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 February 12, 2025
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Our share of night : a novel
Enriquez, Mariana
Paper Book
A damaged father battles to save his son from the sinister cult he is destined to serve - from cult sensation Mariana Enriquez, author of the International Booker Prize-shortlisted The Dangers of Smoking in Bed
The shadow of the wind
Ruiz Zafón, Carlos
Paper Book
Hidden in the heart of the old city of Barcelona is the 'cemetery of lost books', a labyrinthine library of obscure and forgotten titles that have long gone out of print. To this library, a man brings his 10-year-old son Daniel one cold morning in 1945. Daniel is allowed to choose one book from...
Before the coffee gets cold : a novel
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
FROM THE MULTI-MILLION COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF MY FRIENDS, ANXIOUS PEOPLE AND A MAN CALLED OVE, FREDRIK BACKMAN **NOW A MAJOR HBO TV SERIES** 'I utterly believed in the residents of Beartown and felt ripped apart by...
I who have never known men
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...
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
From an internationally acclaimed, multi award-winning author: this is a story of love and betrayal set in Berlin during the years before and after the fall of the Wall.
Frankenstein in Baghdad : a novel
Sa?da?wi?, Ah?mad
Paper Book
  WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL PRIZE FOR ARABIC FICTION WINNER OF THE KITSCHIES GOLDEN TENTACLE AWARD SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE
Violeta : a novel
Allende, Isabel
Paper Book
_______________THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING NOVEL FROM LITERARY LEGEND ISABEL ALLENDE_______________'Epic, beautifully crafted . . . Gripping from start to finish' DAILY TELEGRAPH'A moving exploration of both the pain and the freedom of...
If cats disappeared from the world
Kawamura, Genki
Paper Book
A tender, whimsical tale of love, loss, and the quiet miracles of everyday life When an unexpected diagnosis turns his world upside down, a lonely man, with only Cabbage the cat for company, is faced with an impossible choice. The Devil appears with an offer: if he makes one...
Convenience store woman
Murata, Sayaka
Paper Book
The surprise smash hit - Japan's answer to Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine.

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