translated literature Archives

February Virtual Book Tour for AFTERSHOCK by Zhang Ling

A catastrophic disaster in China triggers a mother’s heartbreaking choice and a daughter’s reconciliation with the past in AFTERSHOCK, the engrossing novel by Zhang Ling, author of A Single Swallow and Where Waters Meet. Perfect for fans of Amy Tan, Lisa See, and Min Jin Lee.

“Translated from Chinese, award-winning author Zhang’s latest book traces the fractures of Xiaodeng’s past and present, weaving in vignettes from her mother, brother, and husband to craft a multigenerational saga. This beautiful, quietly profound story examines the resilience and fragility of humans in the face of disaster. But at its heart, AFTERSHOCK is about family and how we protect the ones we love.” – Booklist

In the summer of 1976, an earthquake swallows up the city of Tangshan, China. Among the hundreds of thousands of people scrambling for survival is a mother who makes an agonizing decision that irrevocably changes her life and the lives of her children. In that devastating split second, her seven-year-old daughter, Xiaodeng, is separated from her brother and the mother she loves and trusts. All Xiaodeng remembers of the fateful morning is betrayal.

Thirty years later, Xiaodeng is an acclaimed writer living in Canada with a caring husband and daughter. However, her newfound fame and success do little to cover the deep wounds that disrupt her life, time and again, and edge her toward a breaking point. Xiaodeng realizes the only path toward healing is to return to Tangshan, find her mother, and get closure.

Spanning three decades of the emotional and cultural aftershocks of disaster, Zhang Ling’s intimate epic explores the damage of guilt, the healing pull of family, and the hope of one woman who, after so many years, still longs to be saved.

Here’s the impressive lineup of bloggers who will post reviews, features, and giveaways. We hope you will follow along:

2/5 – Kera’s Always Reading

2/6 – Nurse Bookie

2/7 – We Love Big Books and We Cannot Lie

2/8 – Suzy Approved Book Reviews

2/9 – Reading with Nicole

2/12 – Lilacs and Literature

2/13 – Aimee Dars Reads

2/14 – Purrfect Pages

2/15 – Totahly Booked

2/16 – Secret Reading Life

2/19 – Love My Books 2020

2/20 – Books and Coffee MX

2/21 – Michelle Loves Books

2/22 – Sue the Bookie

2/22 – Meg’s Book Club

2/23 – Danish Mustard Reads

2/25 – Subakka Bookstuff

2/26 – Dai 2 Dai Reader

2/26 – The Maddie Hatter

2/27 – Reading with Melann Rosenthal

2/28 – Lexijava

2/29 – Gloriana Wong

3/1 – Books n Bikram

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November Virtual Tour for MOTHERLAND: A Memoir by Paula Ramón translated by Julia Sanches and Jennifer Shyue

From Venezuelan journalist Paula Ramón comes a powerful memoir about one woman’s complicated relationship with her family as her beloved homeland collapses into ruin.

In the span of a generation, oil-rich Venezuela spiraled into a dire state of economic collapse. Journalist Paula Ramón experienced the crisis firsthand as her middle-class family saw their quality of life deteriorate. In her deeply personal new book MOTHERLAND: A Memoir, Ramón poignantly and eloquently recounts what it was like growing up in Venezuela when Hugo Chávez won his first election through his death and beyond. Translated by the talented Julia Sanches and Jennifer Shyue, MOTHERLAND will be published in English for the first time by Amazon Crossing on October 31, 2023.

“This book is a very personal story, but also very relatable to people who are trying to come to terms with who they are, their relationships to their families and their loyalties to their countries,” Ramón said. “I’m thrilled about this new English version because it allows me to share this story – mine and my country’s – with more people.”

MOTHERLAND is not a political book, but rather a poignant and sentimental search for one’s 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 time Ramón started high school in the 1990s, Venezuela was already experiencing turbulent times. The crisis got progressively worse. In the decades that followed, public services no longer functioned. Money lost its value. Eventually, her mother couldn’t afford to buy food, which was increasingly scarce. The once-prosperous country fell into ruin. Like many others, Ramón’s family struggled to survive each day in their beloved city, Maracaibo—until, one by one, they each made the unbearable choice to leave the home they loved.

In the end, it was Ramón’s mother, a widow, who stayed behind, loyal to the only home she’d ever known. In this heartbreaking mix of lived experience, family chronicle, and journalistic essay, Paula Ramón explores the anguish of her own relationships set against the staggering collapse of a country.

MOTHERLAND is a uniquely human account about the ties that bind—and the fragile concept of home.

