Books in Translation: Books and Bites Podcast, Ep. 101 === Carrie: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Books and Bites podcast. Each month we bring you book recommendations and discuss the bites and beverages to pair with them. I'm Carrie Green, and I'm here with my co-host Michael Cunningham and Jacqueline Cooper. Jacqueline: Hello. Hello everyone. Carrie: So today we are talking about books in translation. It's one of the prompts on the Winter Spring books and bys bingo reading challenge. And this is May, so the reading challenge is almost over. How are you guys feeling so far about your bingo sheets? Jacqueline: Mine are looking pretty good. Michael: Pretty good. Jacqueline: Yeah, I think I can finish mine. Carrie: Mm-hmm. Michael: I might. I'm gonna try. Carrie: Yeah. I mean, my sheet is, is mostly full. I did get kind of sidetracked by a few prompts. I ended up [00:01:00] reading more books than I needed to for a few of the prompts, including the books in translation. I was just kind of struggling to find one that I, that I liked, so. If I don't finish, it's because I was an overachiever on, Jacqueline: yeah, Carrie: on some of the other prompts. Do you remember which ones you still have to read? Michael: Let's see. I know I got a classic, a Prompt to Page author. I have yet to do, Jacqueline: I have to do that one still too. Michael: But yeah, there, I think that one's hard. 'cause there's a few choices I wanna read. I made mind which one to do. Carrie: Mm-hmm. Yeah. I read for the Prompt to Page author, well, I mean, several of them I had read before. But specifically for that, that prompt I read, The Magnetic Girl by Jessica Handler, and it was, it was so good. I actually listened to it on [00:02:00] audio and the audio book was just really well done. You might like it, ,Jacqueline, because the main character is a teenager. It's, it's a book for adults, but I think it would appeal to, to teens reading books for, how do they phrase that? Or like, I don't know. I mean it's a coming Jacqueline: Adult books for teens or something like that, I think is how they, for teen readers. Carrie: Yeah. So it is a coming of age novel. And it's about this girl who believes that she is a magnetic girl, like has these special powers. Jacqueline: Oh. Carrie: And. I don't wanna, I don't wanna give away too much, but she has an act that her father kind of gets up for her. Anyway, it, it was really good. I definitely recommend that one. Jacqueline: I'll have to check that one out. Carrie: Alright, so books in translation. How did this prompt go for you? Michael: It was really good. [00:03:00] I really, I enjoy reading books in translation. I think last year my goal was to read at least five. Jacqueline: Wow. I don't know if I've read a lot of books in translation, so I was like kind of struggling with finding that, finding the book I wanted to really read. Mm-hmm. I came across this, this Beast Player and I was like, okay, it's fantasy, and it kind of had a dragon in which I was kind of, it looked like a dragon on. But I was thinking it was a dragon, but really kind of a dragon. But it doesn't call, they don't call, they call it the royal beast. They don't actually call it a dragon in the book, but I found it very different, the writing style, like it seemed almost like, like a fairytale, like, but, but actually like a Japanese fairytale that you've heard, like with lots of fish. Very descriptive. And a lot of detail in, in it with the natural world and just with what they wear and just a lot of story building, world building in this one. I don't know if that's usually typical. Michael: I don't know. I I found it, it was translated. You said from [00:04:00] Japanese? Yes. I've read a couple of books translated from Japanese. They are adult horror books. Jacqueline: Oh. Michael: But I know I've, I've definitely felt that like, I guess depending on the language, maybe who translates it, it's different. I feel like, you know, Japanese was very, maybe, maybe it could just been an author thing. It was very kind of short and to the point. There wasn't a lot of very descriptive, like, Jacqueline: Hmm. Carrie: Yeah. That's been my experience I think with Japanese literature in translation that I've read, is it's more, it does tend to be, the ones that I have read have been kind of like novella length Michael: mm-hmm. Carrie: And kind of spare in their writing. So Yeah. Although I, I tried listening to a couple of Japanese in translation and one Korean in translation audiobook that were, they're [00:05:00] considered healing fiction. It's a genre that's really popular right now. There was one that I, that I listened to, it was last year, so it didn't really count for this prompt and it's called, What You are Looking for is in the Library. And I enjoyed that one. So I was kind of trying to see if I could find another one that I enjoyed. But they also just were very formulaic, I felt like. With What You are Looking for is in the Library, like, there was this librarian character and she was very like, quirky, kind of seemed like she might be in a, an anime or something. Michael: Mm-hmm. Carrie: You know? Jacqueline: Mm-hmm. Carrie: