This would be my first participation for
#WITMonth, an event of reading Women in Translation during August. Before coming to my list of possible reads, I would like to share some WIT books I have enjoyed so far in 2024 (click link in the title to read my review).
translated from Indonesian by Annie Tucker
Cigarette making had been an important and inseparable part of Indonesian history and culture. This historical fiction highlights the Dutch and Japanese colonialism of Indonesia from 1940s to 1960s. The story opens on the dying bed of an old rich cigarette business owner, Soeraja. He murmured an unfamiliar name of a woman "Jeng Yah" (Jeng=Madam). His three sons then began a long journey to a small town in Central Java to uncover the buried past of a long rivalry of two young men, their cigarette businesses, and an unrequited love.
I crowned this as the best Indonesian novel I've ever read so far. Kumala brilliantly captured the bygone era of Indonesia, and wove it around the historical background of colonialism. No one is overpowering the other, resulting in a very balanced story, packed with action and wonderful plot, and rich with cultural spice. No wonder it's been adapted to a Netflix serial!
translated from Japanese by Juliet Winters Carpenter
The life of foresters in a secluded little village are beautifully captured by Shion Miura in this novel, told from high school boy Yuki Hirano's eyes. He was enrolled by his parents to try forester as a career, of which he's reluctant at first, but relenting in the end, after the charm of Kamusari village won him over. A tranquil, insightful read that will bring you closer with nature.
translated from French by Ros Schwartz
A book about people who love books, and how books influence and change people - that's the appropriate summary of this book. Besides her love for reading, Juliette, the protagonist, loves to imagine the lives of her fellow métro passengers, through books they read every day. One day she met an extraordinary book seller, and recruited as a passeur, whose job is passing particular books to match the readers, using their imagination. And Juliette's dull existence changed abruptly.
It's a sweet, tranquil book that transported you to the more tranquil side of Paris, while enjoying its métro rides.
And now, some possible reads for #WITMonth. Since I will be joining
Moomin Week, brought by
Mallika and
Chris, two of my #WITMonth reads would be Tove Jansson's:
The Moomins and the Great Flood (Småtrollen och den stora översvämningen) and
Finn Family Moomintroll (Trollkarlens hatt). They are respectively the first and third in Moomins books (translated from Swedish), a children literature about a family of trolls who live in Moominvalley.
I also plan to read Hella Haasse's
The Black Lake (Oeroeg), a bildungsroman which has been a staple in literary education for Dutch schoolchildren. It is set in a plantation in West Java, Indonesia, during Dutch colonialism. The story told by a little Dutch boy who grew up in the plantation and befriended a native boy. But the political changes estranged him from his friend until his return after WWII. What would he find? Would everything be the same as before? I have longed to read this book (translated from Ducth, of course, and really hope I can still squeeze it into this month). Fingers crossed!
Have you read any of the books I mentioned? Will you participate in #WITMonth? What will you read?
