Books in Translation

Explore titles that have been translated into English! These books demonstrate the breadth and diversity of literature around the world.

This list was curated by the South Pasadena Public Library Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion (EDI) Committee.

Updated January 29, 2025
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Our share of night : a novel
Enriquez, Mariana
Paper Book
"A masterpiece of supernatural horror."--The Washington Post "An enchanting, shattering, once-in-a-lifetime reading experience."--The New York Times (Editors' Choice) ONE OF TIME AND THE ATLANTIC'S TEN BEST NOVELS OF THE YEAR * ONE OF THE NEW...
The shadow of the wind
Ruiz Zafón, Carlos
Paper Book
"Anyone who enjoys novels that are scary, erotic, touching, tragic and thrilling should rush right out to the nearest bookstore and pick up The Shadow of the Wind. Really, you should." --Michael Dirda, The Washington Post "Wondrous...masterful...The ...
Before the coffee gets cold
Kawaguchi, Toshikazu
Paper Book
The million-copy bestselling series about a cosy Japanese cafe that offers its visitors the chance to travel back in time. Toshikazu Kawaguchi's heart-warming Before the Coffee Gets Cold, translated from Japanese, explores the age-old question: what would you do if you...
Beartown : a novel
Backman, Fredrik
Paper Book
"You'll love this engrossing novel." --People From the bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and Anxious People, Fredrik Backman captivates readers with a dazzling, profound novel about a small town with a big dream--and the price required to make it come...
I Who Have Never Known Men (Vintage Classics)
Harpman, Jacqueline.
Paper Book
SISTERHOOD. SECRETS. SURVIVAL. Discover the haunting, heart-breaking post-apocalyptic TikTok sensation. Deep underground, thirty-nine women are kept in isolation in a cage. Above ground, a world awaits. Has it been abandoned? Devastated by a virus?
A magical girl retires
Seolyeon, Park
Paper Book
A millennial turned magical girl must combat climate change and credit card debt in this delightful, witty, and wildly imaginative ode to magical girl manga. Twenty-nine, depressed, and drowning in credit card debt after losing her job during the pandemic, a millennial woman decides to end...
My brilliant friend
Ferrante, Elena.
Paper Book
#1 BEST BOOK OF THE CENTURY - NEW YORK TIMES Now an HBO series: the first volume in the New York Times-bestselling "enduring masterpiece" about a lifelong friendship between two women from Naples (The Atlantic). Beginning in the 1950s in a poor but vibrant neighborhood on the...
Kairos
Erpenbeck, Jenny
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE 2024 INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR TRANSLATED LITERATURE Jenny Erpenbeck (the author of Go, Went, Gone and Visitation) is an epic storyteller and arguably the most powerful voice in contemporary German literature....
Shubeik lubeik
Muh?ammad, Di?na?
Paper Book
* Winner of the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation *Eisner Award Nominee * Hugo Award Nominee A brilliantly original debut graphic novel that imagines a fantastical alternate Cairo where wishes really do come true. Shubeik Lubeik--a fairy tale rhyme that means...
Frankenstein in Baghdad : a novel
Sa?da?wi?, Ah?mad
Paper Book
International Booker Prize finalist Winner of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction "Brave and ingenious." --The New York Times "Gripping, darkly humorous . . . profound." --Phil Klay, bestselling author and National Book Award winner for...
Not a River
Almada, Selva
Paper Book
* SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE * It's not a river, it's this river. A hot, motionless afternoon. Enero and El Negro are fishing with Tilo, their dead friend's teenage son. After hours of struggling with a hooked stingray, Enero...
Violeta : a novel
Allende, Isabel
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * This sweeping novel from the author of A Long Petal of the Sea tells the epic story of Violeta Del Valle, a woman whose life spans one hundred years and bears witness to the greatest upheavals of the twentieth century. "An immersive saga...
Three
Perrin, Valérie
Paper Book
A June 2022 Indie Next List Pick From the international bestselling author of Fresh Water for Flowers, a beautifully told and suspenseful story about the ties that bind us and the choices that make us who we are. 1986: Adrien, Etienne and Nina are 10 years old when they meet at...
If cats disappeared from the world
Kawamura, Genki
Paper Book
The international phenomenon that has sold more than two million copies, If Cats Disappeared from the World--now a Japanese film--is a heartwarming, funny, and profound meditation on the meaning of life. This timeless tale from Genki Kawamura (producer of the Japanese...
Convenience store woman
Murata, Sayaka
Paper Book
The English-language debut of an exciting young voice in international fiction, selling 660,000 copies in Japan alone, Convenience Store Woman is a bewitching portrayal of contemporary Japan through the eyes of a single woman who fits in to the rigidity of its work culture only too well<...

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