my reviews

for a more visual guide, visit my new interactive reading map

1. Uganda: Kintu by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

2. Japan: Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (tr. Megan Backus)

3. HungaryThe Door by Magda Szabó (tr. Len Rix)

4. Iran: Disoriental by Négar Djavadi (tr. Tina Kover)

5. Poland: Flights by Olga Tokarczuk (tr. Jennifer Croft)

6. China: Vertical Motion by Can Xue (tr. Karen Gernant, Chen Zeping)

7. Finland: The Summer Book by Tove Jansson (tr. Thomas Teal)

8. Spain (Catalan): Brother in Ice by Alicia Kopf (tr. Mara Faye Letham) 

9. Chile: Seeing Red by Lina Meruane (tr. Megan McDowell)

10. Mexico: Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions by Valeria Luiselli; The Iliac Crest by Cristina Rivera Garza (tr. Sarah Booker)

11. Switzerland: Sweet Days of Discipline by Fleur Jaeggy (tr. Tim Parks)

12. Denmark: Mirror, Shoulder, Signal by Dorthe Nors (tr. Misha Hoekstra)

13. India: Abandon by Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay (tr. Arunava Sinha)

14. Haiti: Love, Anger, Madness by Marie Vieux-Chauvet (tr. Rose-Myriam Réjouis, Val Vinokur)

15. Belarus: The Unwomanly Face of War by Svetlana Alexievich (tr. Richard Pevear, Larissa Volokhonsky)

16. Palestine: The Sea Cloak by Nayrouz Qarmout (tr. Charis Bredin) [found in The Book of Gaza (ed. Atef Abu Saif)]

17. Colombia: Fish Soup by Margarita García Robayo (tr. Charlotte Coombe)

18. Brazil: Àgua Viva by Clarice Lispector (tr. Benjamin Moser); Stubborn Archivist by Yara Rodrigues Fowler

19. Antigua: Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid

20. Jordan: Willow Trees Don’t Weep by Fadia Faqir

21. Tunisia: Time’s Running Out for Scheherazade by Fawzia Zouari (tr. Judith Landry)

22. Argentina: The German Room by Carla Maliandi (tr. Frances Riddle); The Wind That Lays Waste by Selva Almada (tr. Chris Andrews); Feebleminded by Ariana Harwicz (tr. Annie McDermott & Carolina Orloff) … I couldn’t pick just one!

