It took me years but I finally found it in a used bookstore: the incredible ‘Men of Maize’ by Miguel Ángel Asturias, which draws on Mayan myths and legends to depict the conflict between indigenous ways of life and the promises of industrialisation. An excellent novel.

I finally read 'La Casa Grande' (1962) from Colombian writer Álvaro Cepeda Samudio and I am in absolute awe. A short novel weaving layers of transgenerational violence and repression, looking at the downfall of a wealthy family in the context of the violent 1928 'Banana Massacre'

Made the most of three weeks of holidays by reading these. Danilo Kiš and Cristina Rivera Garza were the two standouts amongst this (slightly) odd set.

The best novels I read in 2024. Immensely grateful for all the work that went into translating and publishing these!

I just read "L'invention du désert" by Algerian and Kabyle writer Tahar Djaout. His poetic roots are the most evident in the narrator's reminiscence of his youth, written with so much intention, intimacy and grace. A shame it was never translated into English.

Just finished “The Joys of Motherhood” by Buchi Emecheta, an exemplary novel about a woman’s precarious life in a rapidly urbanising Nigeria, torn between the traditions of her rural hometown, the harsh economic realities of Lagos and the many burdens of womanhood.