Permafrost by Eva Baltasar (tr. Julia Sanches)

blue cover with woman resting head on hand, lying against furry blanket

a nutshell: written by a Catalan poet, this debut novel chases the erratic thoughts of a gay suicidal narrator as she flits from one place (or person) to another

a line: “We’d met by chance, and if there’s one thing I believe in, it’s chance. Despite the Herculean efforts of new religions to deny it, chance continues to exist”

an image: almost too many to choose from! I was especially moved by how the narrator describes doubt (fanned by her parents) as the first chink in the permafrost, that is, the thick layers of defence mechanisms she built to survive

a thought: perhaps contrary to expectations, this book manages to be both fiercely funny and emotively frail – I found it a compulsive read

a fact: in her illuminating afterword, Sanches notes that Baltasar’s story began as a prompt in a therapy session and spiralled into a fictional work from there, which sheds light on Permafrost‘s ‘searching’ quality

want to read Permafrost? visit here

Notes from Childhood by Norah Lange (tr. Charlotte Whittle)

pink and blue book cover with corner of woman's face

a nutshell: this ethereal web of memories gives a glimpse into the writer’s intriguing childhood in early 20th-century Argentina

a line: “I began to wonder if it was really true that by night I was dead”

an image: I loved the way Lange described her zeal with the aesthetics of words – the tangled letters and stiff downstrokes of ls and ts

a thought: many passages dealt strikingly well with the weird unpredictability of responses to trauma, such as how she feared smiling when confronting harrowing moments

a fact: Lange was a key figure in the Argentine avant-garde of the 1920s/30s, and this 1937 memoir was her first major success

want to read Notes from Childhood? visit here

Migratory Birds by Mariana Oliver (tr. Julia Sanches)

migratory birds book with cranes silhouettes against rusty orange background

a nutshell: meditating on movement – both through places and time – this is a debut collection by a Mexican essayist, often with a lens on Berlin (where she lives)

a line: “fear is more contagious and lethal than any virus or bacteria”

an image: in the titular essay (the piece I enjoyed most) Oliver describes Bill Lishman’s flight to assist the migration of whooping cranes, describing the birds as charcoal strokes across the sky

a thought: in ‘Cassandra’, Oliver writes that Christa Wolf knew wars begin with language – feels like an apt observation amid the current preoccupation with ‘culture wars’ in corners of UK society

a fact: Oliver wrote that in the German language, ‘ss’ in the spelling of certain words e.g. Strasse, was replaced with an Eszett ‘ß’, e.g. Straße, to avoid painful associations with the Nazi regime, but I couldn’t verify this on googling!

want to read Migratory Birds? visit here

Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami (tr. Allison Markin Powell)

strange weather in tokyo cover with girl in red dress on cover

a nutshell: this atmospheric novella follows Tsukiko’s blossoming connection with a former teacher after an encounter in a local bar

a line: “the harder I tried to see, the less sure I was about anything”

an image: at one point Tsukiko sits on a tree stump while mushroom-hunting and grows aware of how alive the undergrowth is – bugs, birds, even the breath of the larger animals inhabiting the deeper forest

a thought: I loved Kawakami’s mastery in depicting emotional turbulence, for instance while grieving the prospect of romantic love Tsukiko bursts into tears when she breaks an apple skin while trying to peel it the way her mother did

a fact: this book’s title in the US is ‘The Briefcase’, more accurately reflecting the Japanese title which apparently translates more or less to ‘Sensei of the Briefcase’ (Sensei is a Japanese term used to address a teacher, which is what Tsukiko calls her companion)

want to read Strange Weather in Tokyo? visit here

Le Déserteur by Hélène Kaziende

a nutshell: in a letter addressed to Africa from Samzi Dikinfa of Erquifa, this short yet immensely powerful piece of prose shares an insight into the complexities around why someone might leave a homeland – not necessarily by choice

a line: “I’m leaving, tired of aborted promises and murdered suns” (“je m’en vais, lassé des promesses avortées et des soleils assassinés”)

an image: I found myself moved by the portrayal of being surrounded by ‘professional’ drunks, while the self-described deserter thirsts not for alcohol but rather for a bit of justice and freedom

a thought: I wondered whether there was any significance to the date of the letter, 15 August 1990, and discovered through the internet that it was on this day that at least 150 people were killed in clashes between the African National Congress and Inkatha Freedom Party, South Africa

a fact: this story won a prize in a competition by radio station Africa No. 1 and features in the 1992 collection Kilomètre 30, which I managed to get a copy of through Better World Books – its arrival was quite poignant, as it was the very final book to arrive for my entire project

want to read Kaziende’s writing? visit here

Poèmusiques by Fatoumata Keïta

please note I read Keïta’s poetry in her original French, so anything ‘lost in translation’ is down to my slightly rusty French!

