The Employees


Olga Ravn - 2018
    Millions of kilometres from Earth.The crew of the Six-Thousand ship consists of those who were born, and those who were created. Those who will die, and those who will not. When the ship takes on a number of strange objects from the planet New Discovery, the crew is perplexed to find itself becoming deeply attached to them, and human and humanoid employees alike find themselves longing for the same things: warmth and intimacy. Loved ones who have passed. Our shared, far-away Earth, which now only persists in memory.Gradually, the crew members come to see themselves in a new light, and each employee is compelled to ask themselves whether their work can carry on as before – and what it means to be truly alive.Structured as a series of witness statements compiled by a workplace commission, Ravn’s crackling prose is as chilling as it is moving, as exhilarating as it is foreboding. Wracked by all kinds of longing, The Employees probes into what it means to be human, emotionally and ontologically, while simultaneously delivering an overdue critique of a life governed by work and the logic of productivity.

The Plague


Albert Camus - 1947
    In Oran, a coastal town in North Africa, the plague begins as a series of portents, unheeded by the people. It gradually becomes an omnipresent reality, obliterating all traces of the past and driving its victims to almost unearthly extremes of suffering, madness, and compassion.

Such Small Hands


Andrés Barba - 2008
    She is different from the other girls: at once an outcast and object of fascination. As Marina struggles to find her place, she invents a game whose rules are dictated by a haunting violence. Written in hypnotic, lyrical prose, alternating between Marina’s perspective and the choral we of the other girls, Such Small Hands evokes the pain of loss and the hunger for acceptance.

The Tree of Ages: Books 1-2


Sara C. Roethle - 2018
    Magic’s memory is longer, and far more dangerous. After a century spent as a tree, Finn awakens into a world she barely recognizes. Dark shapes lurk just out of sight, watching her every move as she tries to regain the memories of her past. As if by fate, travelers are drawn to her side. Scholars, thieves, and Iseult, a sellsword who seems to know more about her past than he’s letting on. When one of Finn’s companions is taken by the Faie, she will be forced to make a choice: rescue a woman she barely knows, or leave her newfound friends behind in search of an ancient relic that may hold the answers she so desperately seeks. Enter a world of Enchantment, filled with Celtic lore, magic, and just a touch of romance. Now a complete series! This set includes: -Tree of Ages -The Melted Sea Other books in the series: -The Blood Forest -Queen of Wands -The Oaken Throne

Woman at 1,000 Degrees


Hallgrímur Helgason - 2011
    It’s pretty cozy.” Herra Björnsson is at the beginning of the end of her life. Oh, she has two weeks left, maybe three—she has booked her cremation appointment, at a crispy 1,000 degrees, so it won’t be long. But until then she has her cigarettes, a World War II–era weapon, some Facebook friends, and her memories to sustain her. And what a life this remarkable eighty-year-old narrator has led. In the internationally bestselling and award-winning Woman at 1,000 Degrees, which has been published in fourteen languages, noted Icelandic novelist Hallgrímur Helgason has created a true literary original. From Herra’s childhood in the remote islands of Iceland, where she was born the granddaughter of Iceland’s first president, to teen years spent living by her wits alone in war-torn Europe while her father fought on the side of the Nazis, to love affairs on several continents, Herra Björnsson moved Zelig-like through the major events and locales of the twentieth century. She wed and lost husbands, had children, fled a war, kissed a Beatle, weathered the Icelandic financial crash, and mastered the Internet. She has experienced luck and betrayal and upheaval and pain, and—with a bawdy, uncompromising spirit—she has survived it all. Now, as she awaits death in a garage in Reykjavík, she shows us a woman unbowed by the forces of history. Each part of Herra’s story is a poignant piece of a puzzle that comes together in the final pages of this remarkable, unpredictable, and enthralling novel.

The Room


Jonas Karlsson - 2014
    When Bjorn is in his room, what his co-workers see is him standing by the wall and staring off into space looking dazed, relaxed, and decidedly creepy. Bjorn's bizarre behavior eventually leads his co-workers to try to have him fired, but Bjorn will turn the tables on them with help from his secret room. Debut author Jonas Karlsson doesn't leave a word out of place in this brilliant, bizarre, delightful take on how far we will go--in a world ruled by conformity - to live an individual and examined life.

Granta 113: The Best of Young Spanish Language Novelists


John Freeman - 2010
    It is eagerly anticipated, as Granta's previous Best Young Novelist issues have been startlingly accurate, calling out the work of writers from Salman Rushdie to Jonathan Franzen and Zadie Smith.Here, for the first time in translation, we predict the literary stars of the future. CONTENTS7 ForewordAurelio MajorValerie Miles11 Cohiba Lucia Puenzo (translated by Valerie Miles)29 Stars and Stripes Santiago Roncagliolo (translated by Edith Grossman)41 After Effects Oliverio Coelho (translated by Anne McLean)51 The Coming FloodAndres Barba(translated by Lisa Dillman)65 The Place of Losses Rodrigo Hasbun (translated by Carolina De Robertis)81 Conditions for the RevolutionPola Oloixarac(translated by Mara Faye Lethem)99 The Hotel Life Javier Montes (translated by Margaret Jull Costa)115 Gigantomachy Pablo Guitierrez (translated by Anna Kushner)123 After Helena Andres Neuman (translated by Richard Gwyn)135 Eva and Diego Alberto Olmos (translated by Peter Bush)147 The Survivor Sonia Hernandez (translated by Samantha Schnee)157 Scenes from a Comfortable Life Andres Ressia Colino (translated by Katherine Silver)169 Seltz Carlos Yushimito (translated by Alfred Mac Adam)187 The Girls Resembled Each Other in the Unfathomable Carlos Labbe (translated by Natasha Wimmer)195 In Utah There Are Mountains Too Federico Falco (translated by Alfred Mac Adam)217 Small Mouth, Thin Lips Antonio Ortuno (translated by Tanya Huntington Hyde)233 Gerardo’s Letters Elvira Navarro (translated by Natasha Wimmer)243 The Bonfire and the Chessboard Matias Nespolo (translated by Frank Wynne)263 The Cuervo Brothers Andres Felipe Solano (translated by Nick Caistor)273 Olingiris Samanta Schweblin (translated by Daniel Alarcon)287 Ways of Going Home Alejandro Zambra (translated by Megan McDowell)301 A Few Words on the Life Cycle of Frogs Patricio Pron (translated by Janet Hendrickson)321 Notes on translators

Dreams of a Robot Dancing Bee: 44 Stories


James Tate - 2001
    Tate seems both awed and bemused by small town life, with its legends, flights of fancy, heightened emotions, tragedies and small ruptures in the fabric of ordinary existence.

Jasmine Days


Benyamin - 2014
    She thrives in her job as a radio jockey and at home she is the darling of the family. But her happy world starts to fall apart when revolution blooms in the country. As the people's agitation gathers strength, Sameera finds herself and her family embroiled in the politics of their adopted land. She is forced to choose between family and friends, loyalty and love, life and death.Jasmine Days is the heart-rending story of a young woman in a city where the promise of revolution turns into destruction and division.