Books in Translation and Conversation

Europa Editions, a publisher of international fiction, is celebrating twenty years of independent thinking. Here are five of my favorite novels from Europa, all literature in translation and two in conversation.

While I’m a fan of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Quartet, The Lost Daughter is my favorite among her novels. A Girl Returned is an extraordinary novel translated by Ann Goldstein (who is also Ferrante’s translator). And Ties, translated by Jhumpa Lahiri, is in conversation with Ferrante’s The Days of Abandonment, which was published twelve years prior. I suggest reading these two consecutively (Days followed by Ties). And if you want to get to know the sisters from A Girl Returned as adults, read A Sister’s Story.

You can learn more about the above titles at Europa Editions, or buy them from my Bookshop.org bookshelves (where 10 percent of your purchase will support independent bookstores, because that’s what Bookshop is all about).