Jhumpa Lahiri, author of Translating Myself and Others, called translating the “most profound, most intimate way of reading.” She said, “A translation is a wonderful, dynamic encounter between two languages, two texts, two writers. It entails a doubling, a renewal... It was a way of getting close to different languages, of feeling connected to writers very distant from me in space and time.”
Winner of the International Booker Prize 2024 Jenny Erpenbeck said, “There are so many lives not only to discover but to dive into by reading – so called “other” worlds that by turning page after page become familiar to you, since we all are human beings and live on one planet.”
August is Women in Translation month, but here are a few titles we have in store to celebrate all year round:
Woman, Life, Freedom by Marjane Satrapi. Do you remember the story of Mahsa Amini, the young woman arrested by the morality police in 2022 in Iran? This book is a collection of graphic storytelling by more than 20 artists, journalists, activists, and academics, all focused on the uprising of the Iranian people. BookPage said, “The visual medium enhances the storytelling and creates an immersive reading experience that accessibly communicates information.”
The Woman in the Purple Skirt by Natsuko Imamura. The publisher said, “Someone is following her, always perched just out of sight, monitoring which buses she takes; what she eats; whom she speaks to. But this invisible observer isn’t a stalker – it’s much more complicated than that.”
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto. A little more than one year ago, I was beginning to steadily feed my curiosity about short novels. Browsing a bookstore, I came across Kitchen. Its hot pink cover with kitchen utensils on it already told a story. First published in Japan in 1987, Kitchen is the story of two mothers. It includes love, tragedy, and grief. Yoshimoto, who wrote while holding a job as a waitress, was celebrated as a talented young writer. Kitchen has even been developed into what is recognized as a cult film.
Rabble! Bookshop is in Poinciana Paper Press, 12 Parkgate Road. We're open on Thursdays and Saturdays, 11am to 3pm.
