Top 2020 #WiT Reads to-date

[Carol]

As we finish August, let's share some good news and recommendations. What have been your best or favorite women in translation reads so far this year?

For me, head and shoulders above others, is Fleur Jaeggy's S. S. Proleterka. In the next tier down, The Aosawa Murders and The Law of Lines.

*After a couple of weeks of responses, I'll aggregate our list in order to make it easy for anyone who wants to browse and use it ito do so.

[Laurie]

My top pick was easy too. The Door by Magda Szabó took the top spot and I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem by Maryse Condé takes 2nd place.

[Story]

My top two are The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-eun and A Change of Time by Ida Jessen.

But I have high hopes of adding Fleur Jaeggy'sSweet Days of Discipline which I'm picking up from the library this week, and for Ferrante's The Lying Life of Adults which I hope will arrive soon.

[Carol]

You’ve both made me very happy : I, Tituba is downstairs on my shelf, and I persuaded my library to purchase Disaster Tourist. Yay!

[Anita]

My favorites so far have been Bright by Duanwad Pimwana, followed by Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo and Earthlings by Sayaka Murata.

[Sanne]

My favorite fiction read was by Maïssa Bey, ميساء باي , Puisque Mon Coeur Est Mort (untranslated into English, I read the Dutch translation). The Adventures of China Iron by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara is also really good!

For non-fiction definitely Days in the Caucasus by Banine. Runner up is No Place to Lay One's Head by Françoise Frenkel

I've been meaning to read something by Fleur Jaeggy for ages. I should definitely get my hands on one of her books soon!

[Alwynne]

I've been meaning to read Fleur Jaeggy too, so this is spurring me on. I read the Frankel too, it was much more interesting than I expected. I hadn't heard of the others so look forward to checking those out, although my tbr file is already enormous! And still reading much more slowly than normal, and cheating by choosing short books!

[Story]

Sanne wrote: ". The Adventures of China Iron by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara is also really good!

For non-fiction definitely Days in the Caucasus by Banine"

So excited to hear this. I just got an advanced review copy of the Banine and my library just ordered China Iron.

I wonder if we can do a group read of something by Jaeggy in the coming months.

[Hannah]

My favourites have been The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischwili, The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly by Sun-mi Hwang and Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi...all very very different but fantastic!

I'll be reading The Adventures of China Iron and Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 soon I think as I have those- so glad they have made our list

I don't know about everyone elsewhere but my library here in the UK is terrible for WIT books (with the exception of Japanese). I usually end up having to buy used copies online. One author they do have at the library who I haven't tried yet is Magda Szabó but they don't have the door. Are her books best read in any particular order?

[Alwynne]

I recently read 'Abigail' which was originally published for a YA readership, and plan to read 'Katalin Street' next, my impression was that they're all standalone so no issues with reading order. If that helps at all. I read that she wrote a series later but don't think any of those ones available in English. I really enjoyed 'Abigail' although it's slow-moving at times. I thought it was a crossover book so could be read by teens or adults, a little like 'Frost in May' if you know that one.

[Sanne]

@Hannah, it's the same for translated books here in the Netherlands. I always understood that it had something to do with the lending rights being more difficult to arrange for translated books. Not sure if that's a cause in other countries as well.

[Carol]

Story wrote: "Sanne wrote: ". The Adventures of China Iron by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara is also really good!

For non-fiction definitely Days in the Caucasus by Banine"

So excited to hear this. I just got an adva..."

sure we can - we have several "open choice" fiction opportunities coming up for noms and polls. We could also set up a thread to align on a title, pick a start date and discuss; however, I am reluctant to draw participation away from our monthly discussion reads without putting a little more thought into it.

[Carol]

Sanne wrote: "@Hannah, it's the same for translated books here in the Netherlands. I always understood that it had something to do with the lending rights being more difficult to arrange for translated books. No..."