23. Egypt: The Hidden Face of Eve by Nawal el Saadawi (tr. Dr Sherif Hetata)

24. France: Those Without Shadows by Françoise Sagan (tr. Irene Ash)

25. Nigeria: Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

26. Côte d’IvoireAya de Yopougon by Marguerite Abouet & Clément Oubrerie (tr. Helge Dascher)

27. South Africa: Soweto Stories by Miriam Tlali

28. Croatia: The Ministry of Pain by Dubravka Ugrešić (tr. Michael Henry Heim)

29. Portugal: Now and at the Hour of Our Death by Susana Moreira Marques (tr. Julia Sanches)

30. Syria: Farewell, Damascus by Ghada Samman (tr. Nancy Roberts)

31. Germany: Go Went Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck (tr. Susan Bernofsky)

32. ZimbabweNervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga

33. Vietnam: Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong (tr. Phan Huy Duong & Nina McPherson)

34. MozambiqueThe First Wife by Paulina Chiziane (tr. David Brookshaw)

35. Pakistan: Cracking India by Bapsi Sidhwa

36. Latvia: Soviet Milk by Nora Ikstena (tr. Margita Gailitis)

37. Sudan: Elsewhere Home by Leila Aboulela

38. United States: Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Y. Davis

39. Singapore: Ponti by Sharlene Teo

40. Australia: Songspirals: Sharing Women’s Wisdom of Country through Songlines by Gay’wu Group of Women

41. Equatorial Guinea: La Bastarda by Trifonia Melibea Obono (tr. Lawrence Schimel)

42. LithuaniaShadows on the Tundra by Dalia Grinkevičiutė (tr. Delija Valiukenas)

43. Peru: Sexographies by Gabriela Wiener (tr. Jennifer Adcock, Lucy Greaves)

44. Oman: Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi (tr. Marilyn Booth)

45. Austria: The Empress and the Cake by Linda Stift (tr. Jamie Bulloch) [T/W: eating disorders]

46. Russia: Bride and Groom by Alisa Ganieva (tr. Carol Apollonio)

47. CambodiaFirst They Killed My Father by Loung Ung

48. GreenlandCrimson by Niviaq Korneliussen (tr. Anna Halager)

49. Sierra Leone: The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna

50. TaiwanWedding in Autumn And Other Stories by Shih Chiung-Yu (tr. Darryl Sterk)

51. El Salvador: Luisa in Realityland by Claribel Alegría (tr. D J Flakoll)

52. Iraq: The Beekeeper of Sinjar by Dunya Mikhail (tr. Max Weiss & Dunya Mikhail) [T/W: sexual violence]

53. Sweden: No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference by Greta Thunberg

54. South Korea: The Vegetarian by Han Kang (tr. Deborah Smith)

55. Slovenia: Angel of Oblivion by Maja Haderlap (tr. Tess Lewis)

56. Belgium: Thirty Days by Annelies Verbeke (tr. Liz Waters)

57. Ireland: Normal People by Sally Rooney

58. Papua New Guinea: My Walk to Equality: Essays, Stories & Poetry by Papua New Guinean Women – ed. Rashmii Amoah Bell

59. Ukraine: Fieldwork in Ukrainian Sex by Oksana Zabuzhko (tr. Halyna Hryn)

60. Senegal: So Long a Letter by Mariama Bâ (tr. Modupé Bodé-Thomas)

61. Cameroon: Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue

62. Thailand: Bright by Duanwad Pimwana (tr. Mui Poopoksakul)

63. Myanmar: Smile as they Bow by Nu Nu Yi (tr. Alfred Birnbaum and Thi Thi Aye)

64. Afghanistan: Raising My Voice by Malalai Joya (co-written with Derrick O’Keefe)

65. Albania: The Country Where No One Ever Dies by Ornela Vorpsi (tr. Robert Elsie & Janice Mathie-Heck)

66. Lebanon: Always Coca-Cola by Alexandra Chreiteh (tr. Michelle Hartman)

67. Slovakia: The Equestrienne by Uršuľa Kovalyk (tr. Julia and Peter Sherwood)

68. Botswana: Maru by Bessie Head

69. Liberia: The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper

70. Venezuela: Southpaw by Lisa St Aubin de Téran

71. Honduras: Nobody Wanted Me by Soledad Castillo

72. Rwanda: Our Lady of the Nile by Scholastique Mukasonga (tr. Melanie Mauthner)

73. RomaniaThe Appointment by Herta Müller (tr. Michael Hulse & Philip Boehm)

74. IsraelDrinking the Sea at Gaza: Days and Nights Under Siege by Amira Hass (tr. Maxine Nunn)

75. Ghana: Changes: A Love Story by Ama Ata Aidoo

76. Yemen: Our Women on the Ground (ed. Zahra Hankir)

77. Sri Lanka: A Disobedient Girl by Ru Freeman

78. Canada: Small Beauty by jia qing wilson-yang

79. Fiji: Kaluti by Shazia Usman

80. Italy: Arturo’s Island by Elsa Morante (tr. Ann Goldstein)

81. New Zealand: Collected Stories by Patricia Grace

82. Serbia: Dogs and Others by Biljana Jovanović (tr. John K Cox)

83. Armenia: My Grandmother: A Memoir by Fethiye Çetin (tr. Maureen Freely)

84. United Kingdom: Trans by Juliet Jacques

85. Zambia: The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell

86. Morocco: Lullaby by Leïla Slimani (tr. Sam Taylor)

87. Barbados: Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord

88. Netherlands: The Black Lake by Hella Haasse (tr. Ina Rilke)

89. Ethiopia: The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste

90. Angola: The Return by Dulce Maria Cardoso (tr. Angel Gurria-Quintana)

91. Bolivia: Our Dead World by Liliana Colanzi (tr. Jessica Sequeira)

92. Dominican Republic: In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

93. Indonesia: Saman by Ayu Utami (tr. Pamela Allen)

94. Marshall Islands: Iep Jāltok: Poems from a Marshallese Daughter by Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner

95. Suriname: The Cost of Sugar by Cynthia Mcleod (tr. Gerald Mettam)

96. Kenya: Dust by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor

97. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea: The Girl with Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee (tr. David John)

