Read Women discussion

This thread is for sharing essays, articles, long-reads, lists and other resources for reading women authors around the world.

Electric Lit offers, "11 Short Novels From Around the World that You Can Read in One Sitting". All are novella length.

https://electricliterature.com/11-sho...

Mentioned in it are:

Swallowing Mercury by Wioletta Greg (Poland)

Evening Primrose by Kopano Matlwa (South Africa)

Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss (England)

Chronicle of a Last Summer: A Novel of Egypt by Yasmine El Rashidi (Egypt)

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata (Japan)

Farewell, My Orange by Iwaki Kei (Born in Japan, has lived in Australia for some time)

Electric Lit and https://www.wordswithoutborders.org/ are two of my fave resources. What newsletters or blogs, books, prize lists, other GoodReads groups, etc. have introduced you to women authors from around the world, especially those from countries other than the US and England?

Thanks for posting this, Carol. Here is a good article on Bookriot by Pierce Alquist, one of the BTBA judges this year:

https://bookriot.com/2018/08/23/must-...

Also, the Women In Translation website is a good resource: https://womenintranslation.com

Looking for Nordic and Scandi authors who don't write mysteries and thrillers? From Lit Hub, "Nordic Noir, Beloved Trolls, Dark Absurdity and More", in which a dozen books are identified, including those by the following women authors.

Anger Is My Middle Name: A Memoir by Lisbeth Zornig Andersen

Karate Chop by Dorthe Nors

The Wonderful Adventures of Nils by (Nobel Prize for Literature winner) Selma Lagerlöf

The Moomins and the Great Flood by Tove Jansson

The Greenhouse by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir

Quicksand by Malin Persson Giolito (although this novel does involve a murder and a trial)

Everything Is Mine by Ruth Lillegraven

https://lithub.com/nordic-noir-belove...

Thanks for this link. I am keen to read more nordic literary fiction and this will be a very useful resource to get started on this. Of all those listed, I have only read Audur Ava Olafsdottir, so there's obvisouly much more for me to explore!

I've read and really enjoyed these three novels out in translation this fall from Nordic women:
Welcome to America by Linda Bostrom Knausgaard
When Death Takes Something from You Give It Back: Carl's Book by Naja Marie Aidt
Will and Testament by Vigdis Hjorth

Valerie wrote: "Thanks for this link. I am keen to read more nordic literary fiction and this will be a very useful resource to get started on this. Of all those listed, I have only read Audur Ava Olafsdottir, so ..."

I was chastened to realize I've read only Quick Sand, of which I was not a fan, and need to make a more intentional plan for 2020 with respect to Nordic and Scandi fiction.

June wrote: "I've read and really enjoyed these three novels out in translation this fall from Nordic women:
Welcome to America by Linda Bostrom Knausgaard
[book:When Death Tak..."

Adding these two as well to my TBR. Thank you!

Carol wrote: "Looking for Nordic and Scandi authors who don't write mysteries and thrillers? From Lit Hub, "Nordic Noir, Beloved Trolls, Dark Absurdity and More", in which a dozen books are identified, including..."

I've read The Greenhouse by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir. I recommend her Hotel Silence as a much better novel.

I've put Will and Testament on my TBR.
Thanks.

Keeping with the Nordic theme, Dothe Nor's Mirror, Shoulder, Signal and
So Much for That Winter are also good (though if you don't like experimental fiction styles you might not like So Much for That Winter.)

I also enjoyed the very strange Troll: A Love Story by Finnish science fiction and fantasy writer Johanna Sinisalo

Tamara wrote: "Carol wrote: "Looking for Nordic and Scandi authors who don't write mysteries and thrillers? From Lit Hub, "Nordic Noir, Beloved Trolls, Dark Absurdity and More", in which a dozen books are identif..."

Ah. And I have an arc of Hotel Silence from last year that I (obviously) neglected. Moving that way up my TBR based on your rec. Thanks, Tamara.

On the same theme, but focused specifically on Finland, I love this article. It does not focus exclusively on women authors, but what is adds to an article on contemporary literature is a great deal of context on the history Finnish literature, how Finland's 20th century history impacted publishing and literature, and some interesting data on translations, etc. I also found the book descriptions to be more detailed and helpful than many blurbs in "list" articles.

https://finland.fi/arts-culture/finni...