And people would come into the library and they had, you know, some kind of problem in their life and she would give them a book. Jacqueline: Mm-hmm. Carrie: And it wasn't even necessarily related to their problem, but it was like exactly the book that they needed to, [00:06:00] to read, you know, and their life changed. Jacqueline: Oh. Carrie: But like, so it was like these little chapters, little short stories with a different person, each one. Jacqueline: Mm-hmm. Carrie: So, you know, it just got a little repetitive. Michael: Yeah. Carrie: And the other ones that I read were similar in that way. Like they were kind of like, once you listen to one, it's like, okay, I kind of got this. Like, Jacqueline: mm-hmm. Carrie: So, anyway, but I think that was just, you know, the genre Jacqueline: Right. Yeah. I think this author was like also setting us up for more to come in a lot of ways because we learned so much about like the backstory of, of a lot of characters. Like we learned all about this one character, but then we didn't hear about him until like 30 more chapters in and then like, oh, that guy. And so I think she's world building, but I also think she's planning a, I'm pretty sure it's a series. So at the time I was, I think she was planning it out. 'cause it's almost like more than one, two, or three [00:07:00] books in one in a way with all the stories and stuff. Carrie: Mm-hmm. Michael: Was this a recent translation? Jacqueline: I think it was translated in 2020. So, and I think it's also been made into, I did read it was also made into a manga, so that Michael: Oh, okay. Jacqueline: And I haven't read the manga, but it might be interesting to do that one if, if that's the prompt. Michael: I remember I read a, it was a novella, it was translated from French called the Law of the Skies last year. And it was written in a very kind of fairy tale type, I don't wanna say format, but it's kind of way it told it, but it was very well, the story was very horrific and violent. It was very like, Lord of the Flies, but worse. But, Jacqueline: well, you, this one has some pretty violent scenes in it. You might like some of those. I guess I should mention that. 'cause some of 'em were like, oh, okay. Michael: Don't ever take a bunch of six year olds in camping in the woods. Carrie: I mean that [00:08:00] kind of sounds like a horror book anyway. Jacqueline: Yeah. Michael: Like, what adult teacher would take six year olds, a whole group of six year olds into the woods and think that was a good idea of camping? Jacqueline: It's called Boy Scouts. Michael: Six year olds! Jacqueline: Yeah, they take... Michael: Little cub scouts! Carrie: Yeah, but probably there's like multiple adults, right? Michael: It's just like one teacher. Carrie: Yeah. Jacqueline: Oh, it's just one teacher. Okay. Wow. Carrie: Yeah. Maybe French children are well-behaved enough to do that. Michael: That's true, yeah. Carrie: But Michael: Aren't they already drinking wine by that age? Carrie: Okay, so before I get started, let me just give a caveat that I read a book [00:09:00] that was translated from the Icelandic, and these names are really hard to pronounce, so I did try to find out how to pronounce them, but definitely don't take my word on it. And since really only a few hundred thousand people speak Icelandic, hopefully no one out there knows that I'm saying them wrong. So the book I read was called Miss Iceland by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir. I stumbled on Miss Iceland in the stacks while looking for a different book. After struggling to connect with several other books in translation, which I kind of mentioned, it was a good reminder that sometimes the right book just finds you. This historical coming of age novel is about a young Icelandic woman named Hekla who moves from her small village to Reykjavik [00:10:00] because she wants to be a writer. It's 1963, and Hekla soon learns that even in the big city, Icelandic society isn't ready for women to break free of traditional gender roles. When she first arrives in the city, she stays with her friend Ísey and her toddler. Like Hekla, Ísey is a compulsive writer, journaling and making up stories when she can find a free moment. Ísey feels trapped by domestic life, especially when she finds out she's pregnant again. But things aren't much better for Hekla. She moves in with her best friend, Jón John, and finds work in a hotel. There, the waitresses, who are naturally paid less than the waiters, must wear short skirts and put up with sexual harassment from the male customers. One of the customers promises Hekla fame and fortune if she joins the Miss Iceland [00:11:00] competition, but she recognizes it for the scam it is. Meanwhile, Hekla's boyfriend, whom she calls the poet, expects her to cook and clean when she moves in with him. She doesn't tell the poet that she also writes. In fact, she's had more poems published than he has. She keeps her typewriter at Jón John's house and goes there every night to lose herself in writing novels. "There's certainly a daring and fearless element in the prose," a potential publisher tells her. "To be honest, I would've thought