9 translated novels by women

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The Factory by Hiroko Oyamada (Translated by David Boyd) - Japan

We are introduced to three characters beginning work somewhere simply named ‘The Factory’, one employee researches moss, another spends their days shredding documents and a third proofreads seemingly irrelevant texts. All three work within this sprawling, often eery site that operates according to its own strange logic, where meaningless tasks become part of an endless system and the boundary between work and everyday life begins to disappear. And what’s going on with the birds? A surreal novel exploring the absurdity of modern working life and the ways people adapt to worlds that no longer seem to make sense.

Lies and Sorcery by Elsa Morante (Translated by Jenny McPhee) - Italy

When Elisa’s parents suddenly die, she is taken in by a mysterious and severe woman who becomes the keeper of her family’s stories. Growing up, Elisa creates an elaborate fantasy around the people she has lost, transforming their lives into something larger and more romantic than reality. As she begins to uncover the truth behind her family’s history, she must confront the gap between the stories she has believed and the lives they actually lived. Set in Sicily at the beginning of the twentieth century, this is a sweeping novel about how one girl uses memory and illusion to reshape her past to try and make sense of herself.

Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck (Translated by Michael Hofmann) - Germany

In East Berlin in 1986, a chance encounter brings together Katharina, a young art student, and Hans, a much older writer. Their connection becomes all-consuming, and moments of tenderness live alongside manipulation and emotional turmoil. As their relationship develops, East Germany itself begins to fracture, with the country moving towards the collapse of a regime that has been a constant in their lives. An intimate novel detailing a destructive relationship which mirrors the collapse unfolding in the wider world around them.

A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende (Translated by Amanda Hopkinson) - Chile

As the Spanish Civil War reaches its devastating conclusion, thousands of refugees are forced to flee their homeland, amongst them are Roser, a pregnant widow and Victor, the brother of her deceased love. They find passage on the Winnipeg, a ship organised to carry Spanish exiles to Chile, and arrive in a country where they must build a new life while carrying the memories of the one they left behind. Spanning decades of political change and personal upheaval, this sweeping novel follows two people shaped by war and exile, searching for somewhere to belong, whilst keeping hope of one day returning to Spain.

Greek Lessons by Han Kang (Translated by Deborah Smith) - South Korea

After losing her ability to speak, a woman begins attending Greek lessons in the hope of finding her way back to language. Her teacher, a man who is gradually losing his sight, understands the fragility of communication in a different way, and the two form a deep connection through the words they study together. The story moves between their separate experiences of loss and isolation and the tenderness of their new found, very human connection. A beautifully written novel which explores two people who feel separated from the world around them understanding one another.

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City Like Water by Dorothy Tse (Translated by Natascha Bruce) - China

In a city inspired by Hong Kong, a young woman looks back on a place that has almost completely disappeared. As familiar streets sink and classmates vanish, memories become increasingly difficult to separate from reality, she tries to piece together what happened to the world she once knew. Her family is gradually pulled apart by strange and unsettling events, from her mother’s protest against government deception to her father’s mysterious absorption into a state-sponsored television world. Capturing the feeling of watching a city’s identity slowly disappear, this nightmarish novel blends political satire with dreamlike imagery and folklore.

Woman at Point Zero by Nawak El Saadawi (Translated by Sherif Hetata) - Egypt

On the eve of her execution, Firdaus agrees to tell her story to a visiting psychiatrist from her prison cell in Cairo. She recounts a life shaped by poverty, abuse and exploitation, from her childhood in rural Egypt to her experiences as a woman, describing the ways she has suffered at the hands of the men around her. After becoming a prostitute, she begins to understand the different ways power and control operate around her, leading her to make choices that ultimately bring her to prison. This powerful novel offers an unflinching portrait of a woman determined to reclaim ownership of her own life.

Pink Slime by Fernanda Trias (Translated by Heather Cleary) - Uruguay

In a coastal city a mysterious ecological crisis has transformed everyday life. The nearby river has become filled with algae, while strange winds from the sea leave people sick and force many to abandon the area. As food becomes increasingly scarce, a secretive corporation produces a cheap pink paste that becomes one of the only affordable sources of nourishment. Against this unsettling backdrop, an unnamed woman remains in the city, caring for a child affected by the crisis while reflecting on her fractured relationship with her mother and the life she has left behind. A haunting vision of a world shaped by environmental collapse, this novel explores how people adapt when their surroundings become almost unrecognisable.

Three Summers by Margarita Liberaki (Translated by Karen Van Dyck) - Greece

This novel follows three sisters as they grow up over the course of three summers. Set in the countryside near Athens just before the Second World War they navigate the transition from childhood towards adulthood and begin to discover who they are. The sisters have similarities but distinctive personalities, they both keep and share secrets from one another, and fall in and out love. Filled with the warmth of the Greek landscape, it captures a fleeting period of freedom before the world around them begins to change.

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