This is a riveting, highly enjoyable read centred on the experiences of a Korean American woman, Margot, and her mother, Mina, a first generation Korean immigrant.
Told through these two narrators, we flip between 2014 (Margot) and 1987-8 (Mina) as we piece together the story of Mina’s life, in the aftermath of her sudden death.
Continue reading “The Last Story of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyoun Kim [Review]”Set in Portland, Oregon in the 1990s, The Residue Years is Jackson’s autobiographical novel of coming of age in a neglected neighbourhood.
We have two narrators (which you’ll know if you follow my reviews, that I love in a novel): Champ and his mother Grace. Grace has just completed a drug treatment program and is now trying to manage her addiction, find work and get custody of her children. Champ has dreams of purchasing his family’s old home and wants to do right by his Mum and brothers. In a world of few opportunities, selling drugs is the only way Champ feels he can achieve his dreams.
Continue reading “The Residue Years by Mitchell S Jackson [Review]”Bezoar and Other Unsettling Stories is a collection of short stories from Mexican writer, Guadalupe Nettel, translated from the Spanish by Suzanne Jill Levine. Nettel is a prolific writer who has had her work featured in both Spanish and French language publications. Bezoar and Other Unsettling Stories is Nettel’s most recent work to be translated into the English language, published by Seven Stories Press.
Continue reading “Bezoar and Other Unsettling Stories by Guadalupe Nettel, translated by Suzanne Jill Levine [Review]”
In July, I took part in a readathon called Transathon, which encouraged readers to seek out and celebrate books by transgender, non-binary and genderqueer authors.
In recent weeks, there has been a lot of hate speech directed at transgender people online. As part of the literary community, it seems to have been particularly rife.
I believe it is always important to seek out stories from people whose lives are or have been different to your own.
At this present time, as a cis woman, I think it’s especially important that I use this space to uplift the voices of transgender and non-binary people and that I make a conscious effort to champion and celebrate their written work.
Continue reading “Transathon | Brilliant Books by Transgender, Non-binary and Genderqueer Authors”
August is Women in Translation month; a month to celebrate women whose work has been translated from languages other than English, into the English language.
This year I wanted to take some time to celebrate work by women who are typically underrepresented in the translation field.
According to a 2018 Diversity Report, this includes women who are writing in the Russian language.
Russian is an East Slavic language. It is the official language of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, as well as being widely used in the Baltic states, the Caucasus and Central Asia.
When suggesting 20 Great Russian Novels, Qwiklit says: “the Russian literary tradition rivals most if not all countries, and its consistent ambition to define (and even redefine) social conditions has kept even it’s oldest works relevant in the public sphere.”
While compiling this list of Russian language translations, I noticed this in the literature I was finding: a desire to redefine the boundaries of literature and push the reader to view the world through a critical lens.
With that said, here are 25 recommendations for books by women in translation from the Russian language.
Continue reading “25 Books by Women in Translation From the Russian Language”
August is Women in Translation month; a month to celebrate women whose work has been translated from languages other than English, into the English language.
This year I wanted to take some time to celebrate work by women who are typically underrepresented in the translation field.
According to a 2018 Diversity Report, this includes Chinese language translations.
As I was researching this, I found that the term ‘Chinese language’ could be seen as reductive, not taking account of the wide range of languages and dialogues that make up the Chinese language family.
With this in mind, I have here chosen to highlight Chinese women in translation, regardless of what language the work was originally written in.
Books and Bao recognise that Chinese women are drastically underrepresented in the translation field: “the Chinese novels of male authors are still far more in abundance than those of women.”
I have been interested in Chinese culture and politics for quite some time. As a young adult, I read Adeline Yen Mah’s ‘Chinese Cinderella’ and listened to her speak at Edinburgh Book Festival. I studied Chinese politics briefly in high school and then, in 2012, I went on to study “China as a World Superpower” at a summer school in Prague.
It was, then, with curiosity and excitement that I learned of these female writers whose work has made its way into English language translation.
Of all of the spotlights I have done, this one was the trickiest to find recommendations for and I’m extremely grateful to all my friends on Instagram who contributed recommendations to this list. I’ve credited them all and I hope you’ll consider checking out their accounts for more recommendations.
With that said, here is a list of 23 books by Chinese women in translation.
Continue reading “23 Books by Chinese Women in Translation”
August is Women in Translation month; a month to celebrate women whose work has been translated from languages other than English, into the English language.
This year I wanted to take some time to celebrate work by women who are typically underrepresented in the translation field. According to fellow blogger, Translationista and poetry translator John Keene, that includes Black women.
In recent months we have seen a lens shone on the way Black authors are treated in the UK and US publishing industries, with such hashtags as #PublishingPaidMe revealing the stark disparities in advance payments, and many Black writers speaking out about the multiple layers of gatekeepers that they are faced with before they even broker a publishing deal.
In my eyes, this makes it all the more essential that Black writers work is consciously sought out in such months as Women in Translation month, and that their writings are approached with excitement and intrigue.
As Tasnim @reads.and.reveries says in her article On Black Authors and Buying Their Books:
“approach books written by Black authors in the same way you would approach any other book – with joy, enthusiasm and curiosity”
With that said, here are 24 book recommendations of books written by Black women in translation.
Continue reading “24 Books by Black Women in Translation”![The Last Story of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyoun Kim [Review]](https://readingwithkt.home.blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/acs_0565.jpg?w=256&h=256&crop=1)
![An Interview with Nancy Jooyoun Kim, Author of The Last Story of Mina Lee [Blog Tour]](https://readingwithkt.home.blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/nancy-jooyoun-kim_andrialo.jpg?w=256&h=256&crop=1)
![The Residue Years by Mitchell S Jackson [Review]](https://readingwithkt.home.blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/residueyrs-igready.jpg?w=256&h=256&crop=1)
![Bezoar and Other Unsettling Stories by Guadalupe Nettel, translated by Suzanne Jill Levine [Review]](https://readingwithkt.home.blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/bezoar-igsize.jpg?w=256&h=256&crop=1)
READING WITH KT 