August Wrap Up 2020

Hello and welcome to my August wrap up! Women in Translation month is over for another year *sob*.  But as everyone has been saying, it’s always Women in Translation month in our hearts! Don’t worry if you didn’t get to everything you wanted to read. There’s no time limit on reading great books! The same applies for books by BIPOC and LGBTQ+ authors. I hope everyone is working to keep up the momentum from June.

As always, this wrap up is for the print books I read. You can find my August Audiobook Wrap Up here. And also as always, I found it very difficult to pick favourites! You would think that with the amount of books I read, I’d end up with more stinkers. But I think over the years, I’ve come to know my own tastes well. I’m good at picking out books I think I’ll enjoy. More often than not, I’m correct.

So let’s have a look at all the print books from my August wrap up, starting with my favourites!

Disclosure: Please note, titles with an asterisk* were gifted by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I’m an affiliate for Blackwell’s, so this post contains affiliate links to their site.

August Wrap Up Standouts

Bright by Duanwad Pimwana, tr. Thai by Mui Poopoksakul

This book was such a delight! You’d be forgiven for thinking that a book where a young boy is essentially abandoned by his parents would be incredibly bleak. But Pimwana presents us with a dazzling array of emotions within these pages. I felt joy and hope, I laughed and yes, I also felt sad at times. Not only is this book a portrait of working-class life in Thailand, it’s also a portrait of the joys of childhood. Anyone who is a fan of found family stories should pick this book up. Plus, Pimwana is the first woman author writing in Thai to be translated into English. What’s not to celebrate?

Buy Bright at Blackwell’s

Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta

After garnering rave reviews from some of my most trusted reviewers on Instagram, I knew I had to pre-order this one. I read it almost as soon as it arrived, devouring all 258 pages in one evening. It’s a series of interwoven short stories, depicting defining moments in the life of Kara Davis. Kara battles with her identity, not feeling Canadian enough for her white friends or Jamaican enough for her Black friends. There are strong themes of motherhood and other female relationships running throughout the stories. It’s an eminently readable debut and I look forward to seeing what else Zalika Reid-Benta comes out with!

Buy Frying Plantain at Blackwell’s

Dead Girls by Selva Almada*, tr. Spanish by Annie McDermott

I wrote a full-length review of this book which you can read here. But all you need to know is that it’s essential reading concerning femicides. A blend of journalism and fiction, Almada dives into three unsolved femicides in Argentina, which all took place in the 80s. Almada doesn’t set out to solve these cases or answer any questions definitively. But she makes people remember these girls, murdered just for being girls. Please check out Ni Una Menos for more information on femicide in Argentina.

Buy Dead Girls at Blackwell’s

Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi, tr. Arabic by Sherif Hetata

I’ve been meaning to read El Saadawi for ages, and Women in Translation month felt like the perfect time to do it! As expected, I was kicking myself for not reading her earlier. Based on a real women El Saadawi met while researching for a paper, Firdaus is a character you won’t forget in a hurry. It’s fewer than 200 pages but I guarantee this book will have a huge impact on you. 

Buy Woman at Point Zero at Blackwell’s

And the rest!

Panty by Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay (tr. Arunava Sinha)

My first foray into Bengali literature and I certainly won’t forget it in a hurry! These are two strange, surreal, and erotic novellas where feminine desire takes centre stage. I definitely felt confused a lot, but I think overall it was an interesting experience, and I’d definitely try more Bandyopadhyay in the future.

Minor Detail* by Adania Shibli (tr. Elisabeth Jaquette)

Another incredibly strong read for WIT Month! I can’t recommend this slim, powerful novella enough. Split into two distinct parts, Minor Detail is a poignant and hypnotic exploration of history and memory. It can be read in a couple of hours, so I want no excuses for people not reading this one.

Adua by Igiaba Scego (tr. Jaime Richards)

I was surprised and disappointed by the low rating for this book on Goodreads – I thought it was really good! It’s certainly invaluable for showing a piece of history not often talked about: Italy’s colonial past. I enjoyed the dual perspectives, detailing the experiences of two Somalis in Italy during different time periods. Hopefully more of Scego’s work will be translated in the future!

The Door by Magda Szabó (tr. Len Rix)

My second Szabó of 2020 and I was again impressed. Despite a slight lull in the middle, The Door is a tightly controlled and intense character study. The relationship between Emerence and the author narrator was utterly fascinating, and Emerence herself is an unforgettable character. Also, it gives us Viola.

I Remain in Darkness* by Annie Ernaux (tr. Tanya Leslie)

This book reminded me why Ernaux is one of my favourite non-fiction writers. I don’t know what prompts her to write so intimately about her own life, but I’m so glad she does. This book is a devastating reconstruction of the years leading up to Ernaux’s mother’s death, as she battled with Alzheimer’s. Short but emotionally impactful.

The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin

If you haven’t already picked up The Fifth Season then what are you doing? Treat yourself right this minute and watch as you become obsessed with this brilliant SFF trilogy. The first 40 pages of the second book were a bit confusing, but from then on I was hooked. There’s a bit more talking, planning and adapting rather than action, but that’s to be expected from a second book, I think.

