To kick off the monthly series, the latest member of the Mr B’s bookselling team Laura Garcia Moreno has spotlighted some of her favourite recent translated reads. This month, we are diving into stories from all around the world from dystopias to thrillers and folkloric realism translated from Catalan, German, Thai, Portuguese and Chinese…
Translated from Complex Chinese, Tongueless by Yee-Wa Lau is a psychological thriller about two rival teacher, Ling and Wai, two Hongkongers who are crumbling under the pressure of having to switch from teaching Chinese in Cantonese to doing it in Mandarin, a language that neither of them speak. This is a book about the politics of language and the depths of cruelty that people reach when forced to navigate a merciless society.
From one of the most respected Thai writers, The Understory by Saneh Sangsuk is the story of Luang Paw Tien, the abbot of Praeknamdang Temple, who is in his nineties. He is the last inhabitant to have known nature at its wildest before capitalism or urbanisation reached his area. Now, he tells stories to the children. Tales of his childhood, of his pilgrimage, and of the jungle as he knew it. This is an ode to storytelling, community and to nature.
Translated from German, A Simple Intervention by Yael Inokai is the story of a young nurse working in a mental institution, navigating the ethical complexities of a new medical procedure that promises to cure severe mental illness. The novel explores the psychological and moral dilemmas that arise when medical advancements challenge traditional views of healing and personhood. This is a quiet yet intense novel about the limits of science, power, and compassion in the face of suffering. For fans of Kazuo Ishiguro.
Translated from Catalan, When I Sing Mountains Dance by Irene Solà is a multi-voiced story full of folkloric realism set in the Pyrenees, where the mountain itself comes alive with its own stories. The novel explores the interconnected lives of a village’s inhabitants—humans, animals, ghosts—all narrated in poetic, playful prose. Solà’s work beautifully blends the mystical with the mundane, creating a patchwork of tales that reflect on love, loss and the natural world. An immersive exploration of nature, family and memory.
Translated from Portuguese, The Simple Art of Killing a Woman by Patrícia Melo is a dark and enlightening read: both harrowing and inspiring. From a best-selling Brazilian author, this story takes us all the way to Cruzeiro do Sul, where a young lawyer accepts a job in the Amazonian border after her boyfriend slaps her at a party. There, she is met with all the stories of named women who have been tortured, assaulted, killed and gone unavenged on an epidemic of femicide that trespasses all layers of society and class and that only a few brave people seem to be denouncing at the cost of their own safety.
In the jungle, through the ritual use of ayahuasca, she will also look for answers to her past in the company of a group of warrior women taking agency and revenge against these women-killers that are seemingly everywhere.
Eliete by Dulce Maria Cardoso portrait of middle-class existence in contemporary Portugal through the eyes of Eliete, a woman quietly rebelling against the expectations of her family and society. While externally her life appears conventional—marriage, motherhood, career—Cardoso explores the dissatisfaction and alienation beneath the surface. Eliete’s reflections on her life create a rich internal dialogue, revealing the complexities of desire, loneliness and aging in a world dominated by appearances