Welcome to Litsy!

Many families turned to the solace of time spent in nature during the pandemic. Whether or not this activity was actually possible for readers of this endearing picture book, its portrayal of a quiet nighttime adventure is very inviting. There‘s also a natural propulsion: an unknown but important destination. A perfect laptime book: enjoy slowly studying the detailed pencil illustrations with various nocturnal creatures. #kidlit #Translation

I felt like I was swimming through time in company with Ernaux, who intertwines personal & societal experiences in this memoir/cultural history spanning 7 decades. The voice shifts between “she” for the author & “we” for the collective, managing to be both intimate & expansive. Not every detail (ie French politics) resonated, but I identified strongly with the changing of women‘s lives & the rise of consumerism. #Translation by Alison Strayer.

Multi-awardwinning Quebec cartoonist Michel Rabagliati captures the humour of daily life in his series of graphic novels about Paul. I believe this is the 6th one, and it‘s definitely his most poignant. Paul, who hates change, must come to terms with aging and loneliness. I especially love the portrayal of Paul‘s little dog companion, Cookie. #Translation by Helge Dascher & Rob Aspinall. #CanadianAuthor #comics #shadowgiller2021

3.25⭐️ I actually really liked the story, but the reason for the down grade in rating is simply due to the fact that I took too long to read the book and that I felt that I missed most of the story. #2021 #bookreview #bookstagram #noir #mystery #translation #fiction

Read for #readingeurope2021 #sweden 🇸🇪

Moa Romanova‘s graphic memoir about living with depression and an anxiety disorder is moving and even funny. She‘s young and lives in a rundown apartment in Gothenberg, Sweden, with unreliable water. The clutter & garbage pictured everywhere seem to reflect her mental struggle. But she finds hope & help from unlikely quarters. The art is unusual and striking; with minimal text. #Translation by Melissa Bowers. #WIT #comics

The forward movement from character to character, chapter to chapter, would be dizzying if not for Kim Thúy‘s spare prose that clearly shows the links, establishing order amidst the chaos of the war in Vietnam. True events, especially the My Lai massacre & Operation Babylift—are central to the story. I wept. Love is the antidote to trauma & this novel is full to the brim with love. A balm for the heart. Impeccable #translation by Sheila Fischman.

Maria Stepanova set out to record her Jewish family‘s history in Russia, but the more she uncovered, the more she doubted what she thought she knew. This remarkable work of literature is hard to classify: it‘s a blend of memoir, fiction, 20th c history, archival documents, & essays about art. These all come gracefully together in what turns out to be a rumination on memory & mortality. Lively & poetic #translation by Sasha Dugdale. #WIT

With a beautiful cover, a solid performance and a unique premise, I enjoyed this #audiobook in #translation. Structured as a bestiary, across the information and personal stories, a unifying narrative develops about the author of the stories that ties more and more of this together. Definitely different, I think this will be a good discussion starter - particularly for groups who want to bring in more global authors!
#AudioColoring

Miracle à la Combe aux Aspics (Čudo u Poskokovoj Dragi in the original Croatian) is a funny (but very unsubtle) novel about a violent, boorish and self-sufficient family living in the mountains near Split, in Croatia. Not a classic, but very readable.

(photo from the Split article in Wikipedia)

#Croatia #translation

Celestial Bodies by Omani author Jokha Alharti and a cup of cardamom-flavoured coffee - hopefully not too far from Omani-style coffee. So happy I was able to tick off Oman in my list of countries to visit through fiction with a novel that has real literary merit.

#Oman #globalliterature #translation