux writes, I think this is a fair statement! I think you’d really like it - it is the assessment of a woman in crisis that you tend to enjoy. Plus the writing is so piercing (in the best way).
the queen has spoken!!! and has reminded me I still haven't cracked open the Ditlevsen...
!!!!! as if you have just ruined my day by reminding me you haven't cracked open the Ditlevsen yet :( at LEAST you're reading The Twilight Zone this month 😉
Okay this is my sign to read The Time of Cherries
It most definitely is your sign!!!
Sons, Daughters is my next read… it just has to be.
Wonderful wonderful list! Thank you 🩷
It DOES! Would very much love to hear your thoughts on it (in a newsletter and in a voicenote...) so bump that up your last asap! Adore you 🩷
lovely post, thank you, martha! i’m looking forward to looking deeper into each of these volumes! 🤍
Thank you for reading Jin! Let me know if you read any of these books <3
LOVED this! The Time of Cherries sounds incredible - I studied Spanish at A Level so would love to read this. The cover is gorgeous too. The Winterlings sounds amazing as well.
Can I recommend Green Frog by Gina Chung? I picked it up at my book club swap on a whim and totally adored it. It's a series of short stories, mostly about womanhood, that occasionally veer towards bizarre. It's one of my favourite reads this year so far.
Also looking at Natalie's horror version right now!!!
Thank you Soph!! The Time of Cherries and The Winterlings are both two fab takes on the Spanish Civil War so I'd recommend both! One much more realist than the other!
You absolutely CAN recommend Green Frog - I haven't come across the title before?! I love the cover and I love stories about womanhood that get weird and bizarre - thank you so much for the rec, I appreciate it!
Enjoy Natalie's horror list xxx its a good one - and I co sign The Twilight Zone which is on there which I recommended to her!
i've been intrigued by 'too great a sky' since you first mentioned it because, selfishly, this is very close to my own family history (thousands of polish jews, including both of my grandparents, fled east early in the war and were deported as polish citizens to kazazkhstan. my grandparents' feelings about this were, um, complicated; better to be a pole in siberia than a jew in poland)
personal digression aside, i do in fact feel a call to read a novel i can read in one sitting, so the dry heart is going on the holds list.
Wow at your family history Laurel - thank you for sharing! I think bc of the personal connection Too Great A Sky would be wonderful to read. It is so well written and would also offer such an interesting perspective to go along with your grandparents' feelings (which are so understandably deeply complicated) the novel really doesn't shy away from how complex and frankly awkward alot of the shifting identities were in eastern europe at the time and probably still remain today (don't know enough about them but I am going to hazard a guess)
The Dry Heart is absolutely a novel to be devoured in one sitting - enjoy! Punchy, easy, good summer read.
Oh wow, Laurel. I have never heard of this history!
As per usual, with each new review above, I thought: yes this one is the one I have to prioritize! Actually, this one, no, this one, and so on… which is all to say, your recommendations are always very appreciated (and engaging!!). I so hope Too Great a Sky finds more readers (& thanks for sharing that interview)! Have you read Ginzburg’s Family Lexicon? While the Dry Heart sounds incredible, I found a near-perfect family lexicon nyrb copy in a used bookstore the other day and it might just have to be my first foray into her work
As per usual I love you! Thank you Regan - let me know which one you start with, if any! I also hope Too Great a Sky finds more readers, it remains unlike anything I have read before in the best way! A pleasure to share the interview <3
I have not read Family Lexicon but I want too! I have a copy of The City and The House on my shelf which will probably be my next one. But I have heard great things about Family Lexicon - I'd love to hear what you think of it if you get to it first. And what an unreal second hand bookstore find - it's a sign!!!!
This will keep me busy! Loved the Copenhagen Trilogy and loved Brandy Sour. Brandy Sour set me on a commitment to read all of the Foundry Editions books. While only on book two, "Your Little Matter", once again loving, I am fine with taking its time with their collection.
Haha thank you Kim! I love your commitment to read all of the Foundry Editions books! I am also on a (less officially declared) quest. I have just read Far (will be reviewed in August reads), and have copies of The Palace on the Higher Hill and Just A Little Dinner on my shelf to read soon ish! Taking time with collections is my favourite - there is something about taking it slow which is really indulgent! Let me know what you think of Your Little Matter once you have finished - it is such a fascinating story! They are such a reliable and tight publishing house - everything that is coming out from them is so well done.
How incredible that you interviewed Saou, that book will stay with me for a very long time. I feel so similarly about Childhood, Youth, Dependency—in awe that we get to sit so close to Ditlevsen's thoughts and experiences!! I'm so intrigued by The Winterlings... haven't heard of that one before.
