Welcome to Litsy!

…but the white-flowered bush clovers are already past their peak and bow to the ground like the dishevelled tresses of a woman who has thrown herself down in tears, flowing towards my feet upon the gazebo‘s paving stones. —Behind the Prison, Kafu Nagai, #translation by Jay Rubin
(Internet photo)

This is a MG graphic novel in translation. The author wrote it after devastating earthquakes struck Italy in 2016.It shows how a community comes together , and the many ways life gets turned on its head after natural disaster. I enjoyed the story of the three main friends, how they cope, and the illustrations. #MG #graphicnovel #translation

Written in Spanish by Dolores Redondo and translated into English by Michael Meigs. Redondo is also the author of the immensely popular Baztán trilogy. When Spanish businessman Álvaro is killed in a car accident, his writer husband, Manuel, is suddenly made aware of a secret life that Álvaro never mentioned. Highly recommend this mystery set in Spain! ? #translation #womenauthors #Spain

What a doorstopper. Currently reading this beast. Slowly getting there. #translation #bookcrossing #MTBR #ownedsince2011

A Kindle First Reads pick this month, this translation from the German includes a disgraced cop, the requisite murder, police-on-the-take and one seriously disturbing family secret. A few too many red herrings but otherwise, quite good. A Kindle editor compares this to Jo Nesbo's “Harry Hole“ series. I look forward to more from this author as this is supposed to be the first in a series. #mystery #Kindle #KindleFirstReads #translation

As things—ribbons, roses, calendars, birds—mysteriously disappear from their island, and their absence is enforced by brutal memory police, the stakes get higher for those members of society who can‘t forget. Ominous and dreamlike, this reminded me of Abe‘s Woman in the Dunes, Lowry‘s The Giver, and Orwell‘s 1984. #Translation by Stephen Snyder.

”Ragged clouds raced across the sky, and the wind was gusting up to gale force. After waking at dawn, Wallander lay in bed for a long time and listened to the wind. When he stepped on the #scale in the bathroom, he saw that he had lost another 2 pounds. This cheered him up so much that when he pulled into the parking lot at the police station he did not have the sense of despondency he‘d been feeling lately.”
#QuotsySep19
#translation

This #manga series that follows a gay Tokyo couple & their friends & colleagues continues to entertain me. I‘m wrapped up in the characters like it‘s a soap opera. The #translation by Jocelyne Allen continues to be awkward, but I don‘t really mind. Each chapter features the details of food preparation for a menu; I often come away with ideas for something to try at home. This time, it‘s sweet potato rice.

Shiro‘s boss loves eating alone, not having to think about nutrition for her family. Kenji‘s cholesterol is up. A colleague gets married & asks Shiro‘s advice regarding a weight-loss diet for her husband. From the “mystic healthy aura of yogurt” to eating sweets, chapters in issue 11 are thematically linked by ideas about nutrition. I like that many of the peripheral characters have story arcs here. #LGBT #manga #comics #translation

Surreal satire, with dark—very dark—humour that left me in despair for the future of humanity. Individuals are sometimes altruistic & help each other but what can be done against the greater power of authoritarianism? Maybe the bleakness prompted me to rate this 4 stars on Goodreads last night but I realized today that I‘ll never forget it, so 5 stars it is.
#Translation by Elisabeth Jaquette. #Audiobook superbly narrated by Mark Bramhall.