Purge by Sofi Oksanen

After You, Max by Leena Parkkinen

Kauimpana kuolemasta by Elina Hirvonen

Kosmonaut by Katri Lipson

Mr Darwin's Gardener by Kristina Carlson

Birdbrain by Johanna Sinisalo (author of Troll, recommended by Story in comment 10)

’27, or Death Makes the Artist, a debut by Alexandra Salmela (a Slovakian immigrant to Finland)

Kohtuuttomuus(’Excess’) by Pirkko Saisio

Parvekejumalat ('Balcony Gods') by Anja Snellman

True by Riikka Pulkkinen

This month's New Yorker offers this article, The Norwegian Novel That Divided a Family and Captivated a Country on Vigdis Hjorth's best-selling novel, Will and Testament. It tells an account of abuse, and she insists it is not autobiographical.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...

Belgium

For anyone seeking to read women authors from Belgium, this article has a highly valuable introduction to the literary culture of Belgium, and then identifies selected 19th and 20th century classics for international readers.

https://owlcation.com/humanities/Belg...

Marie Nizet: Captain Vampire

Virginie Loveling: A Gunshot (Een Revolverschot)

Marguerite Yourcenar: Memoirs of Hadrian

From The Bulletin, contemporary authors are featured in "6 Belgium-based authors you should know."

Chika Unigwe: On Black Sisters Street (from the article, " While not actually holding Belgian nationality, leading the list is Nigerian writer Chika Unigwe, one of the best voices to come out of the Belgian literary scene in recent years. Though she recently moved to the United States, Unigwe lived in Turnhout, Flanders for many years with her husband and children, and regularly publishes in both Dutch and English."

Amélie Nothomb: Fear and Trembling, Hygiene and the Assassin, Tokyo Fiancée

https://www.thebulletin.be/reading-li...

And more contemporary writer options are identified in this 2016 Culture Trip article:

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/bel...

Annelies Verbeke: Thirty Days, Sleep!

Saskia de Coster: We & Me, Wat alleen wij horen (What Only We Hear)

Kristien Hemmerechts: Alles verandert (Everything Changes), The Woman Who Fed The Dogs

If you've read a novel by a Belgian author whom you recommend, let us know.

Here's a link to an interesting article in The Atlantic, published in 8/19, entitled, "Arab Women Are Tired of Talking About Just Women's Issues." Notwithstanding that awful, objectionable title, the content itself is thought-provoking and it highlights several women authors resident in Middle Eastern countries. The closing paragraph and final question are spot-on:

Hankir told me that while questions from the audience at book events thus far in the United States have been thoughtful, she was surprised by how often journalists asked her about how her anthology would help puncture the narrative of the docile Arab woman, a reflection of how enduring that lens remains. It is still one chosen by some Western reporters in their own stories (as well as the one seen in portrayals from Hollywood and elsewhere), helping to perpetuate the stereotype.

And so, while the chorus of strong Arab women’s voices is growing, the question is: Does the West want to hear it?

https://www.theatlantic.com/internati...

Book Riot published an interesting set of recommendations for "20 Must-Read Books about Brazil" which promotes many women authors. Note that it includes local as well as foreign voices. Scroll down past the first article to read it:

https://bookriot.com/2019/11/19/upcom...

Complete Stories by Clarice Lispector (in translation)

Brazil: A Biography by Lilia Moritz Schwarcz and Heloísa Starling (Non-fiction) (in translation)

Dancing with the Devil in the City of God: Rio de Janeiro on the Brink by Juliana Barbassa (non-fiction)

The House in Smyrna by Tatiana Salem Levy (in translation)

Poems: The Centenary Edition by Elizabeth Bishop (non-fiction)

With My Dog Eyes by Hilda Hilst (in translation)

Symphony in White by Adriana Lisboa (in translation)

Ways to Disappear by Idra Novey

The End by Fernanda Torres

The Three Marias by Rachel de Queiroz (in translation)

I Didn't Talk by Beatriz Bracher (in translation)

The Translators Association has announced its shortlists for various translation prizes it will give out in February 2020 for works published in the UK in the immediately preceding year.

http://translationista.com/2019/12/20...

The complete list is at the link. I've identified only woman-authored books below. The majority are published by small/indie presses.

The TA First Translation Prize, which goes to a first-time translator of a book-length work and their editor:

Sarah Booker and their editor Lauren Rosemary Hook for a translation of  The Iliac Crest by  Cristina Rivera Garza (And Other Stories). Translated from Spanish.

Morgan Giles and their editor Saba Ahmed for a translation of Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri (Tilted Axis Press). Translated from Japanese.

William Spence and their editor  Tomasz Hoskins  for  a translation of The Promise: Love and Loss in Modern China by Xinran (I. B. Tauris). Translated from Mandarin.

