May
Silver Bullets by Elmer Mendoza, translated from the Spanish by Mark Fried; (c2008) Maclehose Press 2015
an exceptional, headspinning take on the classic hard-boiled detective story; 58 characters (I was grateful for the scorecard) populate the 200 pages of this blackly comic Mexican noir; stylistically interesting, contributes to the sense of chaos and uncertainty in a society ravaged by the corruption and violence of the drug trade
A World Beneath The Sands: The Golden Age Of Egyptology by Toby Wilkinson, Norton 2020
from the Rosetta stone to King Tut’s tomb; a lively account of the discoveries, personalities, and scholarship of Egyptology and the political/historical context of European rivalries and the developing Egyptian nationalism
Black Sea by Neal Ascherson, Jonathan Cape 1995
an extraordinary history of the whirlpool of peoples and cultures that is the Black Sea region; fascinating and disturbingly relevant
The Far Empty by J. Todd Scott, Putnam 2016
noirish crime story in the Big Bend territory of West Texas; interesting characters and very good sense of the country
How To Talk About Books You Haven’t Read by Pierre Bayard, translated from the French by Jeffrey Mehlman; Bloomsbury 2007
witty, provocative, and thoughtful exploration of what we mean by “reading” and why we do it; a good discussion in book group where I was amused to learn that I was the only person who finished it (book group)
April
Migratory Birds by Mariana Oliver, translated from the Spanish by Julia Sanches; (c2014) Transit 2021
gracefully written essays on themes of migration
Olav Audunsson, Vol.I Vows by Sigrid Undset, translated from the Norwegian by Tiina Nunnaly; (c1925) Univ. of Minnesota 2020
wonderfully evocative, immersive story of medieval Norway
The Shadow of the Empire, A Judge Dee Investigation by Qiu Xiaolong; Severn House 2021
author of popular Inspector Chen series reworks one of Dee’s cases
The Name Is Archer by Ross Macdonald, Bantam Books 1955
short story collection
The Emissary by TAWADA Yoko, translated from the Japanese by Margaret Mitsutami; (c2014) New Directions 2018
not your usual dystopia; poignant, funny, thoughtful
Reading in the Dark by Seamus Deane, Jonathan Cape 1996
second reading even richer experience; wonderful language, complex layering and interweaving of stories (book group)
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan, Grove Press 2021
novella asks if we can choose to be courageous and kind when it’s easier to look away
Malice by HIGASHINO Keigo, translated from the Japanese by Alexander O. Smith; (c1996) Minotaur Books 2014
a very clever puzzler and treat for fans of literary/psychological mysteries
Under The Midnight Sun by HIGASHINO Keigo, translated from the Japanese by Alexander O. Smith; (c1999) Minotaur Books 2016
extended, complex story of a crime and its aftermath
March
The Ivory Grin by Ross Macdonald, c1947 Knopf
Macdonald’s Lew Archer series exemplifies the pleasures of the hard-boiled detective story
Velvet Was The Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Del Ray 2021
seriously entertaining or entertainingly serious, take your pick; very interesting and enjoyable story of people caught up in the political turmoil of 1970’s Mexico City (book group)
The Basel Killings by Hansjorg Schneider, translated from the German by Mike Mitchell; (c2010) Bitter Lemon Press 2021
first of a mystery series set in Basel Switzerland; interesting detective, characters and plot show cross-currents of contemporary Europe
The Window Trail by J J Rusz, 2018
“A Big Bend Country Mystery”; a nicely told story, appealing characters and excellent local color; a pleasure to read, especially while traveling in the Park
Silver Pebbles by Hansjorg Schneider, translated from the German by Mike Mitchell; (c2011) Bitter Lemon Prss 2022
drug deal diamonds go astray and are found by an unlikely couple on the margins of society
Fatale by Jean-Ptrick Manchette, translated from the French by Donald Nicholson-Smith; (c1977) NYRB 2011
very dark noir from the great French crime novelist; opening scene of hunters “…hunting for a good three hours and still had not killed anything. Everyone was frustrated and crotchety.” There will be plenty of killing with a cold edge of black comedy.