a nutshell: excerpted from A Toutes les Muses (Mandé Editions), these poems by Malian writer Fatoumata Keïta evoke a lyrical, intimate sense of the hopes, illusions and emotions coursing through the poet

a line: “I invite you into my temple, friend | into the rooms of my firm pen” (“Je t’invite dans mon temple, ami | Dans les pièces de ma plume affermie”) – ‘These Blows’

an image: shaped with exquisite precision as a diamond, Keïta’s poem ‘Rebel Sword’ conjures visceral scenes of earthworms and dust to bring us up close with the mortality we all have in common – I (whether wrongly or rightly) interpreted this poem as an allusion to the Tuareg Rebellion

a thought: I was moved by the poem ‘Tears’, particularly the contrast drawn between the flood of tears and the aridity of harsh times, which prompted me to learn more about the geography of Mali – I learned it’s among the world’s hottest countries with frequent droughts, and the climate crisis has exacerbated conflict over access to water & land

a fact: born in 1977 in Baguinéda, near Mali’s capital Bamako, Keïta’s first job after graduating was editing radio scripts – which perhaps contributed to the amazing musicality of her poetry

want to read Poèmusiques? visit here – collection To all the Muses’ edited by Mandé Editions

As Good as Gold by Kathryn Bertine

a nutshell: this memoir follows an athlete’s attempt to make the Olympics via the beautiful dual-island nation of St Kitts and Nevis

a line: “doable, with its amazing ability to promise nothing and everything all at once, still left me in charge, I hung onto that word fiercely, to its calm positivity, its quiet hope, and its spunky little go-getter syllables”

an image: when recalling her first trip to St Kitts and Nevis, Bertine recounts Christopher Columbus’ error in believing the clouds above Nevis’s highest peak were a snowcapped mountain, hence the name from the Spanish ‘nieves’ (‘snows’)

a thought: I was moved by Bertine’s honesty about leaving her ex-fiance, an alcoholic, and her memories of how she gathered what was left of her confidence, courage & energy after realising she couldn’t rewire another person’s ‘happy button’ – I was particularly interested in her reflection about the danger of thinking if physical pain was something she could endure then why not pain of the emotional variety?

a fact: at one point, Bertine visits my home city of Melbourne for the Bloody Big Swim, an 11.3km route through the open sea, which I know *for a fact* that I wouldn’t stand a chance at!

want to read As Good as Gold? visit here

‘Labour of Love’ by Marie Flora Ben David Nourrice

a nutshell: published in 2004, this poem from Seychellois poet Nourrice reflects (I think!) a mother’s love for her child and expresses gratitude for the healing power of time

a line: “How patient I have been | Watching the pregnant moons”

an image: continuing the nature-inspired imagery, Nourrice describes heartbeats as soft as falling petals

a thought: I was delighted to hear from the poet in early September when I reached out to learn more about Seychellois writing

a fact: as shared in this interview, Nourrice is a poet, educator and curriculum development officer known as ‘Miss Flora’, who has made a significant contribution to her country over 25 years

want to read ‘Labour of Love’? visit here

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

book cover with woman in red dress in beautiful countryside

a nutshell: these four stories give a rare glimpse of what life can look like amid social unrest (particularly with reference to perestroika) across three generations in Tajikstan, recounting episodes of love, loss and ultimately hope

a line: “The world is not without good people and it is inherent that I join them at the helm to bring joy, kindness and happiness to others”

an image: I loved the description of memory as an unwritten book (also can’t help but share one of the wonderful illustrations within the pages – see below!)

a thought: time & time again in the books I’ve read during this project there’s been a comment on the depth and breadth of women’s suffering worldwide and this one was no exception, noting how hard it is to be a woman following an account of a predatory older neighbour accosting and later threatening a single mother

a fact: born in Leningrad in 1955, Shahidi graduated in journalism from Tajik University and wrote this collection in Russian – her hope is that the English edition is just the start of it being translated into other languages

want to read The City Where Dreams Come True? visit here

From Timor Leste to Australia ed. Jan Trezise

a nutshell: this first-of-its-kind book shares deeply personal and often gripping recollections from seven East Timorese families who ultimately made their homes in Melbourne’s City of Casey

a line: “I remember their fear, which for us children translated into terror” (Emilia, Florindo family)

an image: I enjoyed Berta’s anecdote about the first day of courtship with her husband-to-be, Luis, who mistakenly thought he should arrive in the early morning and turned up at the family home when she was out in the fields picking peanuts (Berta, Santos family)

a thought: as demonstrated above, the interviews with family members prompted a mixture of heart-rending and light-hearted memories – I learned a great deal from this book and it is a real credit to the students and community members who were involved in making it

a fact: the chronology of East Timor’s key historical events was v useful, and I was happy to see it originated from the Alola Foundation (an org I came to know through my work with IWDA) – here’s an online timeline

want to read From Timor Leste to Australia? visit here