The Same Old Story by Ivan Goncharov
Translated by Stephen Pearl Reviewed by Karen Langley Russian author Ivan Goncharov is known to most Anglophone readers for his novel Oblomov; indeed, with that book he created a stereotype who’s…
Harraga by Boualem Sansal
Translated by Frank Wynne Reviewed by Alice Farrant Harraga by Boualem Sansal is a dazzling mix of poetry and prose set in the old quarters of Algiers, capital of Algeria. Here…
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
Translated by Deborah Smith Reviewed by David Hebblethwaite The first of Korean writer Han Kang’s books to be widely available (in Deborah Smith’s superb translation) to English-speaking audiences, The Vegetarian…
A Man of His Word by Imma Monsó
Translated from the Catalan by Maruxa Relaño and Martha Tennent Reviewed by Jean Morris I wonder if my daughter will forget the image of the rainy street where for years…
The Night Before Christmas by Nikolai Gogol
Translated by Anna Summers Reviewed by Karen Langley Russian author Nikolai Gogol, best known for satirical works like The Nose and Dead Souls, is not a name you would automatically connect with a…
Three-Card Monte by Marco Malvaldi
Translated by Howard Curtis Reviewed by Terence Jagger I knew nothing of this author, but enjoyed this light, untroubling murder mystery set in the coastal town of Pineta in Italy. …
Forever Yours by Daniel Glattauer
Translated from the German by Jamie Bulloch Reviewed by Victoria Best Well this is a curious book, and one that’s been divisive in the online reviews, with a fair few…
The Islanders by Pascal Garnier
Translated by Emily Boyce Reviewed by Annabel I am a recent convert to the dark noir novels of French author Pascal Garnier. There has been a lot of interest around…
Under the Tripoli Sky by Kamal Ben Hameda
Translated by Adriana Hunter Reviewed by Bookgazing. At the beginning of Under the Tripoli Sky, the book’s young narrator, Hadachinou, is subject to a bris; a ritual Jewish circumcision. The bris…
The Buddha’s Return by Gaito Gazdanov
Translated by Bryan Karetnyk Reviewed by Karen Langley Following the Russian Revolution and the Civil War, many of that country’s beleaguered citizens escaped abroad, setting up émigré communities in cities…
Desperate Games by Pierre Boulle
Translated by David Carter Review by Annabel Gaskell While Desperate Games is not a great work of literature, it is a book that is BIG on ideas. This philosophical satire on science,…
Autumn: All the Cats Return by Philippe Georget
Translated by Steven Rendall and Lisa Neal Reviewed by Terence Jagger This is a complex murder mystery set in Perpignan, but its essential Frenchness is augmented and challenged by the…
The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante
Translated by Ann Goldstein Review by Lizzie Siddal Every recent piece about Elena Ferrante seems to begin with the question, who is she? I’m not about to do that. The…
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
A New Translation by Rosamund Bartlett Written by Helen Rappaport Taking on one of the great novels of the nineteenth century is a huge challenge for any Russian translator. Even…
Mãn by Kim Thuy
Translated by Sheila Frischman Reviewed by Susan Osborne This slim, very beautiful novel is a love story, a work of aching nostalgia and a glorious celebration of language. Its gorgeous,…
An Event in Autumn by Henning Mankel
Translated by Laurie Thompson Reviewed by Harriet Devine This book is a bit of a curiosity. When it arrived and I realised what it was, I wondered if it was…
The Head of the Saint by Socorro Acioli
Translated from the Portuguese by Daniel Hahn Reviewed by Annabel In my experience, there aren’t many novels for children and young adults around in English translation, although I was pleased…
Iza’s Ballad by Magda Szabó
Translated by George Szirtes Reviewed by Victoria Best I often shy away from books in translation, afraid they will sound clunky and odd. But this 1963 novel by renowned Hungarian…
Decompression by Juli Zeh
Translated by John Cullen Reviewed by David Hebblethwaite In diving, decompression is the gradual reduction of ambient pressure as a diver returns to the surface, which allows the inert gases…
The Listener by Tove Jansson
Translated by Thomas Teal Reviewed by Simon Thomas It’s always interesting to see the genesis of a favourite writer. In Issue 1 of Shiny New Books, I was able to…
The Cemetery of Swallows by Mallock
Translated by Stephen Rendall Reviewed by Falaise The Cemetery of Swallows is a recent addition to Europa Editions’ excellent World Noir imprint, which, as you may guess from its name, features…
The Legs of Izolda Morgan by Bruno Jasieński
Translated by Soren A. Gauger and Guy Torr Reviewed by Karen Langley The boundaries and allegiances in Europe moved and blurred continually during the early 20th century, and many writers…
A trio of Maigret novels by Georges Simenon
Reviewed by Lizzy Siddal Let me start this article with a confession. In my pre-blog years, I once read a Maigret novel. I didn’t like it much. I found it…
The Conquest of Plassans by Émile Zola
Translated by Helen Constantine Reviewed by Harriet Devine In issue 1 of SNB, I reviewed Zola’s Money, and Victoria wrote a fascinating article about his “racy, sordid books” for the BookBuzz section. Money was the…