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tonysreadinglist.bsky.social
Tony Malone
@tonysreadinglist.bsky.social
1K followers 300 following 670 posts
Championing the wonders of translated fiction, one review at a time. Slightly older and more haggard than the photos suggest. Bitter at most things, really.
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Tony Malone @tonysreadinglist.bsky.social · 57m
It's another Genji post today as Chapter 15, 'Yomogiu' takes us back to meet a certain princess, one with a sizeable facial feature, who's waiting desperately for the Shining One to visit her again...
tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2025/10/09/t...
The Tale of Genji: 15 – Yomogiu
After a chapter focusing on Genji’s return to the Capital, court politics and reencounters with some of the Tale’s major characters, it’s time today for a change of pace, and the …
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Tony Malone @tonysreadinglist.bsky.social · 3d
Today's review looks at Natalia Ginzburg's 'All Our Yesterdays' (translated by Angus Davidson), the story of a family and their experiences before and during World War Two, even if the war is mostly far away...
tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2025/10/06/a...
‘All Our Yesterdays’ by Natalia Ginzburg (Review)
After I recently got around to one book I’d been looking forward to trying for a good while, today sees me finding time for another that’s been waiting patiently in the background.  On …
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Tony Malone @tonysreadinglist.bsky.social · 5d
Anyone looking for an eerie read in translation for Hallowe'en might want to check out this interesting series from @honfordstar, 'Lovecraft Reanimated' - three of Lovecraft's works reimagined by Korean writers...
honfordstar.com/collections/...
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Tony Malone @tonysreadinglist.bsky.social · 6d
Before heading into October's reviews, here's the monthly wrap-up post for September on the blog :)
tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2025/10/03/s...
September 2025 Wrap-Up
While I didn’t entirely forget about women in translation in September, my focus did broaden somewhat last month after August’s glut of reviews.  Along with the usual Japanese choices (…
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Tony Malone @tonysreadinglist.bsky.social · 6d
I actually reviewed that when it came out in the US (sadly, I only got a PDF) - it will definitely be great to see the whole trilogy brought into English :)
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Tony Malone @tonysreadinglist.bsky.social · 7d
Definitely one I enjoyed - as I'm sure you enjoyed your meeting with the men responsible!
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Tony Malone @tonysreadinglist.bsky.social · 7d
Are you ready for November? An introduction to German Literature Month XV (#GermanLitMonth), hosted by @beautyandthecat.bsky.social and... well, someone else ;)
tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2025/10/01/a...
Announcing German Literature Month XV – November 2025
November isn’t far away, and you all know what that means – German Literature Month is just around the corner! For the 15th (!) time, we’ll be reading German, Austrian, or Swiss books, …
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tonysreadinglist.bsky.social
Tony Malone @tonysreadinglist.bsky.social · 7d
Are you ready for November? An introduction to German Literature Month XV (#GermanLitMonth), hosted by @beautyandthecat.bsky.social and... well, someone else ;)
tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2025/10/01/a...
Announcing German Literature Month XV – November 2025
November isn’t far away, and you all know what that means – German Literature Month is just around the corner! For the 15th (!) time, we’ll be reading German, Austrian, or Swiss books, …
tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com
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Reposted by Tony Malone
maorthofer.bsky.social
M.A.Orthofer @maorthofer.bsky.social · 9d
(Includes swipes at the "egregious" translations by Pevear and Volokhonsky, such as: "The sense is that they must have some 𝑘𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑡 on commissioning editors to keep getting hired, given how awkward is the English in the translations they produce" 🙂.)
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Reposted by Tony Malone
maorthofer.bsky.social
M.A.Orthofer @maorthofer.bsky.social · 9d
"On the other hand, much of the translated fiction that sells big and spreads by word of mouth is identikit pap that “perms” any three from the following: Japan, cats, coffee shops, locked rooms, bookstores and detectives." @john-self.bsky.social on re/translations thecritic.co.uk/accost-in-tr...
Accost in translation | John Self | The Critic Magazine
Each new rendering in English of a classic written in another language must make the case for its superiority to previous versions. Cue barbs and accusations.
thecritic.co.uk
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tonysreadinglist.bsky.social
Tony Malone @tonysreadinglist.bsky.social · 10d
After looking at Miranda Darling's 'Thunderhead' earlier in the month, today's review explores the sequel, 'Fireweather' (courtesy of Scribe Publications), in which a familiar face is going through a hard time - as is the country as a whole...
tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2025/09/29/f...