Sula by Toni Morrison

My first Toni Morrison of the year and what a powerhouse it was! Although it’s under 200 pages, Morrison packs so much into these pages, but the main focus is the relationship between Sula and Nel. Their personalities and lives are very different, but the bond between them is intense. Hell, this whole book is intense! My face was a picture so many times during this book – Morrison gets dark and I love it. I read this one because it was The Stacks pick for August and I highly recommend you go listen to Traci in conversation with Brit Bennett about this book.

Anxious People* by Fredrik Backman (tr. Neil Smith)

This book got off to a shaky start, and if it hadn’t been Backman I might even have given up on it. But I stuck with it and eventually the characters turned from annoying to endearing. It’s a nice reminder that you never know what’s going on in a person’s life and that we’re all just muddling through life.

Segu by Maryse Condé (tr. Barbara Bray)

This book was epic, in many senses of the word. It’s sprawling, rich and complex, and I’m glad I put in the time to read it. Condé tackles a lot of themes within this novel, including land theft, slavery, colonisation, and the rise of Christianity and Islam on the African continent. There is a lot going on, and although the rape and violence is difficult to stomach at times, it’s a classic that’s worth an investment I think.

Shuggie Bain* by Douglas Stuart

I can’t believe I read this book in August! It feels like years ago, but it’s remained with me because it’s SO GOOD. I hope this makes the Booker shortlist. I fell hard for little Shuggie and I suffered through his tumultuous relationship with his alcoholic mother Agnes right there with him. Stuart delves into difficult topics such as homophobia, domestic abuse and alcoholism, but there are some undeniably beautiful and tender moments within these pages.

Memoirs of a Porcupine by Alain Mabanckou (tr. Helen Stevenson)

This is a unique little book, narrated by a porcupine who is the harmful double of a young man in a Congolese village. Eventually, his master’s deadly deeds become too much even for his harmful double, and the porcupine steps away from the violence to pen his memoirs. I liked looking at human’s through an animal’s POV, and Mabanckou weaves in some insightful social commentary throughout.

Happiness, Like Water by Chinelo Okparanta

I LOVED this collection and I didn’t even know it existed before this month! These short stories are a must-read if you’re interested in female-led stories and LGBTQ+ themes. They shift in location between Nigeria and the US, but wherever they’re set, the characters never fail to feel real. I’ve read 300-page novels where I haven’t felt as connected to the characters as I have with these 15-page stories.

Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica (tr. Sarah Moses)

This book is BRUTAL, and I don’t recommend you go into it blindly. It’s set in a society where a virus has wiped out all animals and human meat is now legal. From that brief synopsis, I’m sure you can imagine just how dark this book gets. Try it if you can stomach it, but don’t read it while you’re eating!

Summer* by Ali Smith

I’m so sad that this quartet has come to an end! Although not my favourite of the series, I still enjoyed Summer. It’s the first book I read to feature Coronavirus, making it the cutting edge of contemporary literature. Reading these books in 30 years will feel like opening a time capsule. Ali Smith perfectly encompasses life in contemporary Britain. If you’ve been putting off the series because you wanted to binge them, then grab yourself a copy of Autumn now!

Sunlight Hours* by Caroline Caugant (tr. Jackie Smith)

My only disappointment of the month, and it wasn’t even a bad book. I just wasn’t feeling the mystery side of this historical mystery. It’s been nicely translated by Jackie Smith, but it never really pulled me in with its premise.

August Reading Stats

Total Books Read: 26
Physical Books: 20
Audiobooks: 6
Pages: 6335
Fiction: 21
Non-Fiction: 5

Audiobooks

You can find my thoughts on these audiobooks here. I just like listing them for completion’s sake! Titles with an * were kindly gifted by Libro.fm, the rest I listened to using my library’s audiobook service, BorrowBox.

• Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (narrated by the author)
• If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura, tr. Eric Selland (narrated by Brian Nishii)
• The Gloaming by Kirsty Logan (narrated by the author)
• I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown (narrated by the author)
• Wandering in Strange Lands: A Daughter of the Great Migration Reclaims Her Roots by Morgan Jerkins* (narrated by the author)
• The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar (narrated by Priya Ayyar)

Libro.fm have kindly given me an affiliate code for you to use. If you follow my link or use ABREADS at checkout, you can get two audiobooks for the price of one with your first month’s membership!

Countries visited & translations read

I made some more good progress on my reading the world challenge in my August wrap up. I visited three new countries this month, which were:

• Somalia (and Italy in the same book) with Adua by Igiaba Scego, tr. Italian by Jaime Richards
• Thailand with Bright by Duanwad Pimwana, tr. Thai by Mui Poopoksakul
• Republic of Congo with Memoirs of a Porcupine by Alain Mabanckou, tr. French by Helen Stevenson

My August wrap up also featured return visits to the following countries:

• Argentina
• Palestine
• Scotland
• Egypt
• Japan
• France
• USA
• Hungary
• India
• Sweden
• Nigeria

I’m really happy with all the translations I read this month, too. I read 12 women in translation and 15 translations overall. From my original TBR, I only didn’t get to one (sorry, Esther Kinsky, soon!). Here are the languages I read from:

• 2 Spanish
• Italian
• 2 Arabic
• 4 French
• 2 Japanese
• Hungarian
• Bengali
• Thai
• Swedish

That’s it for my August wrap up! Remember that you can keep up with my reading week by week with my reading diaries, too!