by Kathryn Bodnar The Invisible Guardian by Dolores Redondo; translated from the Spanish by Isabelle Kaufeler; Atria Books 2016 Following in the strong tradition of the Spanish novela negra, The Invisible Guardian is the first of Dolores Redondo’s Baztán trilogy. This crime thriller blends traditional elements of the genre with mythologies and superstitions of … Continue reading Book Review: The Invisible Guardian
Loosely based on the little-known 1859 Mexican invasion of the United States, Carmen Boullosa’s newest novel Texas: The Great Theft is a richly imagined evocation of the volatile Tex-Mex borderland, wrested from Mexico in 1848. Described by Roberto Bolaño as “Mexico’s greatest woman writer,” Boullosa views the border history through distinctly Mexican eyes, and her sympathetic portrayal … Continue reading Title Pick: Carmen Boullosa, Texas: The Great Theft
Reprinted with permission from Returnings: Poems of Love and Distance By Rafael Alberti Translated from Spanish by Carolyn L. Tipton English translation copyright © 2016 by White Pine Press ISBN 1935210912 RETURNING ON A SPRING MORNING With the same uncountable number of waves —wave upon wave—you’ve continually raised from the time of your blue birth, … Continue reading Returnings: Poems of Love and Distance by Rafael Alberti
Reprinted with permission from The Treasure of Barracuda By Llanos Campos, illustrated by Júlia Sardà Translated from Spanish by Lawrence Schimel. English translation Copyright © 2016 by Little Pickle Press, Inc. English edition published by arrangement with Ediciones SM through Sylvia Hayse Literary Agency LLC. All rights reserved. ISBN 1939775140 Excerpt: "Blasted freshwater fishermen! And you … Continue reading The Treasure of Barracuda by Llanos Campos
Super Extra Grande by Yoss Translated from the Spanish (Cuba) by David Frye Restless Books, 2016 ISBN 1632060566 Excerpt: In 2054, Father Salvador González formulates the Tunnel Macroeffect Theorem, and Ecuador confounds the world in sending a satellite to Mars in minutes. Soon after, a politically and racially divided humankind, unready for such a leap, … Continue reading Super Extra Grande by Yoss
Rachel Cordasco It's been a great year for Spanish speculative fiction in translation. From short-story collections to hefty novels, and from Spain to the Dominican Republic, Spanish SFT offers us a gateway into the cultures and traditions of Spanish-speaking writers who wrestle with questions of consciousness, alien life, space travel, and many others. Below is … Continue reading Spanish Speculative Fiction in Translation
The Secret of the Blue Glass Tomiko Inui, Ginny Tapley Takemori (Trans.) Pushkin Children's Books ISBN 9781782690344 In a dusty library, in the quietest corner of a house in a Tokyo suburb, live the Little People: Fern and Balbo, Robin and Iris. Just a few inches high, sleeping in cigarette boxes and crafting shoes … Continue reading TITLE PICK: Tomiko Inui, The Secret of the Blue Glass
by Jenny Zbrizher Are You An Echo? by David Jacobson, Misuzu Kaneko; translated from the Japanese by Sally Ito, Michiko Tsuboi; illustrated by Toshikado Hajiri; Chin Music Press, Sept. 2016 Part picture book biography and part translated poetry anthology, this unique children's book is the product of a translational collaboration between an American author, two … Continue reading Book Review: ARE YOU AN ECHO?
By Kristin Jónsson Mamada, Mineko. Which is Round? Which is Bigger? Illus. Mamada, Minkeo. Originally published in Japanese as Docchikana? Kids Can Press. March 1, 2013. ISBN 978-1-55453-973-4. This delightful picture book is a perfect fit for preschool through first grade. On each page spread the author poses what seems to be a simple … Continue reading Which is Round? Which is Bigger?
The first of the GLLI book recommendations comes from Japan via Kurodahan Press. MIYAMOTO Teru has established a considerable and devoted following in Japan, and is rapidly building a devoted readership in other Asian countries and parts of Europe as his fiction is translated into various languages. With only a few of his works … Continue reading Miyamoto Teru, RIVERS
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 