Charlotte Whittle and their editor Bella Bosworth for a translation of People in the Room by Norah Lange  (And Other Stories). Translated from Spanish.

The Schlegel-Tieck Prize for translations from German:

Margot Bettauer Dembo for a translation of The Seventh Cross by Anna Seghers (Virago Press)

Katy Derbyshire  for a translation of Gentleman Jack: A Biography of Anne Lister, Regency Landowner, Seducer and Secret Diarist  by Angela Steidele (Serpent’s Tail)

Iain Galbraith  for a translation of River by Esther Kinsky  (Fitzcarraldo Editions)

Karen Leeder for a translation of Thick of It by Ulrike Almut Sandig (Seagull Books)

The Scott Moncrieff Prize for translations from French:

Penny Hueston for a translation of Our Life in the Forest by Marie Darrieussecq (Text Publishing)

Adriana Hunter  for a translation of Woman at Sea  by Catherine Poulain (Jonathan Cape)

Tina Kover for a translation of Disoriental by Négar Djavadi (Europa Editions)

Geoffrey Strachan for a translation of Tropic of Violence by Nathacha Appanah (MacLehose Press)

David Warriner  for a translation of We Were the Salt of the Sea by Roxanne Bouchard (Orenda Books)

The Premio Valle Inclán Prize for translations from Spanish:

Charlotte Coombe for a translation of Fish Soup by Margarita García Robayo (Charco Press)

William Gregory for a translation of The Oberon Anthology of Contemporary Spanish Plays by Borja Ortiz De Gondra, Blanca Doménech, Víctor Sánchez Rodríguez, Vanessa Montfort, and Julio Escalada (Oberon Books)

Sophie Hughes for a translation of The Remainder by Alia Trabucco Zerán(And Other Stories)

Jessica Sequeira for a translation of Land of Smoke by Sara Gallardo (Pushkin Press)

The Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for translations from Arabic:

Marilyn Booth for a translation of Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi  (Sandstone Press)

The Vodel Prize for translations from Dutch:

Antoinette Fawcett for a translation of Bird Cottage by Eva Meijer (Pushkin Press)

The TLS-Risa Domb/Porjes Prize for translations from Hebrew:

Rachel Tzvia Back for a translation of On the Surface of Silence: The Last Poems of Lea Goldberg by Leah Goldberg (Hebrew Union College Press)

Have you found any new "read around the world" resources or blogs lately? Share them here when you have time!

I happened upon a blog this morning that I'll return to in future, because I tend to read from the same 36 or so countries each year and need to seek out some new voices and experiences.

Ann Morgan, a UK author and TED talk speaker, has a blog and has written 2 books about her 2012 experience reading a book from every country over a 12-month period.

Her books:
UK: Reading the World: Confessions of a Literary Explorer

US: The World Between Two Covers: Reading the Globe

Her blog, where she lists each country and the book/s she selected is here. Note that it includes male authors. Also, the comments include several additional recommendations from readers/commenters.

https://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/th...

I've used Ann Morgan's website many times so far and will do so for years to come. It is amazing that she managed to read a book from every country in one year.

A blog I found a few weeks ago is another blogger who wants to read books from every country by native authors as well. She has compiled a list for every country that she plans to read.

https://2000books.wordpress.com/the-c...

Laurie wrote: "I've used Ann Morgan's website many times so far and will do so for years to come. It is amazing that she managed to read a book from every country in one year.

A blog I found a few weeks ago is ..."

Fantastic, Laurie! Thanks for sharing this link.

This morning I found this great site: Paper Republic, Chinese Literature in Translation

It offers: (a) a searchable database - by book, author and translator (look in the left column, scroll down a tad); (b) notable books published in Chinese, and (c) forthcoming translations.

Here's a link to anticipated 2020 translations (into English), many of which will be published by small/indie presses, by the way. This list includes male authors:

https://paper-republic.org/davehaysom...

早上九点叫醒我 Wake Me Up at Nine in the Morning by A Yi. (Oneworld)

Walls of Wuchang by Fang Fang (ACA Publishing)

Peach Blossom Paradise by Ge Fei (New York Review Books)

A Life Lived by Jia Pingwa (ACA Publishing)

Qinqiang / Shaanxi Opera by Jia Pingwa (Amazon Crossing)

Blossoms by Jin Yucheng (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

The Ming Empire: The Taoist Emperor by Li Heping (ACA Publishing)

Distant Sunflower Fields by Li Juan (ACA Publishing)

Winter Pasture by Li Juan (Sage Books)

Compassion by Lu Nei (ACA Publishing)

and others.

and here are linked the 2019 translated novels. Unfortunately, only 4 are women authors.

https://paper-republic.org/nickyharma...