98. Bangladesh: I Am Yours by Reema Zaman

99. Saudi Arabia: Sarab by Raja Alem (tr. Leri Price)

100. Turkey: Every Fire You Tend by Sema Kaygusuz (tr. Nicholas Glastonbury)

101. Bosnia & Herzegovina: Zlata’s Diary by Zlata Filipovic (tr. Christina Pribichevich-Zoric)

102. Cyprus: Death Customs by Constantia Soteriou (tr. Lina Protopapa)

103. Timor-LesteFrom Timor Leste to Australia ed. Jan Trezise

104. Norway: Will and Testament by Vigdis Hjorth (tr. Charlotte Barslund)

105. Greece: Zigzag through the Bitter-Orange Trees by Ersi Sotiropoulos (tr. Peter Green)

106. Luxembourg: Tentative by Anna Leader

107. Philippines: The Farm by Joanne Ramos

108. Nicaragua: The Country Under My Skin by Gioconda Belli (tr. Kristina Cordero)

109. Guatemala: Knitting the Fog by Claudia D. Hernández

110. Trinidad & Tobago: Crick Crack Monkey by Merle Hodge

111. Chad: Passion de La Pensée by Salma Khalil Alio

112. Azerbaijan: Days in the Caucasus by Banine (tr. Anne Thompson-Ahmadova)

113. Burundi: Weep Not, Refugee by Marie-Thérèse Toyi

114. Federated States of Micronesia: My Urohs by Emelihter Kihleng

115. Kazakhstan: The School by Zaure Batayeva (tr. ZB & Shelley Fairweather-Vega)

116. Estonia: At the Manor, or Jump into the Fire by Maarja Kangro (tr. Christopher Moseley)

117. Malta: Running Commentary by Daphne Caruana Galizia

118. Dominica: Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

119. Cabo Verde: The Madwoman of Serrano by Dina Salústio (tr. Jethro Soutar)

120. Mongolia: The Green Eyed Lama by Oyungerel Tsedevdamba and Jeffrey L Falt

121. Mauritania: Poetry and I by Mbarka Mint al-Barra’ (tr. Joel Mitchell & PTC participants)

122. Guyana: Shame on Me: An Anatomy of Race and Belonging by Tessa McWatt

123. Iceland: The Greenhouse by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir (tr. Brian FitzGibbon)

124. Eritrea: My Fathers’ Daughter by Hannah Pool

125. Cuba: Revolution Sunday by Wendy Guerra (tr. Achy Obejas)

126. Somalia: Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

127. KyrgyzstanAn Orange Lemon by Alla Pyatibratova (tr. Rohan Kamicheril)

128. Mauritius: Eve Out of her Ruins by Ananda Devi (tr. Jeffrey Zuckerman)

129. Algeria: The Sexual Life of an Islamist in Paris by Leïla Marouane (tr. Alison Anderson)

130: Malawi: I Still Miss Him by Walije Gondwe

131. Belize: Time and the River by Zee Edgell

132. Nepal: Night by Sulochana Manandhar (tr. Muna Gurung)

133. Gabon: Des Contes pour la Lune by Edna Merey-Apinda

134. Benin: Gen by Agnès Agboton (tr. Lawrence Schimel)

135. Burkina Faso: Droit de Cité: Être Femme au Burkina Faso by Monique Ilboudo

136. Malaysia: The Rice Mother by Rani Manicka

137. Macedonia: A Spare Life by Lidija Dimkovska (tr. Christina E Kramer)

138. Madagascar: One Times Two by Cyprienne Toazara (tr. Allison M Charette)

139. BulgariaIn the Town of Joy and Peace by Zdravka Evtimova

140. Bhutan: The Circle of Karma by Kunzang Choden

141. Nauru: A Beautiful Prayer by Joanne Ekamdeiya Gobure

142. Panama: The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez

143. Paraguay: Our Father Is Tired by Susy Delgado (tr. Susan Smith Nash & SD)

144. Wales: The Welsh Language: A History by Janet Davies – yes I know Wales isn’t a country (yet!) but as it’s my homeland I’ve taken a liberty