It was so incredible - I had SO many ideas for Qs it was incredibly hard to narrow it down, in another universe I would have liked to have talked her ear off all day about the book. Hunchback will also stay with me for a very long time - so provocative in so many ways. She wrote something which such incredible staying power.
Ditlevsen is remarkable! I need to read more of her soon.... The Winterlings is so strange and enjoyable - I hope you pick it up!
Co-Wives, Co-Widows sounds excellent, adding to my TBR immediately. My favorite translated work of recent times is Voyager by Nona Fernandez. Have you read it?
It IS excellent Raksha - enjoy reading it! A truly lovely book - let me know what you think when you get round to it! I have not read Voyager but I have always intended too. Maybe this will be a nudge for me to grab a copy next time I see one. I have read The Twilight Zone by Fernandez which I still think about almost 3 years after reading it!
Oh I haven't read the Twilight Zone. Another one to add to my TBR. 🤓
Read it - it’s good!!!
Love this, Martha (this is my second time writing this comment, I had written it all out and it just somehow...disappeared! I went through to get my laptop to type it out then because I couldn't face retyping it on my phone lolol). I'd just wanted to say that your women in translation posts hold a special place in my heart - I always come away with a massive list. I wanted to say as well how much I love the "you'll enjoy this if..." section after each recommendation - so thoughtful and helpful, it really helps to decide which to prioritise / which I'm most in the mood for. Thanks for the thought and effort you put into writing and sharing these, it's very appreciated.
Omg losing a comment is so testing - that happened to me recently and I had to wait a few days to get over it and then come back and type it all again lol. Well done for over coming such hardship! xo
Thank you for all the love Kelly - I appreciate it so much! <3 I hope you feel raring to go with such a massive list - let me know what you read first. I love that you love the 'to read if you' section, they are so fun to write!
lolol the idea of having to work yourself up for a few days to rewrite the comment, I can relate!! I'll definitely get in touch to tell you my thoughts on any I read that you've mentioned here :) at the mo, I'm reading Whereabouts my Jhumpa Lahiri. She is one of my absolute top 5s - I would read anything by her. I've read most of her short story collections, and I must look into her novels next. I am saving Translating Myself and Others for last because I know it will hit close to home - I always find it very emotional reading her because of the Italy connection, and in particular to read about a life spent between English and Italian might be more that I can bear on a sunny August day lolol
I have never read any Jhumpa Lahiri!! Where should I start?! And yes the heat this summer in the UK has been too much to bear lol. Ready for Autumn now!
omg I've never been lucky enough to be the one to put someone onto her, life achievement unlocked, here we go!! Read any of her short story collections -- I'm in love with Roman Stories so so much, I always want to reread it and have to remind myself there are other books I want to read that i need to start lolol. So, maybe start there, but if you don't want it so Italy-focussed, try Unaccustomed Earth, or Interpreter of Maladies.
Heat has been v OTT here in Ireland, too, starting in March this year. It's been bizarre - the past few years, even in summer, has been just lots of rain, but this year has defo been more sun and heat. The worst is when it's nearly 100% humidity with it... which is what we get from living on an island whose natural habitat before humans chopped it all down was temperate rainforest!
Great summary review of translated books Martha. I read Ditlevsen's book a few years ago and still remember it's power. She opened up early Denmark society to me, the grip of addiction and the challenge of becoming a recognized female writers. It's on a par with Frame's An Angel at my Table I think. Hunchback is on my list of books to read.
Thank you Lucy! I need to read more Ditlevsen - nothing has touched me again like the trilogy. I read my first Frame last year (The Edge of the Alphabet) and ever since I have wanted to read her memoir! This comment has nudged me to track down a copy, especially if you’re comparing it to the trilogy. Will be very interested to hear what you think of Hunchback when you great round to it!
I am thrilled to read through this. I need to pick up all of these books!
Thank you Marissa! Whatever you choose to pick up first, I hope you enjoy it!
I need to get cracking on the calculation of volume
You really do. If nothing else just to see what everyone else is talking about..
Someone just told me that after reading The Neapolitan Quartet and some of Annie Ernaux’s autobiographical / autofictional work, I must read The Copenhagen Trilogy and your write up just seals it.
Happy WITM! 🎉🎊🥳
I have never read either BUT from what I understand about how Ernaux writes, I think this is a fair statement! I think you’d really like it - it is the assessment of a woman in crisis that you tend to enjoy. Plus the writing is so piercing (in the best way).
Just started the Copenhagen Trilogy, which I spotted second-hand a couple of months ago and bought thanks to your recommendation... It is so good!
I love to hear this Emily!!! What a brilliant second hand find - it was a sign. It IS so good - enjoy!