THE PLOT: ‘The Mad Women’s Ball’ by Victoria Mas (translated by Frank Wynne) is literary fiction about three women in the Salpêtrière Asylum in Paris, 1885. Based on an historical event; once a year the asylum hosted a ball where the … Continue reading Review: The Mad Women’s Ball
TRIGGER WARNING – Child abuse, rape, incest, murder THE PLOT: ‘Earthlings’ by Sayaka Murata (translated by Ginny Tapeley Takemori) is literary, surrealist fiction about an 11-year-old girl who feels like an alien. Scorned by her mother and ignored by her father, … Continue reading Review: Earthlings
THE PLOT: ‘The Queens of Sarmiento Park’ by Camilla Sosa Villada (translated by Kit Maude) is a literary novel about sex work, found family and gender identity. Set in Argentina, it’s centered around Auntie Encarna’s boarding house where the protagonist Camila … Continue reading Review: The Queens of Sarmiento Park
THE PLOT: ‘Convenience Store Woman’ by Sayaka Murata (translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori) is a literary novel about a neuro-diverse woman living in Japan. Keiko has worked in a convenience store for eighteen years. She loves the store but when friends … Continue reading Review: Convenience Store Woman
THE PLOT: ‘Love in the Big City’ by Sang Young Park (translated by Anton Hur) is a literary coming-of-age novel about a gay Korean man in Seoul. Young spends his student days getting drunk with his female best friend Jaehee … Continue reading Review: Love in the Big City
The Plot: ‘At Night All Blood is Black’ by David Diop is a literary novel set during the first world war. It centres two Senegalese soldiers who are fighting for the French in the trenches. The novel opens with Alfa as … Continue reading Review: At Night All Blood is Black
THE PLOT: Trees for the Absentees by Ahlam Bsharat is a short novel about a young girl living in occupied Palestine. The protagonist, Philistia, has grown up helping her Grandma Zahia who is a midwife and corpse washer. After her Grandma … Continue reading Review: Trees for the Absentees
Amina's Bookshelf 