“A window opens, and I hear the cranes gathering to fly south.” “At dinner one day, I snapped and asked what the hell the point of life was if I was too old for a dog.” If you’ve ever had to say goodbye when death is not a thief but a friend who comes inContinue reading “WHEN THE CRANES FLY SOUTH – Lisa Ridzén”
Tag Archives: Translated
THE CONVENIENCE STORE BY THE SEA – Sonoko Machida
I recently read The Second Chance Convenience Store, and that library hold came in with The Convenience Store by the Sea by Sonoko Machida (translated by Bruno Navasky, Putnam 2025). The first was a Korean convenience store that served as the setting to unfold a story about a mysterious man as told through several interconnectedContinue reading “THE CONVENIENCE STORE BY THE SEA – Sonoko Machida”
THE SECOND CHANCE CONVENIENCE STORE – Kim Ho-Yeon
If you’re looking for a slim, comfortable little novella that is reminiscent of the heart hug I get from Backman, try Kim Ho-Yeon’s The Second Chance Convenience Store. (Translated by Janet Hong, Originally published in South Korea 2021; English translation published by Harper Perennial 2025). It’s full of warmth and humor, found families, and secondContinue reading “THE SECOND CHANCE CONVENIENCE STORE – Kim Ho-Yeon”
THAT’S ALL I KNOW – Elisa Levi
“Look, sir, here’s your dog. I told you dog weren’t like me, dogs stick around.” “And they’d tell me that if I was going to be so distrustful of the outsiders, I’d end up hating them, and in small towns hatred is more dangerous than guns, the forest, or illness.” With perhaps the most perfectContinue reading “THAT’S ALL I KNOW – Elisa Levi”
TOLD BY STARLIGHT IN CHAD – Joseph Brahim Seid
Current installment of Tommi Reads the World – we are now in the C’s!!! Country: ChadTitle: Told by Starlight in ChadAuthor: Joseph Brahim SeidLanguage: FrenchTranslator: Karen Haire HoenigPublisher: Africa World Press 2007 (originally published in 1962) The options for English translations of works from certain countries are extremely limited, and I had very options for aContinue reading “TOLD BY STARLIGHT IN CHAD – Joseph Brahim Seid”
SO DISTANT FROM MY LIFE – Monique Ilboudo
“My mind ran off as soon as I opened my eyes. I have always had a vagabond mind.” Current installment of Tommi Reads the World – this marks the last of the Bs. Country: Burkina FasoTitle: So Distant from My LifeAuthor: Monique IlboudoLanguage: FrenchTranslator: Yarri KamaraPublisher: Le Serpent á Plumes, 2018 English translation published byContinue reading “SO DISTANT FROM MY LIFE – Monique Ilboudo”
WE ALL LOVED COWBOYS – Carol Bensimon
“All great ideas seem like bad ones at some point.” Current installment of Tommi Reads the World – we’re still in the Bs. Country: BrazilTitle: We All Loved CowboysAuthor: Carol BensimonLanguage: PortugueseTranslator: Beth FowlerPublisher: Companhia das Letras 2013; English translation, Transit Books 2018 We All Loved Cowboys is a queer, coming of age novel that both seemsContinue reading “WE ALL LOVED COWBOYS – Carol Bensimon”
PUNISHED – Ann- Helén Laestadius
“If she’s going through the pearly gates, she damn well ought to suffer on her way there.” Ann- Helén Laestadius’s Punished (translated from the Swedish by Rachel Willson-Broyles, Scribner 2025 – originally published by Romanus & Selling in 2023) will gut you just as surely and jaggedly as Stolen. I’ve said before that Laestadius reminds me ofContinue reading “PUNISHED – Ann- Helén Laestadius”
BEFORE THE FEAST – Saša Stanišic
“I am sure she wanted me as a witness to carry the story of her child out into the world, and may God help me, I will do so.” Current installment of Tommi Reads the World – we’re still in the Bs. Country: BosniaTitle: Before the FeastAuthor: Saša StanišicLanguage: GermanTranslator: Anthea BellPublisher: Random House GmbH, 2014; EnglishContinue reading “BEFORE THE FEAST – Saša Stanišic”
ANXIOUS PEOPLE – Fredrik Backman
“Our hearts are bars of soap that we keep losing hold of…” If you’re going to split a book into the next year, you better make sure it’s a damn good one. Otherwise, you’ll be cursed to read lukewarm works that just miss the mark for the entire year. (A bookish superstition that I’m notContinue reading “ANXIOUS PEOPLE – Fredrik Backman”
A Girl Named Tommi 