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Belletrista - A site promoting translated women authored literature from around the world

New & Notable
At Belletrista, we are constantly on the lookout for new and forthcoming books that we think look exciting. Below are some of our favourites for Summer and Autumn 2009. We are a diverse group, so we hope that there will be something in here for everyone. We want to encourage our readers to experience literature written in, or about, parts of the world their reading hadn't taken them to before. In order to help with this, we have categorized the books according to where we think they best represent. Of course, we couldn't resist adding a few of our more familiar favourites in there as well. We have provided some publisher information to help you track down the books you are interested in, but this can vary from place to place. If you like the look of something, check with your local bookshop or library for the best way to get hold of it. Bon voyage!

ASIA
THE APPRENTICESHIP OF BIG TOE P
Rieko Matsuura
Translated from the Japanese by Michael Emmerich

In this bestselling novel from Japan, a young woman wakes one afternoon to find that her big toe has turned into a penis and her life as an ordinary girl is over.

Kodansha, hardcover, 9784770031167
IN THE COUNTRY OF DECEIT
Shashi Deshpande

A young woman moves to the country after her parents' death and lives a tranquil life until she meets, and falls in love the new District Superintendent of Police, despite the fact that he is older and married. This understated yet compassionate examination of the nature of love, loyalty and deception establishes yet again Deshpande's position as one of India's most formidable writers of fiction.

Penguin (India), paperback, 9780143067153
Book cover
THE GEOMETRY OF GOD
Uzma Aslam Khan

This new novel from Pakistani author Khan is a brainy and sensual of tale of two sisters, their grandfather and the young man who changes all their lives. Set against the backdrop of General Zia's Pakistan of the late 1970s and 1980s.

Interlink (US), paperback, 9781566567749 (Sept.)
TONGUE: A NOVEL
Kyung-Ran Jo
Translated from the Korean by Chi-Young Kim

Emotionally raw and emphatically sensual, this is the story of the demise of an obsessive romance and a woman's culinary journey toward self-restoration and revenge.

Bloomsbury, hardcover, 9781596916517

Book cover
EVENING IS THE WHOLE DAY
Preeta Samarasan

New in paperback and set in Malayasia, this spellbinding debut novel introduces us to the Rajasekharan family and unearths the closely guarded family secrets.

Harper Collins (AU/UK), paperback,9780007271894
Mariner Books (US/CAN), paperback, 9780547237893
BONE CHINA
Roma Tearne

In this story of hope and survival, a prominent family loses their vast tea estate in Sri Lanka and the lives of its members are changed dramatically.

Europa Editions (US), paperback,9781933372754
Harper Perrenial (UK), paperback, 978-0007257508
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THE CALLIGRAPHER'S DAUGHTER
Eugenia Kim

A sweeping debut novel, inspired by the life of the author's mother, about a young woman who dares to fight for a brighter future in occupied Korea. Eugenia Kim is the daughter of Korean immigrant parents who came to America shortly after the Pacific War.

Henry Holt (US), hardcover, 9780805089127
ALEXANDER AND ALESTRIA
Shan Sa

Out in paperback in mid-September, Chinese author Shan Sa gives us a richly imagined love story between Alexander the Great and Alestria, queen of the Amazons.

Harper Perennial (US & UK), paperback, 9780061543555 (Sept.)