145. Tanzania: Things That Were Lost in Our Vaginas by Nyachiro Lydia Kasese

146. South Sudan: Withered Flowers by Stella Gitano (tr. Anthony Calderbank)

147. Namibia: The Purple Violet of Oshaantu by Neshani Andreas

148. Solomon IslandsFlotsam & Jetsam by Jully Makini

149. Grenada: Lady in a Boat by Merle Collins

150. Samoa: Where We Once Belonged by Sia Figiel

151. Democratic Republic of Congo: How Dare the Sun Rise by Sandra Uwiringiyimana with Abigail Pesta

152. Jamaica: The True History of Paradise by Margaret Cezair-Thompson

153. Eswatini: Weeding the Flowerbeds by Sarah Mkhonza

154. Tonga: This Is My Story of Resilience by Uinise Tulikihakau

155. Uruguay: Cantoras by Carolina de Robertis

156. KuwaitThe Ringing Body by Fatima Yousef al-Ali (tr. William Maynard Hutchins)

157. Laos: How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa

158. Andorra: The Gravedigger’s Son by Teresa Colom (tr. Mara Faye Lethem)

159. Qatar: Fiery Curses by Noura Mohammad Faraj (tr. William M Hutchins)

160. The Gambia: Stories from the Gambia by Sally Sadie Singhateh

161. Czechia: A Kingdom of Souls by Daniela Hodrová (tr. Véronique Firkusny, Elena Sokol)

162. Liechenstein: Man Wortet Sich die Orte Selbst by Iren Nigg (tr. Marissa Grünes)

163. Maldives: Perfume by Aminath Neena

164. Guinea: Les Humiliées by Koumanthio Zeinab Diallo

165. Djibouti: Les Enfants du Khat by Mouna-Hodan Ahmed

166. São Tomé and Príncipe: ‘Petty Tyrants’ by Conceição Lima (tr. Amanda Hopkinson)

167. United Arab Emirates: That Other Me by Maha Gargash

168. Palau: The Palauan Perspectives by Hermana Ramarui

169. Kiribati: Teaote and the Wall by Marita Davies, illustrated by Stacey Bennett

170. Moldova: Selected Poems by Paula Erizanu

171. Turkmenistan: ‘I Have Come Through Torments Within These Walls’ by Annasoltan Kekilova (tr. James Womack)

172. Georgia: One More Year by Sana Krasikov

173. Tuvalu: ‘Tusitala’ by Selina Tusitala Marsh

174. Ecuador: Cockfight by María Fernanda Ampuero (tr. Frances Riddle)

175. San Marino: ‘The Tram Journey’ by Milena Ercolani (tr. Pasquale Iannone and Robyn Marsack)

176. Bahrain: Bahrain’s Uprising ed. by Ala’a Shehabi and Marc Owen Jones

177. Bahamas: Back to Life by Wendy Coakley Thompson

178. Costa Rica: ‘From where the voice is born’ by Carmen Naranjo

179. Tibet: Dalai Lama, My Son by Diki Tsering (ed. Khedroob Thondup)

180. Libya: ‘Melting Sun’ by Laila Neihoum (tr. D Mohamed Hassan and Neihoum)

181. Brunei: Moments of Nil by Flora Tavu

182. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Journal of a Superfluous Woman by I. R. King

183. Uzbekistan: The Dancer from Khiva by Bibish (tr. Andrew Bromfield)

184. Saint Lucia: ‘History Shelves’ by Sassy Ross

185. Republic of Congo: Two Poems by Marie-Léontine Tsibinda (tr. Nancy Naomi Carlson)

186. Guinea-Bissau: ‘In Which Language to Write’ by Odete Semedo (tr. Alejandro Aguilar)

187. Central African Republic: The Magic Doll by Adrienne Yabouza, illustrated by Élodie Nouhen (tr. Paul Kelly)

188. Togo: Do They Hear You When You Cry by Fauziya Kassindja and Layli Miller Bashir

189. Montenegro: ‘Time’ by Dragana Tripković (tr. Peter Stonelake)

190. Comoros: Le Journal de Maya by Coralie Frei

191. Monaco: My Book of Flowers by Princess Grace of Monaco with Gwen Robyns

192. Kosovo: Call Me by My Name: Poetry from Kosova in a Bilingual Albanian-English Edition by Flora Brovina (tr. Robert Elsie)

193. Lesotho: Singing Away the Hunger by Mpho ‘M’atsepo Nthunya

194. Vanuatu: Black Stone by Grace Mera Molisa

195. Tajikistan: The City Where Dreams Come True by Gulsifat Shahidi (tr. Altima Group)

196. Seychelles: ‘Labour of Love’ by Marie Flora Ben David Nourrice

197. Saint Kitts and Nevis: As Good as Gold by Kathryn Bertine

198. Mali: Poèmusiques by Fatoumata Keïta

199. Niger: Le Déserteur by Hélène Kaziende