NIE! Leaves of Narcissus by Somaya Ramadan

Title: Leaves of Narcissus

Author: Somaya Ramadan

Translator: Marilyn Booth

NIE! "Nothing More To Lose" by Najwan Darwish

Title: Nothing More To Lose
Author: Najwan Darwish

Translator: Kareem James Abu-Zeid 

Now in English! "Balika Badhu": a Bengali Anthology

What began as Monish Ranjan Chatterjee’s project to translate ‘The Adolescent Bride’ (‘Balika Badhu’) by Bimal Kar, later became an anthology of Bengali short stories. Balika Badhu: A representative anthology of Bengali short stories spans just over 300 pages. But while it is very cohesive, it is not quite representative. Chatterjee says so much in the introduction. Although all the pieces are well paced and the writers well known in the West Bengal, no woman writer was included. This is an imperfection that the translator points out almost immediately, but regardless, this anthology is certainly worth reading.

Thoughts for the Post-Colonial Reader

“The close relationship between colonization and translation has come under scrutiny; we can now perceive the extent to which translation was for centuries a one-way process, with texts being translated into European languages for European consumption, rather than as part of a reciprocal process of exchange.” – from Post-colonial Translation by Susan Basset & Harish Trivedi

Post-Colonialism has long since wedged itself into the cultural limelight, notably in the realm of pop culture and cultural appropriation. Translation and foreign literature has not escaped its purview, and while many readers may shirk away for one reason or another – to political, too liberal – it’s an important factor to think about. For, to some degree, colonialism has chosen and reinforced what we read.

However, now foreign novels are not translated into English nearly enough, meaning that we know less about the world and its peoples than we did before. While novels, movies, advertisements are translated out of English and into a multitude of other languages; the international novel market in the United States is still relatively small. The US has largely monopolized its culture through exporting it.

So what can we understand that’s useful for us readers about the translation and post-colonialism?

5 Tips for Reading International Fiction

Last week I wrote a bit about why branching into international fiction is a good idea - but I barely touched on how to do it. Whenever you come in contact with another culture, there's going to be some complications in understanding, even if the story is similar to something you may read at home. So how can we get the most out of reading outside our culture?

5 Reasons You Should Read International Fiction

As a US citizen, the plethora of brilliant English fiction seems overwhelming. Even with ebooks coming into vogue, local book stores are brimming and bursting with new books. So why add the outside world to your reading list? Well, I can give you five reasons off the top of my head.