August is Women in Translation Month, an event which we love celebrating in the bookshop, with a display of some of our team's favourite books in translation, written and/or translated by women.
This global movement, sparked in 2013 by translator Alison Anderson and later by blogger Meytal Radzinski, is a global effort centered around the idea that women who write in languages other than English deserve to be widely read and appreciated!
A woman wakes up one morning to find that she is trapped behind an invisible wall splitting the valley in half. Cut off from the rest of the world and left to her own devices, the main character must contend with the very basics of living - shelter and food - as well as try to keep her own sanity. Written in 1963 and translated from the German by Shaun Whiteside, this is one of the most quietly sinister books I've read that has stayed with me ever since.
By Marlen Haushofer. Translated from the German by Shaun Whiteside.
Molly
Published: 7th Jul '22
Format: Paperback
Price: £9.99
The first time the protagonist falls in love is at age 5, with the corpse of their drug-induced neighbor. What follows is a uniquely moving journey of a young trans woman coming of age in 1980s working class Madrid. This is a strong contender for the most beautiful book I've ever read.
By Alana S. Portero. Translated from the Spanish by Maya Faye Lethem.
Faye
Published: 5th Jun '25
Format: Paperback
Price: £9.99
These slim volumes contain a whole repeating-daily world of incredible thought and writing in translation. The ordinary everyday becomes extraordinary as Tara Selter hunts for clues and tunes into the rhythms of her subtly devastating, life-altering predicament.
By Solvej Balle. Translated from the Danish by Barbara J. Haveland.
Euan
Published: 10th Apr '25
Format: Paperback
Price: £12.99
Written by Daniela Catrileo. Translated from the Spanish by Jacob Edelstein.
Selena
Published: 15th Jul '25
Format: Paperback
Price: £11.99
These interconnected stories are brutal and visceral, introducing 13 women all doing their best to survive with the cards life has dealt them. Some have money and privilege, others don't, but all of them jump of the page to grab you by the throat and pull you into their story. It handles tough topics* but I couldn't tear my eyes away.
*trigger warnings: (sexual) violence, abortion, transphobia, murder
By Dahlia de la Cerda. Translated from the Spanish by Heather Cleary and Julia Sanches.
Zoe
Published: 26th Sep '24
Format: Paperback
Price: £9.99
Written by Patrizia Cavalli. Edited by Gini Alhadeff and translated from the Italian (multiple translators).
Marc
Published: 1st Nov '18
Format: Paperback
Price: £10.99
Written by Jenny Erpenbeck. Translated from the German by Susan Bernofsky.
Alice
Published: 13th Feb '25
Format: Paperback
Price: £9.99
Written by Hiromi Kawakami. Translated from the Japanese by Allison Markin Powell.
Jenna
Published: 5th Jun '25
Format: Paperback
Price: £9.99
We've made a small exception to our list, with Fair. Whilst it's not a translated book, its author, Jen Calleja, is a renowned literary translator from German. Fair is a satirical, refreshing and brilliantly playful book about learning the art of translation, being a bookworker in the publishing industry, growing up, family, and class. We highly recommend it for everyone interested in translation and the book industry!
The Team
Published: 29th May '25
Format: Paperback
Price: £12.99
From the author of shop and customer favourite When I Sing, Mountains Dance comes an entrancing novel exploring the duality and link between light and darkness, life and death, oblivion and memory. Set in an old farmhouse in a remote part of Catalonia frequented by wolf hunters, bandits, deserters, ghosts, beasts and demons, it features an old woman on her deathbed, and all the women who have ever lived and died in the farmhouse. It's dark and beautiful.
The Team
Published: 5th Jun '25
Format: Hardback
Price: £14.99
This brilliant short story collection chronicles the everyday lives of women and girls in Muslim communities in southern India, and recently won the 2025 International Booker Prize.
By Banu Mushtaq. Translated from the Kannada by Deepa Bhasthi.
The Team
Published: 8th Apr '25
Format: Paperback
Price: £14.99
A fun and fast frolic behind the scenes of the faded glamour of Benidorm, through the eyes of a corrupt police officer's quest to find Reggie Kray's lighter in the midst gangland politics and her past catching up with her.
By Esther García Llovet. Translated from the Spanish by Richard Village.
Euan
Published: 21st Jan '25
Format: Paperback
Price: £12.99
Sensual, light and existential, this debut novel is the perfect summer read. A group of thirty-something, friends since university, reunite for a holiday in a lake-side house. Day after day, their yearnings, anxieties and the messy nature of love are laid bare.
By Linea Maja Ernst. Translated from the Danish by Sherilyn Nicolette Hellberg.
Alice
Published: 8th May '25
Format: Paperback
Price: £14.99
Based on the life of Antonio de Erauso, a real figure from the Spanish conquest, We Are Green and Trembling is a masterful criticism of religious tyranny and the mistreatment of women and indigenous people.
By Gabriela Cabezón Cámara. Translated from the Spanish by Robin Myers.
The Team
Published: 12th Jun '25
Format: Hardback
Price: £18.99
Written by Mizuki Tsujimura. Translated from the Japanese by Yuki Tejima.
Molly
Published: 3rd Apr '25
Format: Paperback
Price: £14.99
Written by Fabienne Kanor. Translated from the French by Lynn E. Palermo.
The Team
Published: 11th Feb '25
Format: Hardback
Price: £18.99
The new novel from the first Arabic-language winner of the Booker International Prize. In their small, mountainside village, Ghazaala and Asiya love each other like sisters, until tragedy strikes, and Asiya is forced into exile. Ghazaala is haunted by Asiya’s absence; a wound that never quite heals. Silken Gazelles is a tribute to the power of friendship and the strength of women, intertwining love and loss with deft, beautiful prose.
By Jokha Alharthi. Translated from the Arabic by Marilyn Booth.
The Team
Published: 15th Aug '24
Format: Hardback
Price: £16.99
Written by Sara Mesa. Translated from the Spanish by Katie Whittemore.
The Team
Published: 12th Aug '25
Format: Paperback
Price: £12.99
Brandy Sour is an evocative novella from a new indie publisher, Foundry Editions. Telling the story of Cyprus's turbulent 20th century, it is composed of intimate vignettes through the eyes of guests, employees and passers-by at the Ledra Palace Hotel in Nicosia. Here, the ups and downs of political turmoil shape the chapters but the poignancy of everyday human lives in the face of violence and war takes centre stage.
By Constantia Soteriou. Translated from the Greek by Lina Protopapa.
Molly
Published: 4th Jun '24
Format: Paperback
Price: £11.99
Written by Heuijung Hur. Translated from the Korean by Paige Aniyah Morris.
The Team
Published: 3rd Jun '25
Format: Paperback
Price: £10.99