Same problem here. Practically speaking, there's simply resistance in the US (and I believe the UK, but I'm less certain) to reading translated fiction. Since our libraries have an obligation to spend their limited resources wisely, they spend far less on translated fiction as a proportion of their fiction spend than meets my needs. I have to purchase almost all of my translated reads, but can get most used online,

[Hannah]

Alwynne wrote: "I recently read 'Abigail' which was originally published for a YA readership, and plan to read 'Katalin Street' next, my impression was that they're all standalone so no issues with reading order. ..."

Thanks Alwynne, my library has Abigail so I'm going to give it a try. It confuses me when Goodreads says books are in a 'loose trilogy'!

[Story]

Sanne, Hannah and Carol, I get a lot of my WiT as free advanced review e-books through NetGalley and Edelweiss+.

If you have e-readers, you might want to see if you can sign up with them. It will help to say you're a member of this large group and that you'll post your reviews of the book here.

[Hannah]

That's good to hear Story. I've been meaning to try and figure out netgalley for a while and hadn't heard of edelweiss so thank you

[Dilek]

Story wrote: "Sanne, Hannah and Carol, I get a lot of my WiT as free advanced review e-books through NetGalley and Edelweiss+.
"

I have recently signed up with NetGalley and already read two WiT books that I loved:
Long Live the Post Horn! and Miss Iceland

It seems like a good source for WiT books to me.

Also, I read two novels (not English translations though) of Han Kang this year and found both of them fascinating:
The Vegetarian and Human Acts

If I have to choose, I pick Human Acts. It's so raw and brutal and affectionate at the same time.

Cannot pick a 2nd though. I loved reading all of these novels.

[Sara]

Wow! So many great recommendations!! I'm re-psyched to dig in (being 3 books behind on this goal).

I absolutely loved Out by Natsuo Kirino. It was so suspenseful, and had a real variety of great female characters. It will stay with me for a long time. Trysting by Emmanuelle Pagano was touching and elegant, I immediately recommended that my library purchase it. Speaking of elegant, The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery charmed and delighted me. The Factory by Hiroko Oyamada was another Japanese author's tale that I found exquisite, strange, and highly recommendable. And People in the Room by Norah Lange captured me so completely that I turned around and read it again immediately upon finishing the first time.

Happy Reading everyone!

[Carol]

*Updated as of 2 September

Alphabetical by title.

A Change of Time by Ida Jessen
The Adventures of China Iron by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara
The Aosawa Murders by Riku Onda
Bright by Duanwad Pimwana
Days in the Caucasus (non-fiction) by Banine
The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-eun
The Door by Magda Szabó
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischwili
The Factory by Hiroko Oyamada
The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly by Sun-mi Hwang
Human Acts by Han Kang
I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem by Maryse Condé
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo
The Law of Lines by Hye-Young Pyun
Long Live the Post Horn! by Vigdis Hjorth
Miss Iceland by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
No Place to Lay One's Head by Françoise Frenkel
Out by Natsuo Kirino
People in the Room by Norah Lange
Puisque Mon Coeur Est Mort by Maïssa Bey, ميساء باي , (untranslated into English, I read the Dutch translation).
S. S. Proleterka by Fleur Jaeggy
Trysting by Emmanuelle Pagano
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi

[Alwynne]

Hannah I double-checked and as far as I can tell the link's thematic in terms of exploring life in Hungary pre-/during/post-WW2, so you should be safe, I have a copy of Katalin Street and skimming it can't see any direct link to Abigail. But I know what you mean it's frustrating finding out you've read a series out of order!
But descriptions are a bit odd sometimes, saw on the description for the edition of Abigail a comparison to J.K. Rowling and Jane Austen, it's nothing like anything either of them have produced, particularly Rowling!

[Hannah]

How bizarre! Thanks for clarifying Alwynne.

This was a good idea Carol, what a great list we have!

[Jen]

There are so many great recommendations here, thanks everyone!

My favourite so far this year is L'Amante anglaise, a short novel which is a transcribed interview of three villagers in France after a small town murder takes place. It was such an unexpected pleasure, unlike anything I've read and packing so much insight into these lives and relationships in just a few pages. I loved it.

Some other personal favourites are already in the list, but there are many I've never even heard of so a great resource to find more WiT.