August is always a special time for me, a woman who translates the works of women. Women in Translation month is dedicated to highlighting the work of women writers from all over the world and recognizing their contributions to literature in their own language and the languages to which they are translated. It is also a time to recognize the literary translators whose intense, sustained work has led to the publication of these and other brilliant works of literature, which otherwise would remain unknown to a wider, international audience.

Below are seven outstanding works of prose by highly talented women authors writing in Arabic, Kannada, Korean, Latvian, Portuguese, Spanish (with Mapuche and Quechua terms preserved in the translation), and Swedish. In these works—four novels, one essay collection, and two short story collections—you will find the timely and the timeless, the local and the universal, sorrow and joy, despair and hope, hardship and resilience. Whether firmly established or debuting in English translation, these writers share a bit of their world with us, bring us into the lives of exciting, intriguing characters, and document the realities of womanhood in their various settings and forms. I am pleased to celebrate their translators as well, all of whom are named on the cover of these seven books, which is not always the case.

No One Knows Their Blood Type by Maya Abu Al-Hayyat, translated from the Arabic by Hazem Jamjoum

When Jumana’s father dies, she learns that, given their blood types, he may not be her biological father. If her father is who she thinks he is, is she really Palestinian? The narrative goes on to interrogate what it means to be Palestinian, especially to women, as it looks back on Jumana and her sister Yara’s journey, moving from relative to relative, from Jerusalem to Tunis, to Amman, to Beirut. Each chapter is told by one of the women in the family, including Jumana’s husband’s aunt, who, though deceased, still has a lot to say. A picture of displacement, violence, and rupture emerges as much from the larger geopolitical environment, where war looms large, as from family dynamics. A multi-layered story and a fascinating portrayal of Palestinian women in all their complexity. 

The River by Laura Vinogradova, translated from the Latvian by Kaija Straumanis

Rute has carried the weight of loss and sorrow for ten years, since her beloved sister Dina went missing. In need of an escape, especially from herself, she spends the summer by a river in the countryside, in an old house recently inherited from the father she never knew. The river brings Rute solace, freedom, and strength, and neighbors Matilde and Kristofs offer her warmth and friendship. Still, she remains unable to open up to them, confiding only in her sister through the daily letters she writes to her. When the summer is over, Rute returns to her life in the city and to the prospect of finding connection and learning to laugh again. A gem of a novel that captivates and delights with its sparse prose and deep emotional resonance. 

The Remembered Soldier by Anjet Daanje, translated from the Dutch by David McKay

A Belgian soldier has no memory of his life before the day, in 1917, when he was found in Flanders and taken to a psychiatric asylum. Years later, Julienne Coppens claims him as her husband, Amand, and takes him home to their two children. Faced with rebuilding their marriage upon a past only Julienne knows, gradually they grow closer and Amand constructs an identity from the stories Julienne tells him. Despite his terrible nightmares and her shame about parts of her past, they persevere. Danjee’s short sentences, strung together seamlessly, set the cadence of the Coppens’s lives, a beguiling rhythm of ordinary days through an extraordinary time of upheaval, hope, suspicion, and revelations. This is a beautiful, sprawling historical novel and love story with enthralling explorations of memory, trust, and connection. 

So What If I’m A Puta by Amara Moira, translated from the Portuguese by Amanda De Lisio and Bruna Dantas Lobato

This essay collection started as a blog in which trans author Amara Doira documented her transition and her experiences as a sex worker in Campinas, a city near São Paulo. Doira writes in candid detail about her encounters with clients, the joys of expressing her sexuality in the profession she chose, the physical and emotional pain she also experiences, and the contradictions she sees in the men and in herself: attraction and repulsion, intimacy and distance, connection and indifference. In her strongest essays, Doira reflects on Brazilian society’s views on sex, love, desire, sex work, consent, and violence against women, especially trans women. An important account of sex work and trans lives in a country where, as in many places around the world, femicide is widespread and trans women the most targeted victims.

Chilco by Daniela Catrileo, translated from the Spanish by Jacob Edelstein

In a not-distant future in Chile, Mari, who is Quechua, and her partner Pascale, who is Mapuche-Lafkenche, decide to leave the Capital and move to Chico, the island where Pascale grew up. On Chilco, Mari has trouble adjusting and is depressed and torn. She has left behind family, friends, and a good job but also a life of hardship and little hope. The Capital is in ruins because, as a result of corporate greed and government corruption, towering residential buildings have collapsed, leaving a large segment of the population, mostly indigenous, homeless and destitute. Catrileo has created a dystopian novel, a scathing critique of unfettered capitalism, an ode to cultural and linguistic heritage, a tribute to the strength of women, and a touching love story, all rendered in lyrical prose. An impressive literary achievement.  

Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq, translated from the Kannada by Deepa Bhasthi

Most of the stories in this collection explore the ways Muslim women in southern India respond to the demands of a fiercely patriarchal society. Often overworked, undervalued, and without legal recourse against injustice, these women variously express or repress their anger, depression, and despair, as the men in their lives distort religious principles to keep them in complete subservience. The recurring theme of the vulnerability of women, ostracized and destitute if abandoned by their husbands, is epitomized in the devastating story “Be a Woman Once, oh, Lord!” Coexisting with the weighty themes in these stories, however, are moments of joy, warmth, and even humor in Mushtaq’s vivid descriptions of daily lives shaped by cultural and religious traditions. Also richly described are the inner lives of characters constantly grappling with the expectations of a complex web of social and familial relationships.

Miss Kim Knows and Other Stories by Cho Nam-Joo, translated from the Korean by Jamie Chang

In these eight stories, Cho explores the challenges faced by Korean girls and women, ranging in age from ten to eighty. Cho’s stories uncover the strictness of gender roles, the sexism women face at work, the disproportionate demands placed on mothers, especially those who also have jobs outside the home, and the violence against wives, daughters, and even sisters that persists and is hard to combat. Despite such pressures and limitations, these women are determined to seek fulfillment and growth, some trying to do it all, others shedding burdens and shifting away from the expected course. The complex relationships between mothers, daughters, and grandmothers are particularly interesting, as the women absorb the experiences and views of previous generations or reject them as no longer fitting this particular time in their lives. 

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