This is the story so far in my August sojourn among older women in fiction around the world. We are well into the month and just starting week three. In the first two weeks I have selected some fiction from North America and was gratified by the readership and comments on the posts. I moved … Continue reading The story so far
#WorldKidLit Wednesday: Ms. Ice Sandwich
What? A fiction title for grown-ups on #WorldKidLit Wednesday? Yes, Ms. Ice Sandwich by Mieko Kawakami, translated from Japanese by Louise Heal Kawai, works as adult, young adult, AND middle grade reading. Why? This slim import from the U.K.’s Pushkin Press, released Stateside by Penguin Random House, features a fourth-grade boy as main character and … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Ms. Ice Sandwich
The Little Old Lady who Broke all the Rules by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg
I like the way the translated version of the title sets up a tension between the image of a biddable older woman and breaking the rules. All the best titles hold some contradictions I believe. And here is an older woman, not the stereotype of the little old lady, who is not afraid to stand … Continue reading The Little Old Lady who Broke all the Rules by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg
The Door by Magda Szabo
The third of the European novels in this August series of older women in fiction around the world is from Hungary, where the author lived between 1917 and 2007. Her work was not published during the Stalinist years. The title sets up the barrier between the narrator and the woman who lives behind the door. … Continue reading The Door by Magda Szabo
Publisher Spotlight: Tiny Owl Publishing
Founded by wife and husband duo Delaram Ghanimifard and Karim Arghandehpour in 2015, Tiny Owl publishing is one of the most exciting players in the world of children’s books today. Their creed is simple—bring the beauty of Persian culture and literature to the rest of the world. The elegance of this core tenet comes about … Continue reading Publisher Spotlight: Tiny Owl Publishing
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
Tove Jansson was a Finnish writer, and will be familiar to readers of children’s fiction as the creator of the Moomins. They appeared in books and cartoons and then newspapers, eventually in 12 countries. They were so successful that Walt Disney wanted to acquire them. He was turned down. Tove Jansson was much more than … Continue reading The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
The Lady and the Little Fox Fur by Violette Leduc
This is the first in the European section of the month of older women in fiction around the world. Recommended by Deborah Levy, introducing this English version, she characterises the novels of Violette Leduc as works of genius and also a bit peculiar. She claims that Leduc was ‘rearranging the social and sexual scaffolding of … Continue reading The Lady and the Little Fox Fur by Violette Leduc
Older Women in Translation
This month I have been invited to focus on older women in fiction around the world. But there is a problem as there is so little in translation. So what’s the problem? Well, I’ll use the acronym: WYSIWYG pronounced whizzywig. It stands for what you see is what you get. When it is applied to … Continue reading Older Women in Translation
#WorldKidLitWednesday: Yours Sincerely, Giraffe
Did you have a pen pal when you were little? Maybe someone from halfway around the world, whom you’d never seen, from a land you knew nothing about? That’s the premise of Yours Sincerely, Giraffe, a sweet, zany chapter book for ages 6-10, with charming illustrations by award-winning artist Jun Takabatake (Bologna Children’s Book Fair Graphics … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: Yours Sincerely, Giraffe
World Languages Review: Op de rand van het zwijgen (The Netherlands)
On the verge of silence Although we live in a society full of means of communication that are hardly ever shut off – modern mankind finds itself still having difficulties and misunderstandings in simple person-to-person conversations. We talk in images that are clear to us, but frequently incomprehensible to those we are talking to. When … Continue reading World Languages Review: Op de rand van het zwijgen (The Netherlands)
