Category Archives: Books set in Central America

Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel, translated by Rosalind Harvey.

Posted on April 10, 2023 by mandywight

Motherhood is porous, says Monica, and this idea is explored in Still Born, long listed for the International Booker Prize 2023. It’s the story of close friends Alina and Laura and their choices around biological motherhood, but opens out to … Continue reading →

Posted in Books in Translation, Books set in Central America | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The Best of Young Spanish Language Novelists 2- Granta-edited by Valerie Miles.

Posted on March 14, 2022 by mandywight

When I heard Valerie Miles talking with Elizabeth Day on BBC Radio 4 Open Book about the new Granta collection I was intrigued and excited—there’s nothing I love more than a carefully curated anthology as a way of discovering new … Continue reading →

Posted in Books in Spanish, Books in Translation, Books set in Central America, Books set in South America, Short Stories, Translation, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Peak reads of 2021!

Posted on January 5, 2022 by mandywight

So better late than never, here are my top 10 reads of 2021 and it’s no surprise to anyone to see that my faible is for translated fiction: 6 of the 10 are translated fiction, and 5 are published by … Continue reading →

Posted in Books by Austrian writers, Books in English, Books in Spanish, Books in Translation, Books on Ukraine, Books set in Central America, History, Memoir, Poetry, Short Stories, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Havana Year Zero by Karla Suarez, translated by Christina Macsweeney

Posted on August 30, 2021 by mandywight

This fast-paced and witty novel is set in Havana, Cuba in 1993. This was the year known as Year Zero—the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the withdrawal of their support for the Cuban economy, meant that by 1993 there … Continue reading →

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Slash and Burn by Claudia Hernandez, translated by Julia Sanches

Posted on July 12, 2021 by mandywight

This novel by Salvadorian writer Claudia Hernandez is an intense and compelling account of a family of women caught up in a long and devastating civil war and its aftermath. Though not mentioned by name, I’ve assumed the story is … Continue reading →

Posted in Books in Spanish, Books in Translation, Books set in Central America | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Loop by Brenda Lozano, translated by Annie McDermott, Charco Press

Posted on January 26, 2021 by mandywight

This fresh, witty, and irreverent voice has given me such a lift in hard times, and even seen me laugh out loud. Loop’s narrator is a young woman writer and office worker living in an apartment in Mexico City with … Continue reading →

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Brujas- Witches- by Brenda Lozano

Posted on January 18, 2021 by mandywight

Brujas– Witches- is the latest novel by Mexican writer Brenda Lozano. It explores the lives and relationships of women in the south- western state of Oaxaca, through the alternating voices of  Feliciana, a famous curandera, or healer, and Zoë, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Books in Spanish, Books set in Central America | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor translated by Sophie Hughes

Posted on May 27, 2020 by mandywight

Hurricane Season, by Mexican writer Fernanda Melchor, is shortlisted for the Booker International Prize 2020. Set in the impoverished fictional village of La Matosa on the coast of Mexico it’s both a crime story and an account of poverty, violence, … Continue reading →

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Bogota 39- New Voices from Latin America-a feast of writing and the feat of translation-edited by Juliet Mabey-Hay Festival/ One World

Posted on July 2, 2018 by mandywight

In 2007 the Bogotá39 project identified and promoted 39 promising young writers from Latin America, bringing the works of writers like Juan Gabriel Vásquez and Junot Díaz to a wider readership. This 2018 collection follows on from the original with, … Continue reading →

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A plague on both your houses: The Transmigration of Bodies by Yuri Herrera translated by Lisa Dillman published by And Other Stories.

Posted on July 21, 2016 by mandywight

This slim novel, described as a ‘noirish tragedy’ on the back cover, takes place in an unspecified city in Mexico. A plague has descended on the town, rendering the streets deserted. At the same time, two rival gangs, the Castros … Continue reading →

Posted in Books in Translation, Books set in Central America, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments