Greetings readers! Here are Our Top 5 Books of the Month from around the world to kick off the new year, to refresh perspectives and remind us why cultural literacy isn’t a luxury, but a necessity. Palestine Minus One: Stories from the Eve of the Nakba Edited by Basma Ghalayini A prequel to the publisher’s acclaimed 2019 collection Palestine +100…

The BookBlast® Translation Book Club meets in person at 6pm on the second Monday of each month at Hatchards, Piccadilly, to discuss engaging, well-written fiction in translation from the past decade, offering thought-provoking reads that illuminate global cultures. Surprise guests include translators, publishers, editors or authors who sometimes join in, offering insights into their work and experiences. Who better to introduce readers to cultures from around the world than leading writers translated into English?

“The novel Far by Rosa Ribas – called Lejos in Spanish – translated by Charlotte Coombe, is a dark, satirical and very Spanish love story with echoes of Claudia Piñeiro and JG Ballard,” Sam Jones, The Guardian A visit to the abandoned “Manhattan of La Mancha” south of Madrid inspired Rosa Ribas to write Far. The place struck her as the perfect setting for a love story.

YouTube video by The Mirror

The National Telepathy by Roque Larraquy, skilfully translated by Frank Wynne, is an extraordinary, disturbing, metaphoric read. A satire of scientific racism; a critique of colonialism and its mindset, the novel questions to what extent so-called modern civilisation is founded on violence, racism and warping or erasing memory.

BookBlast Review by Clem Clement of the new edition out with And Other Stories of All the Lights by Clemens Meyer, translated by Katy Derbyshire. Winner of the Leipzig Book Fair Prize 2008