it had been written by a man." Jón John dreams of becoming a costume designer and having a boyfriend he can hold hands with on the street without fear of getting beaten up. He works on offshore fishing and cargo ships where he faces homophobia from his fellow sailors. "Some days I feel good, some days bad," he [00:12:00] tells Hekla. "Sometimes I'm full of hope, the rest of the time not. One moment I feel everything is possible. The next moment, not. I know a thousand feelings that are connected to emptiness." I know that all sounds rather dreary and depressing, but I found hope in the friendships between Hekla, Jón John, and Ísey. All three are creative people who want to make art and find love, even when society tells them they shouldn't, and their persistence and support of each other is inspiring. This character driven novel relies heavily on dialogue to tell the story. It's a little like you're overhearing their conversations. The writing is spare and lyrical, and it has a strong sense of place. The descriptions of whales, volcanoes, puffins, sheep farms, Northern Lights, winter darkness, and summer lightness all made [00:13:00] me feel like I'd traveled to Iceland without leaving home. Because Hekla and the poet rent a room with a shared kitchen, she mostly boils fish and potatoes in the same pot. Not the most appealing sounding dinner to be sure, but occasionally she makes rice pudding, which they eat with cinnamon sugar. It's a simple, yet comforting dish that would be perfect for a cold night. We'll link to a recipe on our blog. So this would also be a good one for the wintry book prompt if you Michael: Oh, yeah. Carrie: Still haven't gotten to that one yet. Jacqueline: Oh yeah. That would be good. It seems like gender roles are still, we've just been struggling with these for so many years and it doesn't really seem like we get a, we make a little bit of headway, but then we have to take two steps back. Carrie: Mm-hmm. Jacqueline: I think we have come a little bit ways like what used to be acceptable as far as like, the way people talk to [00:14:00] waitresses and stuff like that, but I'm not so sure it's really changed that much now that I hear that. When was that written? Carrie: This was fairly recently written. It's just that it's historical, so it takes place in 1963, early sixties. Jacqueline: Oh, okay. Carrie: But it was written, I'm not sure, like maybe, let's see, when was this first published? Published in English in 2020, so I think it's fairly contemporary. Michael: I mean, it shows that these are issues that we struggle with across the world, not just in American society. Carrie: Mm-hmm. Jacqueline: That's true. Michael: So Carrie: yeah, definitely. And in some of, in some of the cases, like, I mean this character, you know, she couldn't even get anything published unless she used a pseudonym. Michael: Mm-hmm. Carrie: So I, I actually just read something today that said that men are writing, like men who write [00:15:00] in the romance genre are using female pseudonyms. So Jacqueline: that's interesting. Carrie: Yeah, I know, right? Jacqueline: Yeah. Carrie: Or using like gender neutral pseudonyms. Michael: Interesting. Carrie: I know. Jacqueline: Yeah. Like The Outsiders was written by S.E. Hinton, which I read it years ago and I didn't realize it was a female author. Carrie: Mm-hmm. Jacqueline: And then I took this class and they were like pointing out why that her gender was kind of defined in the book, like her male characters were like making cakes and doing things that not teenage, most teenage boys probably don't make cakes back in 1960 or 70. So they, they were like interpreting how you can figure, you know, that you might still figure out who the author is without knowing, I don't know. Carrie: Hmm. Yeah, I'm not sure I agree with that. I feel like that is more the people reading the book, they're putting their own gender expectations on the characters. Jacqueline: That could be true. Yeah. [00:16:00] That's a good point. Carrie: Yeah. Mm-hmm. I mean, I think if they hadn't been told that, then they would probably assume that it was written by a man. Jacqueline: Yeah. I didn't realize it until this, this professor pointed it out and I was like, oh. So I don't know. Carrie: Mm-hmm. Well, I have a short recommendation for a less melancholy book in translation. Jacqueline: Okay. Carrie: But it is set in another Nordic country, and I listened to this on audio on, on Hoopla, and it's called The Summer Book by Tove Jansson, and she is known mostly in this country for her Moominland children's books. But she also wrote 10 books for adults and in The Summer Book, 6-year-old Sophia lives each summer with her father and 85-year-old grandmother on a tiny island off the coast of Finland. The book is told as a series of brief vignettes of Sophia's adventures with her grandmother. They go swimming, they [00:17:00] create imaginary worlds. They break into another islander's summer house. They argue and they laugh, and they take care of each other. They each have their own sadnesses. Sophia's mother is dead and the grandmother is facing her own mortality. And then audiobook narrator, Natasha Eck does