Written by Hwang Bo-Reum, translated by Shanna Tan Summary Yeongju is burned out. With her high-flying career, demanding marriage, and bustling life in Seoul, she knows she should feel successfulโbut all she feels is drained. Haunted by an abandoned dream, …
Cathy
Cathy
I am a freelance translator, literature lover, and language nerd based near the Baltic Sea. You can usually find me with a cup of tea, my latest read, and plenty of questions about language.
- Book ReviewsCrime/MysteryFictionTranslated Lit
Book Review: Pentimento Mori: An Art History Mystery
by Cathyby CathySummary Renowned art historian Dr. Edna Silvera is not your typical detective. In fact, sheโs not a detective at all. But when she stumbles across an apparently impossible medieval painting in the suddenly-deceased Nando Folliโs junk shop, her curiosity lands …
We Need No Wings was a beautiful story, artistically narrated and sensitively told, it was a pleasure to read on my holidays this year. Find my full review below! Summary To be free, we must learn to fly. Teresa Sรกnchez …
I’ve taken a bit of a hiatus from sharing a post about Women in Translation month (see my WIT lists from 2020 and 2021), but I haven’t stopped reading books written and translated by women. Just in case you need …
- Book ReviewsGeneral Non-FictionMemoir/Biography
Review: Playing for Freedom by Zarifa Adiba
by Cathyby CathySummary Passionate musician Zarifa Adiba grew up on the worn-torn streets of Kabul, Afghanistan at a time when the Talibanโs influence was still very present in society. Zarifa has big dreams; she wants to play music and get an education. …
‘Every woman must be nourished by an inner reservoir of secrets…’ but when Melike starts to unravel hers, the consequences are devastating.
- Book ReviewsHumorLiterary FictionSci-Fi/Fantasy
Review: Masters of Death by Olivie Blake
by Cathyby CathyThis book surprised me so much! I didn’t like one of the author’s other books but Masters of Death is one of my favourite books this year! The Summary Viola Marek is a struggling real estate agent, and a vampire. …
Synopsis Motherland is not a political book, but rather a poignant and sentimental search for oneโs roots and for the answers to the often-asked questions: What defines us? Who are you in a new country? What truly matters? By the …
Unable to accept being dumped by her colleague, Takako quits her job and moves into the used bookstore owned by her uncle, Satoru, in Jinbocho. Despite her initial lack of interest in novels, Takako is slowly drawn into the world …
Summary Kafka in Tangier is a reinterpretation of Kafka’s Metamorphosis, exploring themes of transformation, alienation, and power. At once the story of a family and a chilling portrait of a city, the novella follows Jawad Al-Idrisi, an overworked teacher with …