It's the ides of March, and the only thing I have to beware is
letting time get away from me and missing some of this month's books in
translation. As you well know, I make an effort to read authors who are
outside the English-speaking world. It's a great way to gain a different
perspective and to learn about life around the globe.
Here
are six books in translation on my March reading list. They cover a
range of genres, and I hope at least one catches your eye.
All Happy Families: A Memoir by Hervé Le Tellier, translated from the French by Adriana Hunter
(Other Press, March 26). In this moving memoir, Le Tellier recalls his
childhood, spent mostly with his grandparents or troubled mother, and
the years in which he seemed unable to feel normal human emotions, such
as grief and love. Although he wasn't abused, his relationships with the
people who were meant to protect him were often beyond dysfunctional.
His mother in fact suffered from a disconnection to reality and often
lied to him. Other people he was close to died early, including a
girlfriend, which is another form of abandonment. In this memoir, Le
Tellier comes to terms with these difficult relationships as he views
them through the lens of maturity and success as a writer. A testament
to the fact that children can indeed survive messed-up families.
Auntie Poldi and the Vineyards of Etna by Mario Giordano, translated from the German by John Brownjohn
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, March 5). I don't know how I missed the
first book in this series, but I'm happy to jump on the Auntie Poldi
bandwagon with the second book. When Isolde Oberreiter, better known as
Poldi, left Germany to spend her retirement in Sicily, she had no idea
that there'd be more to life than walks on the beach, copious glasses of
wine, occasional sex, and new friends. Poldi can't help but get
involved when it's a matter of dead body or two. In this outing, the
unstoppable Poldi is determined to figure out who poisoned her
neighbor's dog. After a little pillow talk with her current lover (a
police inspector), she's onto bigger things--like linking the murder of a
man to the demise of the dog. An adult cozy mystery brimming with the
flavors and colors of Sicily.
Homeland: A Novel by Fernando Aramburu, translated from the Spanish by Alfred Macadam
(Pantheon, March 5). This timely novel is set in Basque country, and
although a murder is at its center, this is not crime fiction. Instead,
it's an examination of how ordinary people can get caught up in the
wider political events of their country and how it isn't always easy to
figure out who is hero and who is villain. When a businessman is killed
by separatists, the repercussions are felt by more than just the
grieving family. Friendships and everyday life in the town are forever
changed. Who is brave enough or sure enough to take a stand on the
future of Basque? Is it easier just to leave your home and start over?
Set after the ETA separatists declare an end to their fight for
independence, this story looks at the violent past and uneasy present.
The novel has won multiple international honors.
The Little Girl on the Ice Floe by Adélaïde Bon, translated from the French by Tina Kover
(Europa, March 19). This is a tough memoir about surviving a childhood
rape. When she was just nine years old, Bon was raped by a stranger, and
though she was unable to provide many details, her parents reported it
to the authorities. As a way to cope, Bon compartmentalized her
life--seemingly stable and friendly on the outside, while dealing with
guilt, shame, fear, and more on the inside. Despite years of therapy and
various self-soothing activities (such as eating and drinking too
much), there were parts of her that remained numb and details of her
attack that she could not remember. Two decades later, the Paris police
inform her that they've caught a serial sexual offender, who is charged
with dozens of assaults on minors. Only nineteen now-grown women
confront the man in court, Bon among them. The aftermath of the trial
brings some unexpected reactions. Can there ever be true healing after
rape? Especially in a society that still blames the victim.
The Secret Wisdom of Nature by Peter Wohlleben, translated from the German by Jane Billinghurst (Greystone Books, March 5). I loved Wohlleben's The Hidden Life of Trees
(though I can't believe I never wrote about it on my blog), and in his
latest, the German forester returns to tell us (as the subtitle says)
about "Trees, Animals, and the Extraordinary Balance of All Living
Things" through "Stories from Science and Observation." Wohlleben has
spent most of his life in the woods, both professionally and privately,
observing nature up close and in a way few of us have an opportunity to
do. Here he takes a big-picture view of the environment, from the
largest forest fires to the smallest insects and discusses in everyday
language and using a personable style how the ecosystem works. There are
many sides to every problem in a system as complex as Earth's natural
world, and Wohlleben takes some surprising stands on conservation and
preservation. If you haven't yet read any of his work, you should.
Waiting for Bojangles by Olivier Bourdeaut, translated from the French by Regan Kramer
(Simon & Schuster, March 19). This debut novel, which has
already won much critical acclaim, tells the story of an unnamed boy and
his unconventional parents who live in happy chaos in Paris. Told
mostly from the boy's point of view, with sections from his father's
diary, the book follows the mother's journey from quirky to the
can-no-longer-deny-it mentally unstable. After the pesky business of
taxes and the outside world invade their space, the family removes to a
vacation home in Spain, where son and husband hope to protect the ailing
woman, showering her with love. Mental illness, however, cannot always
be cured with the peace of the countryside, fancy cocktails, and dancing
to the record player. The ministrations of well-intentioned family are
often not the answer. This coming-of-age story is told partly in verse.
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Imagine that you're a Scottish journalist on assignment to investigate the political climate in Brussels as the UK is on the verge of joining the European Union. What would you do if the journalist you're supposed to meet up with is found dead alongside a high-ranking British government official? You would likely stick around to figure out what happened. That's what protagonist Neil Bannerman does.
