Ten Translators Share Their Favorite Summer Reads

We’re nearly halfway through the summer, making now the perfect time to add some new translated literature to your bookshelf. With the help of Twitter and Instagram, we asked literary translators far and wide to let us know what translated books have captured their hearts, stirred their minds, or served as a place of refuge for them this summer. With a wide range of genres and languages of origin, this reading list is sure to present you with exciting reads for the rest of the season. Enjoy!

Elina Alter — @alterelina(opens in a new tab)
(opens in a new tab)Living Pictures by Polina Barskova, translated from Russian by Catherine Ciepiela, forthcoming (September 6) from NYRB Classics(opens in a new tab)

Boris Dralyuk — @borisdralyuk(opens in a new tab)
(opens in a new tab)Migrations by Gloria Gervitz, translated from Spanish by Mark Schafer, from NYRB Classics(opens in a new tab)

Ignacio Infante — @profinfante(opens in a new tab)
(opens in a new tab)A Tradition of Rupture by Alejandra Pizarnik, translated from Spanish by Cole Heinowitz, from Ugly Duckling Presse(opens in a new tab)

Ryan Mihaly — @ryanmihaly(opens in a new tab)
(opens in a new tab)The Street of Crocodiles and Other Stories by Bruno Schulz, translated from Polish by Celina Wieniewska, from Penguin Classics(opens in a new tab)

Holly Morgan Mason — @hmorganmason(opens in a new tab)
(opens in a new tab)Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson, translated from Norwegian by Anne Born, from Graywolf Press(opens in a new tab)

Jamie Richards — @jamierichdees(opens in a new tab) and Charlotte Whittle — @carlota_mae(opens in a new tab)
(opens in a new tab)The Summer Book by Tove Jansson, translated from Swedish by Anne Born, from NYRB Classics(opens in a new tab)

Caroline Tracey — @ce_tracey(opens in a new tab)
(opens in a new tab)Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman, translated from Russian by Robert Chandler, from NYRB Classics(opens in a new tab)

Lindsay Turner — @tindsaylurner(opens in a new tab)
(opens in a new tab)The Shooting Gallery by Yuko Tsushima, translated from Japanese by Geraldine Harcourt, from New Directions(opens in a new tab)

Linda Qu — @dongfanglindaqu(opens in a new tab)
(opens in a new tab)Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian, translated from Chinese by Mabel Lee, from Harper Perennial(opens in a new tab)