Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko translated from the Russian by Julia Meitov Hersey HarperVoyager November 13, 2018 416 pages Vita Nostra is a remarkable example of dark philosophical fantasy and psychological horror. Its simultaneous manipulation of both the reader’s and the main character’s sense of reality is so subtle and even insidious that, … Continue reading Speculative Fiction in Translation: Vita Nostra
Memoirs of a Polar Bear by Yoko Tawada translated by Susan Bernofsky New Directions November 8, 2016 288 pages Inaugural Winner of the Warwick Prize for Women In Translation, 2017 In Memoirs of a Polar Bear, Tawada doesn’t just inhabit the mind of a polar bear to explore such issues as Cold War politics, ancestry, … Continue reading Speculative Fiction in Translation: Memoirs of a Polar Bear
“Would you like to come with me on a journey beyond the stars?” So asks a friendly flying whale that young Ida meets when she’s half asleep. Who could resist such an enticing invitation? Not I. Nor Ida. And so we enter a dreamy fantasy world as we join Ida and the whale on their … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Ida and the Whale
Set in a post-Rupture steampunk world, A Winter’s Promise and The Missing of Clairdelune by Christelle Dabos tell the story of Ophelia, a member of the Anima ark who can animate objects. Unassuming, clumsy, and shy, Ophelia has two major talents and life passions. First, she is a superb object “reader,” i.e., she can view … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: A Winter’s Promise/ The Missing of Clairdelune
An epistolary novel. A beautiful story with a strong female protagonist. The stand-alone conclusion to a trilogy. Maresi: Red Mantle by Maria Turtschaninoff is all of these. It’s also the co-winner of the 2020 GLLI Translated YA Book Prize—and deservedly so, as it’s a fabulous read. Set in an agrarian, mostly pre-literate, fantasy world, Red … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: Maresi: Red Mantle
What if you could stop time? Would it work? Would it even be a good idea? That is the core dilemma in The Casket of Time, an intricately plotted, carefully wrought, and beautifully translated book for YA readers by Icelandic author, poet and former presidential candidate Andri Snær Magnason. Made up of two interwoven stories … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: The Casket of Time
Mysterious and melancholy, The Book of Pearl consists of two complex, interwoven strands. One is historical fiction, the other is pure faerie fantasy, and both are the story of Joshua Iliån Pearl. Framing these two strands is the story of a young photographer/narrator who first appears as a teen and whose intervention many years later … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: The Book of Pearl
Make way for Kiki! A beloved children’s classic in Japan ever since it was originally published in 1985, Kiki’s Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono has been out of print in English translation for over a decade, despite its continuing fame via Hayao Miyazaki’s animated adaptation. And adaptation it is: there are significant differences between the book and the movie. … Continue reading #WorldKidLitWednesday: Kiki’s Delivery Service
May GLLI Blog Series: Japan in Translation, No. 23 Editor's Note: Yesterday, we quoted Kirkus' YA Editor Laura Simeon saying that the first piece of translated young adult fiction she had read was Kazumi Yumoto's The Friends (winner of the 1997 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction and the 1997 Batchelder Award). Today we hear … Continue reading Q&A with Translator Cathy Hirano on “The Beast Player,” by Hans Christian Andersen Award Winner Nahoko Uehashi
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 