As the nights grow longer, the holidays grow nearer, and the seasonal depression takes ahold, why not while away the hours with an international mystery (or two, or five)? Post-election, we all need a break from the US, and this column, featuring novels in translation from all over the world, are a more necessary escape than ever before. Below, you’ll find an action-packed Japanese thriller, a Chilean domestic thriller, a bleak French noir, a historical Mexican epic, and a dystopian political thriller set in Iran.
Alia Trabucco Zerán, Clean
translated by Sophie Hughes
(Riverhead)
A housemaid in prison narrates her tale of woe as a confession in this visceral exploration of class, privilege, and humanity. It is clear from the beginning that something terrible has happened to her employers’ young daughter, but we must wait for a complex story to unravel before learning exactly the nature of the tragedy. Heartbreaking, furious, and a modern masterpiece!
Carmen Boullosa, Texas: The Great Theft
Translated by Samantha Schnee
(Deep Vellum)
Carmen Boullosa’s historical epic of colonialism, land theft, and entitlement takes place in 1859 along the Texas border and told from a kaleidoscopic range of Mexican voices reacting to the vast changes and high tensions of the era. It’s a crime story in the sense that huge amounts of Mexican territory were stolen by Texan slave owners and then the United States military; it’s also a thrilling tale of adventurous outlaws full of bizarre historical characters and plenty of fast-paced action. This 10th anniversary edition is more relevant than ever, and features a new introduction from Merve Emre.
Kotaro Isaka, Hotel Lucky Seven
Translated by Brian Bergstrom
(Overlook)
I’m so excited for Kotaro Isaka’s sequel to Bullet Train, a book I loved (and, ahem, a movie I might have been the only person in the world to love). Our favorite unlucky assassin Ladybug is back, once again tasked with a simple job that, uh, doesn’t go off as planned. A perfect, propulsive, and fun thriller. –Olivia Rutigliano, CrimeReads editor
Herve le Corré, Dogs and Wolves
Translated by Howard Curtis
(Europa)
Dogs and Wolves is the bastard son of French existentialism in the best way. Herve le Corré won me as a reader with his hard-boiled political thrillers, but takes a bold departure in this latest, a carefully crafted homage to the seedy, sweat-drenched suspense of the seventies. Le Corré’s taciturn leading man, just released from prison, goes to stay with his brother’s femme fatale of a girlfriend in her slovenly family home, where the two begin a doomed affair. As he awaits his brother’s return, he finds himself with more questions than answers; of particular concern are the terrifying large dog and the even more terrifying small child.
Poupeh Missaghi, Sound Museum
(Coffee House)
Why should male torturers get all the credit? In Poupeh Missaghi’s parody of corporate feminism and the misplaced morality of professionalism, the women holding up a brutal regime would like their contributions acknowledged, too, thank you very much. And one has created a strange new archive dedicated to analyzing the sounds of torture, which she would love to tell you all about. Humorous enough to avoid feeling heavy-handed, Sound Museum may challenge the squeamish, but even if it takes several sessions to get through Poupeh Missaghi’s Kafka-esque tone poem, it’s well worth the effort. While this book is not translated, Poupeh Missaghi’s novel is informed by her work as a translator between Persian and English, so….that’s my excuse. It’s a really good book, okay?
