Translations

  • Man Down by Irma Venter (trans.) Review: Feisty suspense

    Man Down (Rogue #2) by Irma Venter is an action-thriller with fascinating feisty female leads and a laser-focused narrative. Read my full review. Translated from Afrikaans by Karin Schimke (Amazon Crossing, April 2021) Genre: Action-Adventure, Thriller, Mystery, Drama, Romance, Translation…

  • The Sleeping Nymph / Painted in Blood by Ilaria Tuti, Book Review

    Ilaria Tuti’s The Sleeping Nymph (aka Painted in Blood) is a criminally good character-driven crime thriller and uniquely captivating historical mystery in translation. Read on for our full review. The Sleeping Nymph Book Synopsis In the highly anticipated follow-up to Flowers…

  • The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-eun, Review: Gristly food for thought

    The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-eun is slim but impactful Korean literature… gristly food for thought for those planning post-pandemic travel itineraries. The Disaster Tourist Synopsis Yona has been stuck behind a desk for years working as a programming coordinator for…

  • AT DUSK by Hwang Sok-yong, Book Review

    At Dusk won Hwang Sok-yong the Emile Guimet Prize for Asian Literature. At Dusk Synopsis: In the evening of his life, a wealthy man begins to wonder if he might have missed the point. Park Minwoo is, by every measure, a…

  • The Plotters by Un-su Kim, Review: Dark humour & contradiction

    The Plotters Review: Un-su Kim’s absurdly humorous, evocative novel keeps readers on their toes, captivated by its kaleidoscopic contradictions. A rising star of Korean literature. (Text Publishing, July 2018) Genre: Literature, Thriller, Mystery, Action, Drama, Translation The Plotters Synopsis Translated by Sora…

  • HOTEL SILENCE by Audur Ava Olafsdottir, Book Review

    Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir’s Hotel Silence (Winner of the Icelandic Literary Prize) features a perplexing protagonist and thought-provoking themes. Hotel Silence Synopsis: Jónas Ebeneser is a handy DIY kind of man with a compulsion to fix things, but he can’t seem to fix his…

  • The Red-Haired Woman by Orhan Pamuk, Review: Insightful

    Orhan Pamuk’s latest novel The Red-Haired Woman — a beguiling mystery tale of family and romance, of east and west, tradition and modernity, by one of the great storytellers of our time. The Red-Haired Woman Synopsis From the Nobel Prize winner and…

  • SPRING GARDEN by Tomoka Shibasaki, Book Review

    Spring Garden, winner of the Akutagawa Prize, is a sharp, photo-realistic novella of memory and thwarted hope. Spring Garden Synopsis: Divorced and cut off from his family, Taro lives alone in one of the few occupied apartments in his block, a…

  • FAMILIAR THINGS by Hwang Sok-yong, Book Review

    Familiar Things by Hwang Sok-yong… A new novel from one of South Korea’s most celebrated contemporary writers. Familiar Things Synopsis: Seoul. On the outskirts of South Korea’s glittering metropolis is a place few people know about: a vast landfill site called…

  • Fatal Crossing by Lone Theils, Review: Feisty heroine

    Lone Theils’ Fatal Crossing is a page-turner with real grit, substance and a fantastic heroine. Read my full review. Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Crime-Detective, Romance, Translation Fatal Crossing Book Synopsis When a picture of two Danish girls who disappeared on a boat bound for England in…