Seattle Picks: International FictionLike this list

40 items

• The Book Censor's Library

  ʻĪsá, Buthaynah

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  (Kuwait) In a future where deviant literature is banned and the government can read thoughts, a man takes a job as a book censor, sifting through manuscripts for unpublishable material. To his shock, he becomes a reader, falling in with a…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Ædnan

  An Epic

  Axelsson, Linnea, 1980-

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  (Sweden) Sámi Swedish writer Axelsson makes her memorable American debut with a verse novel that spans generations of two Sámi families, addressing themes of migration and colonial suffering through short-lined, atmospheric poems. …Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Huddud's House

  a Novel

  ʻAzzām, Fādī, 1973-

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  (Syria) An enigmatic novel of resistance by the prizewinning Syrian writer in exile. A landmark work of contemporary Arabic literature, at once allusive and defiant. (Kirkus)

• Oromay

  Baʼālu Germā

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  (Ethiopia) Part spy thriller, part melodrama, roman à clef through and through, Girma’s story centers on a moment of Ethiopian history that, in that demographically young country, is all but forgotten. An exemplary anti-war novel from a…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Mother River

  Canxue, 1953-

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  (China) Thirteen offbeat stories from the provocative Can Xue blend the earthy and uncanny. The fiction of Can Xue (a pseudonym) owes debts to magic realism, surrealism, and the Modernists at their most abstruse, but she’s also…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• You Glow in the Dark

  Stories

  Colanzi Serrate, Liliana, 1981-

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  (Bolivia). Bolivian writer Colanzi makes her English-language debut with a shimmering collection focused on the ruinous consequences of human folly. Taken together, the stories paint an arresting portrait of corruption, industrialization,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Clear

  a Novel

  Davies, Carys

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  (Scotland) [In 1840s Scotland] A minister is sent to evict the last inhabitant of an isolated island in the North Sea. A deft and graceful yarn about language, love, and rebellion against the inhumane forces of history. (Kirkus)

• You Dreamed of Empires

  Enrigue, Alvaro, 1969-

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  (Mexico) Enrigue once again reimagines history in this dynamic and stimulating chronicle of Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés’s expedition into the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan in 1519. Flexing his narrative muscle, Enrigue brings the past…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Kairos

  Erpenbeck, Jenny, 1967-

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  (Germany) Erpenbeck sets the dissolution of a May-December romance against the backdrop of German reunification in her solemn and subtle latest. (Publishers Weekly)

• A Calamity of Noble Houses

  Ghenim, Amira

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  (Tunisia) The aftermath of an affair echoes through the history of two Tunisian families, from 1935 to the present day, as told by eleven different narrators. (Staff annotation)

• Enter Ghost

  a Novel

  Hammad, Isabella

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  (Palestine/England) After a tumultuous break up, Sonia, a London-dwelling actress and daughter of Palestinian refugees, decamps to Haifa for a visit with her sister. Gradually, she is drawn into joining an Arabic-language production of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• We Do Not Part

  a Novel

  Han, Kang, 1970-

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  (South Korea) Kang delivers an indelible exploration of Korea’s historical traumas through the story of a writer who discovers how her friend’s family was impacted by the 1948–1949 Jeju Massacre, in which U.S.-backed Korean forces killed…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Canoes

  Kerangal, Maylis de

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  (France) De Kerangal’s masterful collection (after Eastbound) examines alienation and grief at pivotal moments in her characters’ lives. This understated volume packs a powerful punch.

• The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years

  Khan, Shubnum

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  (South Africa) Hoping for a fresh start after tragedy, Sana and her father move into a South African apartment building with a host of quirky neighbors. Sana becomes fascinated by the story of Meena, a former resident when it was the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Blood of the Old Kings

  Kim, Sŏng-il (Science fiction writer),

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  (South Korea) In an empire where dead sorcerers are drained of their magic to fuel the empire and dragons have been enchained, a sorcerer, a swordswoman, and a man bent on vengeance collide as they each seek a way to forge their own…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Berlin Atomized

  a Novel

  Kornberg, Julia, 1996-

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  (Argentina) Three siblings from Buenos Aires weather the eventful unfolding of the 21st century. Kornberg’s debut novel, which she stylishly co-translates from Spanish with Rockwell, is presented as a collection of diaristic writings…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Silver Bone

  a Novel

  Kurkov, Andreĭ

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  (Ukraine) In the first of a projected series, the prominent Ukrainian novelist Kurkov introduces Samson Kolechko, an unemployed electrical engineer who lands a detective job in 1919, launching him into the investigation of a theft that…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A History of the Big House

  Majdalani, Charif, 1960-

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  (Lebanon) In this sweeping family saga, the Nassar family establishes themselves and family orange plantations outside of Beirut, weathering both family tragedy and the tumultuous events of the 20th century. (Staff annotation)

• Highway Thirteen

  Stories

  McFarlane, Fiona, 1978-

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  (Australia) A fictional Australian serial killer is at the heart of this remarkable collection of 12 linked stories—yet he is not actually featured in any of them. The stories are told from the viewpoints of a disparate collection of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Sister Deborah

  a Novel

  Mukasonga, Scholastique

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  (Rwanda) Rwandan French writer Mukasonga (Kibogo) delivers a dazzling and witty narrative of a Black Christian cult in early 20th-century Rwanda. It’s a master class in post-colonial feminist storytelling. (Publishers Weekly)