Eight Dogs or Hakkenden, Part One of An Ill-Considered Jest by BAKIN Kyokutei, translated from the Japanese by Glynne Walley; Cornell University Press 2021
wonderfully entertaining saga with elements of adventure, fantasy, folklore and historical romance
The Body Snatcher by Patricia Melo, translated from the Portuguese by Clifford E. Landers; (c2010) Bitter Lemon Press 2015
crushing heat and pervasive corruption, moral and physical, in a remote western Brazil town; complex surprising plot
February
From the Holy Mountain, A Journey In The Shadow Of Byzantium by William Dalrymple, HarperCollins 1997
the author’s courage, scholarship, humor and humanity are all evident in this modern classic of travel writing; it’s an absolutely wonderful, engrossing account of an extraordinary journey to discover the survivals, physical and cultural, of the Byzantine world in the contemporary Middle East
The Aosawa Murders by ONDA Riku, translated from the Japanese by Alison Watts; (c2005) Bitter Lemon Press 2020
a painstaking reinvestigation of a shocking murder builds surprising tension and horror
Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah, Bloomsbury 2020
seemingly effortless classic storytelling; the flow of a hundred years of history and politics seen through the ordinary lives of an Arican town (book group)
Augustus by John Williams, (c1972) NYRB 2014
a biography of Augustus, a history of the founding of the Roman Empire, a subtle study of power and politics – all in the form of an epistolary novel; an extraordinary accomplishment
In Translation, Translators On Their Work And What It Means edited by Esther Allen and Susan Bernofsky, Columbia University Press 2013
some essays were on technical topics but there was much for the general reader interested in the history, issues, and challenges of translation
January
Inside Dope by Paul Thomas, Hachette New Zealand 1996
extremely entertaining comic crime story; author has a real flair for character and description, sharp humor
Legends of the Condor Heroes 1: A Hero Born by YONG Jin, translated from the Chinese by Anna Holmwood; (c1959) English ed. Maclehose Press 2018
a wonderfully entertaining martial arts fantasy adventure tale with memorable characters and briskly moving action; excellent translation
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, Riverhead Books 2020
(book group) several stories of different forms of “passing”; novel overcrowded, felt labored
A Brief History Of Motion: From the Wheel, to the Car, to What Comes Next by Tom Standage, Bloomsbury 2021
title says it all; engaging style, lively anecdotes, cautionary observations about the unforseen consequences of technology and good intentions
Lady Joker by TAKAMURA Kaoru, translated from the Japanese by Marie Iida and Allison Markin Powell; (c1997) English edition Soho Press 2021
Vol. 1 immersive fascinating portrait of Japanese society in the guise of a crime novel
The Meaning Of Travel by Emily Thomas, Oxford Univ. Press 2020
a pleasurable tour with “philosophers abroad”, contemplates the who and why of travel and what we think of where we’ve been
The Village Of Eight Graves by YOKOMIZO Seishi, translated from the Japanese by Bryan Karetnyk; (c1971) English edition Pushkin Press 2021
an irresistable title; another delightfully complex problem for detective KINDAICHI Kosuke complete with a lost Samurai treasure hoard
Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shua Dusapin, translated from the French by Aneesa Abbas Higgins; (c2016) Daunt Books 2020/Open Letter 2021
award winner for translation; language both spare and unsparing in description; enigmatic storyof borders and uncertain identities, its tone as cold as the weather in the shabby out-of-season resort town
Dancing On The Ropes, Translators and the Balance of History by Anna Aslanyan, Profile Books 2021
entertaining stories of the role of translators/interpreters in history illustrate the challenges and philosophies of cross-language communication
Prefecture D by YOKOYAMA Hideo, translated from the Japanese by Jonathan Lloyd-Davies; (c1998) English edition Riverrun 2019
early stories set in the Japanese Police unit that became the setting of the author’s excellent 2012 novel Six Four
The Seventh Cross by Anna Seghers, translated by Margot Bettauer Dembo; (c1946) NYRB 2018
psychologically insightful, intensely suspensful story of escape from a Nazi prison camp for political dissidents before the war