Translationista, writer and translator Susan Bernofsky's blog, includes a New Year's blog in which she identifies three other web resources for national and international translation news. All of these sites are targeted toward translators, but they are also are great resources for readers and librarians seeking news on new and good translated works, if you're willing to dig a little:

1. The ALTA Blog
https://literarytranslators.wordpress...

2. The PEN Translation Committee

https://pen.org/current-members/trans...

and
3. Columbia University School of the Arts
https://arts.columbia.edu/writing/tra...

Meanwhile I still find the list of blogs in the left-hand column at Translationista's landing page (scroll down to "Blogroll") to be one of my best resources for finding translated fiction. Some favorites:

Arablit: https://arablit.org/
Three Percent (Rochester): http://www.rochester.edu/college/tran...
and Translating Women (Exeter - UK)
http://blogs.exeter.ac.uk/translating...

http://translationista.com/2020/01/tr...

Have you found any great resources lately?

I really enjoy perusing Paper-republic! It has fuelled my binge on Chinese language lit last year. Here's another great one:
The translator Bruce Humes had a very extensive blog about translation of and into Chinese. One of the categories was fiction by and about other ethnicities than the Han-majority. It's still searchable through the Internet Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/201906230...

Great resource if you want to read some very different perspectives on China.

Sanne wrote: "I really enjoy perusing Paper-republic! It has fuelled my binge on Chinese language lit last year. Here's another great one:
The translator Bruce Humes had a very extensive blog about translation o..."

This is fantastic, Sanne! I'd not heard of it before and am increasingly aware of my ignorance when it comes to China's many cultures, ethnicities, history, etc. Thank you.

The shortlist for the 2020 International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) was announced February 4. https://www.arabicfiction.org/en/node...

(The longlist was published in December 2019, and also is available at the arabicfiction site.)

The IPAF helps promote contemporary Arabic fiction and while it is not a translation prize and each book may not yet be available in English, it is a prize that publishers pay attention to and often then prioritize obtaining licensing rights to the English translation. The winner will be announced on April 14, 2020.

Here are the books nominated (includes male authors):

The Spartan Court by Abdelouahab Aissaoui
The Russian Quarter by Khalil Alrez
The King of India by Jabbour Douaihy
Firewood of Sarajevo by Said khatibi
The Tank by Alia Mamdouh
Fardeqan – the Detention of the Great Sheikh by Youssef Ziedan يوسف زيدان

Feminist Folklore: Uncanny tales that empower female voices and female bodies

https://electricliterature.com/7-book...

Thanks Story will check it out!

Thank you Story! Some of those books sound amazing!

Elena Ferrante names her 40 favourite books by female authors:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...

Which ones have you read that you also recommend?

Story wrote: "Elena Ferrante names her 40 favourite books by female authors:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...

Which ones have you read..."

I saw that article this morning! I thought it very strange they didn't link to the original list (here), but I enjoyed browsing it.
I'd recommend Accabadora by Michela Murgia as well. I read it a couple of years ago and loved it. Also, Alice Munro, always and everything by her.

Looking at this list, I should really make work of the collection of short stories by Elsa Morante.

Story below are the ones I've read and would recommend everything except the Cusk, have mixed feelings about Ernaux and the Atwood and DNF'd both but meant to go back, the Joyce Carol Oates isn't great but interesting if you're into the subject matter, I gave up on the Rooney and the Zadie Smith's okay but not a favourite, not that keen on the Flannery O'Connor but probably worth reading. The Bachmann's quite complex and planning to re-read it!

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Fourth Estate)
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (Virago)
Malina by Ingeborg Bachmann, translated by Philip Boehm (Penguin Classics)
A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin (Picador)
Outline by Rachel Cusk (Faber)
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (Harper Perennial)
The Lover by Marguerite Duras, translated by Barbara Bray (Harper Perennial)
The Years by Annie Ernaux, translated by Alison Strayer (Fitzcarraldo)
Motherhood by Sheila Heti (Vintage)
The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek, translated by Joachim Neugroschel (Serpent’s Tail)
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (Flamingo)
The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing (Flamingo)
Beloved by Toni Morrison (Vintage Classics)
Dear Life by Alice Munro (Vintage)
The Bell by Iris Murdoch (Vintage Classics)
Le Bal by Irene Nemirovsky, translated by Sandra Smith (Vintage)
Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates (Fourth Estate)
A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor (Faber))
Gilead by Marylinne Robinson (Virago)
Normal People by Sally Rooney (Faber)
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy (Harper Perennial)
White Teeth by Zadie Smith (Penguin)
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (Simon & Schuster)
Cassandra by Christa Wolf, translated by Jan van Heurck (Daunts)
Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar, translated by Grace Frick (Penguin Classics)

Carol wrote: "This thread is for sharing essays, articles, long-reads, lists and other resources for reading women authors around the world.

