Women in Translation Month: Why you need to read these 12 translated books

INDIAN CONTEMPORARY READSBani BasuThe Continents Between by Bani Basu BASUrsquoS epic novel translated by Debali MookerjeaLeonard from Bengali traces the lives of Sudeep and Kamalika whorsquove returned to Kolkata from New York along with their children We learn how the four navigate their lives differently when thrown into this new environment of a Bengali household consisting of extended family and new friendsSheela TomyValli by Sheela Tomy Four generations form the core of this novel translated from Malayalam by Jayasree Kalathil This is the story of Wayanad situated in the Western Ghats the people who migrated to make it their home and the Adivasis whose lives were uprooted by the migration and exploitation of the forest The reader is transported to the 1970s and returns to the present to read the tale of repression and resistanceSalmaThe Hour Past Midnight by Salma Rabia sneaks off to watch a film but is caught in the process and reprimanded by her mother Meanwhile Firdaus refuses to stay with the groom on the night of their wedding The book dives into the lives of three women negotiating spaces for themselves within the unit of a traditional malecentric Muslim household The book has been translated from Tamil by Lakshmi HolmstromThingnam Anjulika SamomCrafting the Word by Thingnam Anjulika Samom Who is the Manipuri woman and what are her beliefs Samom searches for answers to these questions in stories and poems written by women writers from the Northeastern state Among others they include Nee Devi who explores a tragic lesbian love story translated by Soibam Haripriya and Chongtham Jamini Devi whose story translated by Samom questions domestic responsibility in a maledominated societyINTERNATIONAL READSAnnie ErnauxA Girlrsquos Story by Annie Ernaux Translated from French by Alison Strayer Ernauxrsquos memoir recalls the summer she was an 18yearold holiday camp instructor and submitted herself to a man who subsequently left her Reflecting on how the incident shaped her life and writing she is now found being gentle on her past self and walks towards a journey of selfdiscovery away from shameHoda BarakatVoices of the Lost by Hoda Barakat Translated from Arabic by Marilyn Booth this is a story of how five letters by migrants from wartorn countries reveal things they could not get themselves to tell their loved ones The letters are found by unintended recipients and the novel explores the effect they have on these recipientsHerta MullerTravelling on One Leg by Herta Muller Irene a German woman emigrates from Romania to Berlin in the late 1980s The book explores her relationship with three men and herself as she experiences immense isolation She begins to engage in a creative pursuit to find solace This narrative of dislocation is brought to English readers from the original German by Valentina Glajar and Andre LefevereKyungSook ShinPlease Look After Mother by KyungSook Shin When SoNyo is separated from her husband at a subway station her family sets out to find her They recall her life and begin learning about all that they did not know about her ndash her pains sacrifices and secrets ChiYoung Kim deftly translates this sensitive novel from the original Korean titleRania MamounThirteen Months of Sunrise by Rania Mamoun This is a short story collection translated from Arabic by Elisabeth Jaquette Set primarily in Sudan the 10 stories explore themes ranging from estrangement and longing to love One of the most poignant ones in the collection is lsquoPassingrsquo where the narrator grieves her fatherrsquos death Meanwhile the one titled lsquoIn the Muck of the Soulrsquo follows a format akin to that of a screenplay to depict Sudan as seen from the eyes of the mediaAvailable Leading bookstores and estores