a fantastic job with their two voices. I just really appreciated how realistic the relationship between the grandmother and the little girl was. I was listening to this while I was driving, so I didn't always, you know, get everything 'cause they're so short. The vignettes, sometimes I feel like I miss you, miss more when it's really short. So I hope that. I can listen to it again sometime when I'm like weeding or doing laundry and I can pay more attention. But, but that is like a more cheerful Jacqueline: Yeah. Sounds like a good book to read in the summer too. Carrie: Yeah, it would be a good book to read [00:18:00] in the summer. Mm-hmm. So I had summer and winter my, with my books. Jacqueline: Oh true. The book I chose is The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi, translated from Japanese by Kathy Hirano. It is a stunning YA fantasy novel that tells the epic tale of Elin, a remarkable girl with a profound connection to mystical creatures. This story begins with 8-year-old Elin at a school dedicated to training sea serpents or Todo, which form the backbone of the kingdom's army. Her family entrusted with the care of these former beast is crucial to their upkeep. Elin's mother, Sohyon, a skilled beast doctor, teaches her the intricate care of the Todo, warning her of the dangers and the importance of following the rules for [00:19:00] safety. Tragedy strikes when the Todo under her mother's care mysteriously die. Blamed for their death, Sohyon faces a terrible fate. Elin, desperate to save here, takes risk, but cannot prevent the inevitable. In a final act of sacrifice, Sohyon breaks the sacred law, summoning a Royal Beast to ensure Elin's escape while accepting her own punishment. The narrative then follows Elin as a teenager, inspired by her mother and her foster father to become a beast doctor. However, instead of the Todo Elin, studies the Royal Beast, the natural enemy of the Todo. At a specialized school, her compassion and determination are tested. When the baby Royal Beast refuses to eat, Elin must decide whether to break the sacred rules to save the creature's life. Will she succeed or what will be the consequences of her action? I highly recommend The Beast Player to teens who adore animals. It delves into humanity's bond with wildlife [00:20:00] and the profound impact we have on their lives. The author's meticulous world building and attention to detail, provide meaningful insights into the care of the creatures and the importance of respecting them. To celebrate Elin's connection to the natural world, I chose a Japanese enoki and shiitake mushroom soup recipe from the Spruce Eats for my bite. This nutritious and savory dish with its earthy flavors beautifully reflect the bond with nature that defines her journey. Carrie: I could see how that might make a good manga. Jacqueline: Yeah. I haven't read the manga, but now I'm kind of interested and, and there's a lot to the story. It's just, it's really packed in with like how she takes care of the beast and, but I don't wanna give too much away. Carrie: Mm-hmm. Jacqueline: But, because, you know, so, Michael: and this is gonna be an ongoing series, you think? Jacqueline: Yeah, it's, I'm pretty sure. It ends. Well, I can't tell the ending, but it ends on a cliff [00:21:00] note. You know, where it is, like, Michael: Oh, okay. Jacqueline: Yeah. So there's, there's more to come with the, the baby. And you kind of follow the baby's life too. You know, as it. They captured it when it was a baby and it was scared. And they really never had a baby Royal Beast before. 'cause it's really hard to get them away from their mothers. 'cause they're like, in my mind, I picture them, they, they're flying and she flies. And so they have to be really big. So I, I picture a dragon is what I'm thinking the Royal Beast is, but it never really says that in the book. Mm-hmm. And then the Todo are like sea serpents. And, so there's a lot of mythical creatures and stuff in there. Michael: Is this geared toward more like middle grade or like older teens or Jacqueline: Maybe more middle grade. It, it says it's a YA novel, but I kind of feel like maybe middle, middle school reader. Michael: Not too much mature. Jacqueline: Yeah, there's nothing. There's no sexual content at all in the book. Michael: Okay. No love triangles. Jacqueline: No love triangles, you [00:22:00] know, Carrie: no spicy. Jacqueline: Nothing spicy. No. Yeah, except for the the dragons. Michael: The dragons. Carrie: My niece is very into dragons. She might be interested in this book. Jacqueline: Yeah, it's, it's really good. It just, I kept seeing like, you know, there's like, she. Details of the natural world and how she's seeing these creatures in the wild and she learns about 'em because she goes and like watches them and stuff. And then she also sees them in captivity. And she kind of compares like, why do they look so different? Like the, the Todo in captivity and the, the Royal Beast, their, their coats don't shine like they do in the, if they're free, they have like these silvery coats. But they're still all vicious animals that will eat you. Michael: Yeah. Jacqueline: Yeah. So there's the