Electric Lit offers, "11 Short Novels From Around the World that You..."

The Gregg is a favourite read it fairly recently. Thanks for sharing the list.

I think they didn't link to the original list (Elena Ferrante's) because in effect it is a promotional post linking to a shop (a healthy rival to Amazon), so it only includes the titles that are both available in English and available via bookshop.org

I wish they'd published the titles on her list even if not available in English or not currently in print, so that publishers could see there is an interest in reading them.

I've read 13 on the list, most recently having read and loved A Girl Returned, and enjoyed The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree and also Disoriental, all of which I've reviewed on here.

It's an interesting list, though quite Euro-American focused.

I agree Claire, and thanks for the recommendations, I will check those out.

Claire wrote: "I think they didn't link to the original list (Elena Ferrante's) because in effect it is a promotional post linking to a shop (a healthy rival to Amazon), so it only includes the titles that are bo..."

yeah, so they rehashed what was on the list in their article and link to their own shop with every title they have available... I dunno, not exactly high quality journalism.

As for the list, I agree with it being very Euro-American focused. I'm especially surprised at the amount of English language titles. I would think there would be a different mix of translated and Italian titles... Nevertheless some high quality reads on there!

BookRiot's list of 7 of the best 2020 releases by Black African women authors is awesome, and not the usual suspects. I was wowed.

Stranger Faces by Namwali Serpell - a collection of narrative nonfiction essays - Zambia

A Girl Is a Body of Water by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi - Uganda

And Wrote My Story Anyway: Black South African Women's Novels as Feminism by South African scholar and novelist, Barbara Boswell - nonfiction

Addis Ababa Noir, edited by Maaza Mengiste. part of Akashic's Noir series. 14 new short stories by writers from Ethiopia and the Ethiopian diaspora, including tales from Meron Hadero, Rebecca Fisseha, Linda Yohannes, and Mengiste herself.

Transcendent Kingdom by Ghanian American author, Yaa Gyasi

Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone, an essay collection by Nigerian Finnish and Swedish author, Minna Salami

Still Life, a novel by South African author, Zoë Wicomb

https://bookriot.com/2020-books-by-af...

Seven titles have been shortlisted for the annual award of the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation, now in it's 3rd year, its aim to address the gender imbalance in translated literature and to increase the number of international women’s voices:

132 eligible entries, 16 titles made the initial longlist, 7 shortlisted:

The 7 shortlisted titles include 3 novels (1 is an epistolary novel), 2 collections of short stories, 1 collection of letters, and 1 young adult novella.

Six languages represented: Arabic (Sudan), Chinese (China & Malaysia), German (Georgia/Germany), Hungarian (Hungary), Italian (Italian) & Swedish (Finland).

The shortlist is dominated by independent publishers, including Comma Press and 5 publishers who appear on the shortlist for the first time: Daunt Books, Granta, HopeRoad, Scribe UK and Sort of Books.

Shortlist:
- Abigail by Magda Szabó, translated from Hungarian by Len Rix (MacLehose Press, 2020) (novel)
- Happiness, As Such by Natalia Ginzburg, translated from Italian by Minna Zallmann Proctor (Daunt Books Publishing, 2019) (novel)
- Lake Like a Mirror by Ho Sok Fong, translated from Chinese by Natascha Bruce (Granta Publications, 2019) (short stories)
- Letters from Tove by Tove Jansson, edited by Boel Westin & Helen Svensson, translated from Swedish by Sarah Death (Sort of Books, 2019) (letters)
- The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischvili, translated from German by Charlotte Collins and Ruth Martin (Scribe UK, 2019) (novel)
- Thirteen Months of Sunrise by Rania Mamoun, translated from Arabic by Elisabeth Jaquette (Comma Press, 2019) (short stories)
- White Horse by Yan Ge, translated from Chinese by Nicky Harman (HopeRoad, 2019) (YA novella)

In addition three titles from the longlist were singled out for commendation:

- Isabella (Smokestack Books, 2019), a collection of fiercely feminist poems by the Italian Renaissance writer Isabella Morra translated by Caroline Maldonado;

- the extraordinary memoir about mushrooms and grief, The Way Through the Woods: Of Mushrooms and Mourning (Scribe UK, 2019) by Malaysian-born Long Litt Woon, translated from Norwegian by Barbara Haveland;

- and the pacey YA thriller set in a small French town rife with racism and rage Summer of Reckoning (Bitter Lemon Press, 2020) by Marion Brunet, translated from French by Katherine Gregor.

