Our translated books in April

Inpress’ list of translated books in April is inclusive, diverse and pioneering, as are our publishers, bringing the best foreign literature and fantastic classic and emerging authors to the UK public. This month, Inpress books in translation will take you across the world – from the Adriatic Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, from France to China – and even across genres and form. Our list includes poetry and fiction, literature for young adults and for more mature audiences, where common threads and themes are sexuality, love, human relationships and the woman’s perspective. Below is our April’s list!

AN EROTIC FAIRY TALE OF A NOVELLA BY ANNE SERRE

#1 The Governesses by Anne Serre, translated by Mark Hutchinson (Les Fugitives)

Publishers Weekly Best Books in Fiction 2018 and Longlisted for the 2019 Best Translated Book Awards

The sensational English debut of a major French writer — written with the elegance of old French fables, the dark sensuality of Djuna Barnes and the subtle comedy of Robert Walser, this warped erotic fairy tale of a novella introduces UK readers to the marvellous Anne Serre.

In a large country house, shut off from the world within a gated garden, three young women responsible for the education of a group of little boys are hanging paper lanterns for a party. Their desires, however, lie elsewhere... Meet The Governesses: wild or drifting about in a sated, melancholy calm; spied upon by Monsieur Austeur, fascinated by the ever more mysterious unfolding of events, like the charms and spells of a midsummer night's dream…

'Prim and racy, seriously weird and seriously excellent...'
says The New York Times

PIONEERING FEMINIST POETRY FROM PORTUGAL

#2 Point of Honour: Selected Poems of Maria Teresa Horta, translated by Lesley Saunders (Two Rivers Press)

This poetry collection brings together, for the first time in English, translations of the work of Maria Teresa Horta, one of the greatest Portuguese female voices of the last century. The collection spans six decades of her poetry and her 21 volumes and includes a selection from each one. The collection is introduced by an essay from leading Comparative Literature scholar Ana Raquel Fernandes and is translated by poet Lesley Saunders. The book also serves to underline the importance of sustaining cultural connections between the UK and Europe.

A TALE OF THE EXCITEMENTS AND TROUBLES OF ADOLESCENCE

#3 White Horse by Yan Ge, translated by Nicky Harman and illustrated by James Nunn (HopeRoad)

A gripping psychological tale enlivened by wickedly sharp insights into contemporary small-town life in China. Yun Yun lives in a small West China town with her widowed father, and an uncle, aunt and older cousin who lives nearby. Then, her once-secure world falls apart, as she observes her adolescent cousin clashing with her repressive parents.

Read our fascinating interview with Nicky Harman, the translator of White Horse here.

A STORY OF LIFE, LOVE AND HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS

#4 Singer in the Night by Olja Savičević, translated by Celia Hawkesworth (Istros Books) – English PEN Award Winner

Clementine is a famous soap opera scriptwriter. She is slowly losing her memory, and decides to embark on a road trip down memory lane in her golden Mazda convertible trying to reach her ex-husband, the street poet Nightingale, whose uncompromising artistic integrity is opposed to Clementine’s fickle life in the world of TV drama.

The novel opens with a series of letters written by Nightingale and sent to all the inhabitants of his street. Not welcome by the neighbours, these letters playfully deal with deeper themes: life, the past, love, relations.

Singer in the Night is our selected book in translation for the month of April. We have chosen it because it explores the possibilities of what is real, what is true, of what life and love are and mean. This book is entertaining and thought-provoking at the same time, stimulating and enjoyable to read and to discuss. We recommend it especially because Olja Savičević’s style is unique, fresh and innovative, young but mature in talent, and it is rendered brilliantly into English by Celia Hawkesworth.

Read more about this fantastic book on our blog here.

Singer in the Night (Istros Books, 2019), front cover.