‘Fireweather’ by Miranda Darling (Review)
A few weeks back, I covered Australian writer Miranda Darling’s Thunderhead, a Mrs-Dalloway-inspired novel recounting a day in the life of a woman trapped in an abusive marriage, and as promi…
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Tony Malone @tonysreadinglist.bsky.social · 13d
Just had an enjoyable day's reading courtesy of LTI Korea's latest edition of 'Korean Literature Now' - lots of reviews, essays and fiction, including a story from featured writer Hwang Jungeun. It can all be tried for free at the site, too :) klwave.or.kr/klw/magazine...
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Tony Malone @tonysreadinglist.bsky.social · 14d
New start - same old Genji... Here's my look at Chapter 14 of the Tale, 'Miotsukushi':
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Tony Malone @tonysreadinglist.bsky.social · 15d
I hope you avoided statues for weeks afterwards ;)
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Tony Malone @tonysreadinglist.bsky.social · 15d
Worth the time spent (waiting and reading!)
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Tony Malone @tonysreadinglist.bsky.social · 16d
I have to say that I hadn't really paid much attention to any reviews myself ;)
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Tony Malone @tonysreadinglist.bsky.social · 16d
A bit late to the party, but here's my look at Mircea Cărtărescu's 'Solenoid' (translated by Sean Cotter, published by Deep Vellum Publishing), a mind-bending tale of a man and his electromagnet ;)
tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2025/09/22/s...
‘Solenoid’ by Mircea Cărtărescu (Review)
With all the books I have on my shelves, and the need to write reviews a couple of times a week, it can be difficult to fit in longer books at times, and there’s one particular hefty novel th…
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tonysreadinglist.bsky.social
Tony Malone @tonysreadinglist.bsky.social · 18d
Good to hear - hope you find something enjoyable :)
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Tony Malone @tonysreadinglist.bsky.social · 18d
Keep Calm and Carry On (killing bad guys) - unlikely to win any awards, but 'Heads of State' was a fun way to spend Saturday evening with my daughters :)
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Tony Malone @tonysreadinglist.bsky.social · 20d
Busy recently, so I haven't been online much, but in November I'm hoping to be more active to help with this year's #GermanLitMonth - here's the badge, with a building you may recognise :)
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tonysreadinglist.bsky.social
Tony Malone @tonysreadinglist.bsky.social · 21d
My latest review looks at Kaori Lai's 'Portraits in White' (tr. Sylvia Li-chun Lin and Howard Goldblatt, courtesy of Columbia University Press), three sketches of lives under the Taiwanese 'White Terror' era:
tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2025/09/18/p...
‘Portraits in White’ by Kaori Lai (Review)
While my focus on Taiwanese literature has never quite reached the heights of my obsession with Japanese and Korean books, I’m always keen to take a look at new works in English, so when Colu…
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Tony Malone @tonysreadinglist.bsky.social · 23d
A man, two women and a rather lively sex doll - Noboru Tsujihara's 'Mistress Koharu' (translated by Kalau Almony, courtesy of Honford Star):
tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2025/09/15/m...
‘Mistress Koharu’ by Noboru Tsujihara (Review)
My last look at a book from small publisher Honford Star, specialists in fiction from East Asia, saw us spending time in the samurai era, but while we’re staying in Japan for today’s po…
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Tony Malone @tonysreadinglist.bsky.social · 28d
There's a new cat in town - well, the cat's translator, anyway! So how does Nick Bradley's version of Natsume Sōseki's 'I Am a Cat' compare to Aiko Ito & Graeme Wilson's version? Well, I can't promise a definitive answer, but...
tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2025/09/11/i...
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Tony Malone @tonysreadinglist.bsky.social · Sep 7
My latest post looks at a local book, Miranda Darling's 'Thunderhead', courtesy of Scribe Publications, a day in the life of a woman struggling with 'normal' life...
tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2025/09/08/t...
‘Thunderhead’ by Miranda Darling (Review)
I was recently sent a copy of an interesting-sounding book, Miranda Darling’s Fireweather (just out here in Australia from Scribe Publications), but while flicking through, I realised that it…
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tonysreadinglist.bsky.social
Tony Malone @tonysreadinglist.bsky.social · Sep 5
I'm back with another Genji post, the second part of my take on 'Akashi', as we see what's been going on back in the Capital, including some divine intervention...
tonysreadinglist.wordpress.com/2025/09/05/t...
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