Two excellent lists, thanks Carol and Claire. I've read the Magda Szabo and been dipping into the Jansson letters, I read them at night to wind down but more or less finished. And I'd recommend both. I'm also planning on reading Ginzburg but a lot of others on both lists I'd like to read. I'm doing various challenges at the moment so probably next year!

Claire - this is awesome. thanks for compiling and sharing. I've been wanting to read - but avoided because of its length - Eighth Life - all year, so this is yet another kick in the buttocks to get on with getting a copy and getting over myself. and several others here are unfamiliar to me. yay! new prospects.

Alwynne wrote: "Two excellent lists, thanks Carol and Claire. I've read the Magda Szabo and been dipping into the Jansson letters, I read them at night to wind down but more or less finished. And I'd recommend bot..."

alwynne - good to know. I have yet to read my first Szabo and may well start here.

Alwynne wrote: "Two excellent lists, thanks Carol and Claire. I've read the Magda Szabo and been dipping into the Jansson letters, I read them at night to wind down but more or less finished. And I'd recommend bot..."

I've read The Door and I have Iza's Balland, so pleased to know there is more of Szabo to read, this one was her most widely read in Hungary, so I'm looking forward to it too. I loved Jansson's winter and summer books, her writing is so down to earth and comforting. I'm pleased that there is this award and another source for hearing about what's being translated into English for us. Happy to share it here for us all.

yes, Eighth Life might be a chunkster for next summer for me, I've only heard good things about it too.

Carol wrote: "Claire - this is awesome. thanks for compiling and sharing. I've been wanting to read - but avoided because of its length - Eighth Life - all year, so this is yet another kick in the buttocks to ge..."

It does keep turning up doesn't it.

Claire wrote: "Carol wrote: "Claire - this is awesome. thanks for compiling and sharing. I've been wanting to read - but avoided because of its length - Eighth Life - all year, so this is yet another kick in the ..."

I'm so conflicted about that one, everything about it should appeal, the subject-matter/setting, and love long immersive reads. But read an extract and just not sure about the writing style. Some of the sentences were just a little too perfumed for me. But loads of people whose taste I trust have loved it so keep thinking I should try it anyway.

Alwynne wrote: "Claire wrote: "Carol wrote: "Claire - this is awesome. thanks for compiling and sharing. I've been wanting to read - but avoided because of its length - Eighth Life - all year, so this is yet anoth..."

you know - this is a great suggestion - I should find an excerpt. It ticks all of my boxes and trusted friends have loved, but in the end the writing has to work for me to make the investment of both money and time work.

I always read free samples on my kindle app if available before buying a book. Strangely I wasn't sure about the opening of The Eighth Life but decided to go for it and it turned out to be my best read of 2020 and one of my all time favourites (I'm sure you're all sick of me repeating this by now!) The first and last shapters are strange and not really reflective of the style of the rest of the book

Hannah wrote: "I always read free samples on my kindle app if available before buying a book. Strangely I wasn't sure about the opening of The Eighth Life but decided to go for it and it turned ou..."

hannah - thanks for reminding me that you're a fan, and for noting the weaknesses of excerpts in making my decision, too.

Hannah that really helps because everything else about it sounds brilliant and I really fancy a long involving read for the holidays...think I'll put it on my Christmas wishlist!

As I'm already getting excited about next year's challenges and themes I wanted to share with you some of my favourite goodreads lists:

Women around the world:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4...

WiT:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...

South, Central and Carribean America women authors:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...

Central & Eastern Europen women authors: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...

Japanese women authors: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...

Contemporary black women authors: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Thank you, Hannah! I am often so busy trolling external lists that I miss out on the best of whats here on GR listopia. these are awesome resources.

Hannah wrote: "I always read free samples on my kindle app if available before buying a book. Strangely I wasn't sure about the opening of The Eighth Life but decided to go for it and it turned ou..."

It just won the Warwick Women in Translation Prize for 2020!