horror part. Michael: Like cats. Jacqueline: Yeah. Like cats. If cats were [00:23:00] huge. Michael: I read Agustina Bazterrica’s new novel, The Unworthy translated from Spanish by Sarah Moses. It's her follow up to the hugely popular and brutal dystopian, Tender is the Flesh. This one is just as violent and unsettling, but in a completely different way. Told as a secret diary, the book is written from the perspective of an unnamed narrator living in a post-apocalyptic world. She's part of the sacred sisterhood, a repressive all female convent housed in a former monastery. No men or children are allowed inside. Anyone who approaches from the ravaged outside world is turned away or worse. The convent is led by a mysterious, unseen figure known only as Him, whose will is enforced by the cruel and sadistic, Superior Sister. Empathy is systematically beaten out of the women. They're pitted [00:24:00] against each other, desperate to gain favor, hoping one day to become one of the revered Enlightened, women considered so divine, they're forced to mutilate themselves under the guise of holiness. Most newcomers, if they're found untainted are allowed in and labeled the unworthy. These women live harsh, joyless lives, yet still aspire to become chosen despite knowing the cost. Because the story unfolds as a personal journal, we as readers feel like we're right there with her, complicit, observing the unraveling from inside. But then a new woman arrives. Something about her stirs a narrator. Memories of her mother, of life in the devastated world outside, of the awful things she's done to survive within the comments walls, she begins to question everything her past, her place in the sacred sisterhood, and whether she truly wants to become one of the chosen. This book is a haunting, powerful meditation of what we do to survive and what parts of ourselves we lose in the process. For such a short book, it leaves a deep mark. I pair this with one of my favorite [00:25:00] dishes from my college rugby trip to Argentina. churrasco steak with chimichurri, using a recipe from seriouseats.com. To make it, you'll need skirt steak, grilled or seared in a hot skillet, and a chimichurri sauce. The sauce, linked within the recipe, features fresh parsley, oregano, garlic, red pepper flakes, and red wine vinegar. Lightly brush the steak with chimichurri just before taking off the grill. Then generously spoon more over the slices before serving. Jacqueline: You need to make that for us, Michael. Michael: It is so good. Carrie: Yeah. I made chimichurri sauce for a book I read that took place in Argentina for Books and Bites, and it was really, really good. I should do it again sometime Michael: and I'll cook the churrasco. Carrie: Okay. Michael: If I'm saying that right. Churrasco steak Carrie: Pot, potluck. Michael: Yeah. Books and bites potluck. Jacqueline: There we go. Carrie: Yeah, so that sounds really like, I mean, [00:26:00] we were talking about gender roles. Michael: Mm-hmm. Carrie: With mine. That really sounds like the way that women kind of internalize this oppression . You know, like doing something that is terrible for them, but in, in a very extreme case. Michael: Yeah. Yeah. And then, yeah, and then you have this unseen kind of Wizard of Oz type guy behind the strings, but you don't see, you just hear him. He's kind of supposedly pulling the strings and is kind of taking these women and fight each other to gain favor. But the end there, I mean, I would say it's not totally, completely bleak or hopeless. There is. There is some hope at the end I mean, I think the fact that, you know, we're complicit reading something that this journal has been found in reading, it kind of shows you I don't give too much away. Yeah. Because, because of the ending and that there was a kernel of hope and that the journal was, now that we have it in our hands, Carrie: Right. Michael: Proves [00:27:00] that it was found. So there's maybe some good that happened. If that makes sense. Jacqueline: Yeah, it does. Carrie: Yeah. I don't think that you're giving anything away there. Michael: Yeah. Carrie: 'cause you know that when you start reading the book, right? Michael: Yeah. I mean, yeah. That it was found that, you know, the secret diary was located at some point and published, so. Mm-hmm. But yeah, it's, it's, there's a lot packed in the what, 200 pages? Carrie: Yeah. Sounds like it. So we have quite a range of books, that we talked about today. So hopefully, yeah, you can travel to Argentina, Japan, Iceland, Finland. We've got from the Antarctic almost. Michael: Mm-hmm. Carrie: To the Arctic almost. So we've, , really got it covered. Jacqueline: Yeah. And we always seem to have a variety too, like different genres and stuff. Michael: Oh yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Genres and languages and, yay.[00:28:00] Carrie: Thanks for listening to the Books and Bites podcast. To learn more about  Books and Bites Bingo, visit us at jesspublib.org/books-bites. Our theme music is The Breakers from the album In Close Quarters with the Enemy by Scott Whiddon. You can learn more about Scott and his music at his website, adoorforadesk.com.