Here’s the fantastic lineup of bloggers who will post reviews, features, and giveaways. We hope you will follow along:

10/31 – We Love Big Books And We Cannot Lie

11/1 – Book Dragon 217

11/2 – Nurse Bookie

11/3 – Low Key Bookish

11/5 – We Break For Books

11/6 – Books and Coffee MX

11/7 – Bookish Spren

11/8 – My Bursting Book Bag

11/9 – Danish Mustard Reads

11/10 – Bookphile Belle

11/12 – Dog Mom Bookworm

11/13 – The Book Club Mom

11/14 – Momma Leighellen’s Book Nook

11/15 – Sue the Bookie

11/16 – Bookapotamus

11/17 – Angels Mom Reads

11/20 – Diaries of a Bibliophile

11/21 – Reading with Melann Rosenthal

11/22 – Suzy Approved Book Reviews

11/26 – Lexijava

11/27 – Gloriana Wong

11/27 – Literary Quicksand

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December 2022 Virtual Book Tour for AN IMPOSSIBLE RETURN by Caroline Laurent, translated by Jeffrey Zuckerman

WINNER OF THE PRIX MAISON DE LA PRESSE, THE PRIX LOUISE-GUILLOUX, AND THE PRIX DU SALON DU LIVRE DU MANS

“Franco-Mauritian writer Laurent, in her potent English-language debut, overlays a tragic love story onto a powerful account of historical injustice in the Chagos Archipelago….The many moments of gruesome colonial brutality are undercut by the Chagossians’ tenderness, courage, and simmering rage in response to incalculable loss. Gabriel and Marie’s saga, which involves a hunger strike, murder, and other dramatic episodes, is interspersed with a piercing 2019 narrative from an adult Joséphin: ‘Believe me. Our fate affects you all,’ he notes. Thanks to Laurent’s devastating work, readers will, indeed, have their eyes and hearts opened.” —Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

AN EPIC LOVE STORY SET AGAINST A BACKDROP OF INJUSTICE, DEVASTATING SECRETS, AND THE PAINFUL PRICE OF INDEPENDENCE.

“It’s a story my mother told me. Not a fairy tale or a fable, no, but a true story that she scratched at every so often like a nasty wound. An island tragedy,” says award-winning novelist, Caroline Laurent. “My mother described her childhood in Mauritius, long before—before Europe, before exile, before me—and then a word escaped her lips, Chagos, with its two easy syllables, sha and go, that could have been tossed just as easily as jacks. Her face darkened. Her gaze was lost momentarily, or rather turned inward, digging deep within herself. The archipelago was tormented. Its poor people had been sold off! Sitting in the kitchen, I could make out the tragedy even though I didn’t understand any of it.”

Inspired by a shocking travesty of justice, the repercussions of which still reverberate more than fifty years later, bestselling Franco-Mauritian author Caroline Laurent has written an exquisitely beautiful and tragic novel based on the authentic story of the inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago. In AN IMPOSSIBLE RETURN (Amazon Crossing; December 1, 2022), expertly translated by Jeffrey Zuckerman, Caroline Laurent paints a shimmering portrait of island life, a sensual paradise lost, and a gorgeous star-crossed love story against all odds.

It’s 1967 in the Chagos Archipelago—a group of atolls in the Indian Ocean—and life is peaceful and simple for hardworking Marie. Her fierce independence and love for her home are quickly apparent to Gabriel, the handsome and sophisticated Mauritian secretary to the archipelago’s administrator; it’s love at first sight. As these two lovers from neighboring islands welcome a new son, Joséphin, a bright future seems possible. But Gabriel is hiding a terrible secret. The Mauritian government is negotiating independence from Britain, and this deal with the devil will mean evacuating the Chagos, without warning or mercy—a betrayal that will put their love to the test.

A novel of exile, heartbreak and hope, AN IMPOSSIBLE RETURN serves as a beautiful tribute to the Chagossian people.

We have lined up a wonderful schedule of highly acclaimed bloggers who will share features, post reviews and offer giveaways throughout the month December. Follow along to learn more about this award-winning novel in translation!

Thursday, December 1 – BLUNT SCISSORS BOOK REVIEWS

Thursday, December 1 – NURSE BOOKIE

Friday, December 2 – SUE THE BOOKIE

Friday, December 2 – BRITT READS A LATTE BOOKS

Saturday, December 3 – MOMMA LEIGHELLEN’S BOOK NOOK

Sunday, December 4 – BOOKS, LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING

Monday, December 5 – AIMEE DARS READS

Monday, December 5 – WHAT IS THAT BOOK ABOUT

Tuesday, December 6 – BLACK, BIRACIAL, AND BOOKISH

Tuesday, December 6 – LILACS AND LITERATURE

Wednesday, December 7 – TINA MAY READS

Thursday, December 8 – WE LOVE BIG BOOKS AND WE CANNOT LIE