March 8 is International Women’s Day, and a perfect occasion to discover some great women writers in translation. While Elena Ferrante‘s name has been on everyone’s lips for a while now, and Olga Tokarczuk won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2018, there are loads of other talented women writers from abroad who haven’t achieved superstar status. Here’s a quick list of some exceptional women authors from Argentina, Germany, Montenegro, Thailand, and other spots around the globe. Most of the books listed here have just come out in the past year or so, or even the past couple months.
Olja Knežević. Catherine the Great and the Small is Olja Knežević’s fourth novel, and her first to be published in English (Istros Books, 2020). This coming-of-age tale set in Tito’s Yugoslavia treats dark times with quirky humor and a cast of colorful local characters. The distinct voices of the first-person narrator and other characters and the imaginative descriptions have been artfully crafted in the English translation by Paula Gordon and Ellen Elias-Bursać. Find it at IndieBound here.
Ananda Devi. This award-winning author hails from Mauritius (Ile Maurice in French), an island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Madagascar. Her moving novel Eve Out of her Ruins (Deep Vellum, 2016 and Les Fugitives, 2017), in Jeffrey Zuckerman‘s sensitive translation, tells the tale of four young Mauritians trapped in a cycle of fear and violence. You can read an excerpt on Lit Hub or purchase the novel from IndieBound here. Zuckerman also translated Devi’s latest novel, The Living Days (Les Fugitives, 2020), about an unusual connection between an elderly spinster and a boy from Brixton in current-day London.
Nathacha Appanah. Nathacha Appanah is also from Mauritius, though she now lives in France. Three of her novels have been published by Graywolf Press, and the flow of her rhythmic prose has been captured by translator Geoffrey Strachan. The Last Brother (2011) relates the friendship of two boys on Mauritius during World War II; Waiting for Tomorrow (2018) is a tense mystery about a couple who hire an undocumented immigrant from Mauritius to care for their child; and Tropic of Violence (2020) is a short novel about an orphan who loses his adoptive mother, with chapters recounted from different characters’ points of view. You can visit Appanah’s author page on IndieBound here.
Claudia Hernández. I heard Julia Sanches read an intense scene from her powerful translation of Salvadoran author Claudia Hernández’ Slash and Burn a couple years ago, and I never forgot it. Published by And Other Stories in 2020 and now out in paperback, the novel describes the violence of war and its painful aftermath from a female perspective. Moving deftly between past and present, it’s a gripping and masterful book. Take a look on IndieBound here.
Mariana Enriquez. I discovered this Argentine writer when her tightly woven, psychologically astute story “Our Lady of the Quarry” was published in the New Yorker (issue of December 21, 2020). It also appears in Enriquez’ new collection, The Dangers of Smoking in Bed, which just came out with Hogarth in January 2021. Translator Megan McDowell brings the colorful slang and sharp, direct descriptions to vivid life in English. She also translated a previous collection of Enriquez’ stories, Things We Lost in the Fire (2017). These are stories with captivating voices, complex characters, and sometimes a surprising gut-punch of supernatural elements. Find Enriquez on IndieBound here.
Anja Kampmann. This compelling novel tells the tale of a man working on an oil-drilling platform whose friend and co-worker drowns. This loss sends the hero on a wandering journey around Morocco and Europe. The novel has been praised for its stirring exploration of male intimacy and grief, with a backdrop of alienated workers in the globalized economy. Kampmann’s debut novel feels like a mature accomplishment, delving into timeless themes that have earned it comparisons with the epic of Gilgamesh and the Odyssey. Anne Posten‘s translation from the German (Catapult, 2020) captures the beauty and poetry of the writing. You can purchase this book on IndieBound here.
Elvira Navarro. If you’re up for a rollicking trip, pick up Spanish writer Elvira Navarro’s latest collection of stories, Rabbit Island (published by Two Lines Press in February 2021). Navarro is not afraid to get weird (she’s been compared to both David Lynch and Clarice Lispector). Her intimate style, expertly carried over into English by translator Christina MacSweeney, draws the reader into a nightmarish atmosphere. It’s available on IndieBound here.
Duanwad Pimwana. I’m just starting Duanwad Pimwana’s novel Bright for the Global Reads Book Club (the brainchild of translator extraordinaire Eve Lindemuth Bodeux). This is the first time a novel by a Thai woman writer has appeared in English translation! Kudos to Two Lines Press for publishing this book in 2019. In this short novel, a five-year-old boy is abandoned by his father and adopted by the community. It’s been described as balancing gritty descriptions with a folk-tale like feel. From what I’ve seen so far, award-winning translator Mui Poopoksakul has brought across those elements in a translation that sparkles with lively dialogue and creative descriptions. Find Bright on IndieBound here.
Top photo by Ichad Windhiagiri from Pexels.