Words Without Borders: The World Through the Eyes of Writers; An Anthology

In his introduction, Andre Dubus III points out that in a time when globalization is a fact of life, and only 6% of books in translation are translated into English, there exists “fertile territory for misunderstanding, unresolved conflict, and yes, war.” Luckily, this timely literary collection from the editors of wordswithoutborders.org brings the world, freshly translated, to curious English speakers everywhere, picking up where their Literature from the “Axis of Evil” left off. In this new anthology, 27 well-known authors (Günter Grass, Jonathan Safran Foer, Naguib Mahfouz, etc.) were asked to recommend work by a favorite non-English writer. Choices span the globe, including Haiti (Evelyne Trouillot), Norway (Johan Harstad), Bosnia (Senadin Musabegovic) and Palestine (Adania Shibli). Ma Jian sets his breathtaking chase of a short story in modern-day China, Jo Kyung-ran deals with family and identity in Korea, and Seno Gumira Ajidarma's gripping, forceful story gives voice to children making their homes in Indonesian gutters. Top-notch writers, editors and translators have created a stimulating, acutely relevant collection that readers will want to take their time enjoying. (Mar.)