I am sold by the sound of Hell has no limits!! Enjoyed reading your Notes of a Crocodile review - I found that so hard to review because of how singular it is.. it is so hard to evaluate, without spoiling it, or just describing it.
please read the Donoso I'd love to hear your thoughts! there was some back-and-forth in our class about whether people were fans or not! Have you read either of the reissued/retranslated New Directions Donosos? I swear I read a review of The Mysterious Disappearance of the Marquise of Loria not too long ago, but I can't for the life of me remember the substack or publication..
I also want to commend the way you have pictures of all the books you read as the covers of all of your monthly newsletters, because I so easily was able to scroll back to last November and read your Crocodile review!! "Lazi is a funny and intelligent narrator who clearly hates herself." Yes! I found myself agreeing with just about all you've written. And thanks for linking to that Longreads essay on her work, can't wait to read it
This was such a beautifully curated list. I love how you spotlight queer classics in translation and bring attention to works that might otherwise be overlooked. Thanks for sharing these thoughtful recommendations!
The idea you introduce the piece with–that Americans are optimistic—resonates. When I was a student in cph, we often talked about how their children’s stories have dark endings, to create conversations about life, whereas the same tales in the US end in happily ever after. And often, I’m drawn to books with endings I can predict (endings that I want = happy. True story. In high school, One Day (the movie) was one of my favorites, but I always stopped it a few minutes prior to the actual ending to avoid witnessing…), at the same time, I (especially these days) enjoy the novels that end otherwise (with a turn or a death or an open-endedness), which leaves room for the harshness of real life.
Love that “Qiu’s prose includes descriptions and turns of phrase I’d never come across before and am confident I won’t ever read again.” I’ll be adding that one to my list, for sure.
So glad this resonated with you Isabella, thanks for reading! I've spent a lot of my academic life studying German lit & culture and there's exactly the same sentiment there too (some of the German children's stories--not just Brothers Grimm, but especially Hoffman's Struwwelpeter tales--are just so dark!). Like you, I also feel like I'm kind of aging into stories with more nuanced endings (although I'll be honest, I've always loved a book or movie that can make me cry)
I didn't realize Donoso was so prolific! I hadn't heard of him before but someone I follow on Bookstagram (And whose opinions I trust) raved about The Marquise so I got it from the library, can't wait to read and now possibly go through his catalog. I'd heard of Notes of a Crocodile but the rest were new to me so I really appreciated this roundup
I think he may have ten or so novels in translation! (which isn't to say they're all still in print, necessarily). Suzanne Jill Levine, who translated Hell Has No Limits, has translated the most of his work compared to any other translators, and I just saw in Words WIthout Border's "Best Books in (and on) Translation We Read In 2025" that Levine has a new memoir out specifically about her experiences translating Boom writers! called Unfaithful, which came out in June
Yes to Permafrost!! When I think of books I read years ago I often can't remember much about them except how they made me feel. Permafrost amused and delighted <3 thanks for the other recs!
Such a strong quote from Bonnie Huie's interview: I very often find the books that haunt or impact me the most are the ones that aren't concerned with happy endings because life can't be tidy like that, and life is a constant and hard hard battle. Finding characters going through that is more resounding, I think.
wonderfully convincing write-ups!! i must confess that i tried to read 'last words from Montmartre' by Qiu Miaojin but, at least at the time, i could not get into its plotless, vibe-forward style (skill issue and user error!) not sure if this applies to notes of a crocodile.
donoso is also intriguing - although not available at my library system - because, per your previous writing about following translators, megan mcdowell has proved to be trustworthy!
Honesty is the best policy so yes I will confirm for you here that Notes of a Crocodile is plotless, vibe-forward……but as far as I’ve heard, although dark and bitter, it’s still less dark and less bitter than last words from montmartre (which, written even nearer to Qiu’s passing, and allegedly even more autobiographical, seems a little too daunting to me)
I am sold by the sound of Hell has no limits!! Enjoyed reading your Notes of a Crocodile review - I found that so hard to review because of how singular it is.. it is so hard to evaluate, without spoiling it, or just describing it.
please read the Donoso I'd love to hear your thoughts! there was some back-and-forth in our class about whether people were fans or not! Have you read either of the reissued/retranslated New Directions Donosos? I swear I read a review of The Mysterious Disappearance of the Marquise of Loria not too long ago, but I can't for the life of me remember the substack or publication..
I also want to commend the way you have pictures of all the books you read as the covers of all of your monthly newsletters, because I so easily was able to scroll back to last November and read your Crocodile review!! "Lazi is a funny and intelligent narrator who clearly hates herself." Yes! I found myself agreeing with just about all you've written. And thanks for linking to that Longreads essay on her work, can't wait to read it
This was such a beautifully curated list. I love how you spotlight queer classics in translation and bring attention to works that might otherwise be overlooked. Thanks for sharing these thoughtful recommendations!
Thanks for reading!!
This is incredible!!
The idea you introduce the piece with–that Americans are optimistic—resonates. When I was a student in cph, we often talked about how their children’s stories have dark endings, to create conversations about life, whereas the same tales in the US end in happily ever after. And often, I’m drawn to books with endings I can predict (endings that I want = happy. True story. In high school, One Day (the movie) was one of my favorites, but I always stopped it a few minutes prior to the actual ending to avoid witnessing…), at the same time, I (especially these days) enjoy the novels that end otherwise (with a turn or a death or an open-endedness), which leaves room for the harshness of real life.
Love that “Qiu’s prose includes descriptions and turns of phrase I’d never come across before and am confident I won’t ever read again.” I’ll be adding that one to my list, for sure.
So glad this resonated with you Isabella, thanks for reading! I've spent a lot of my academic life studying German lit & culture and there's exactly the same sentiment there too (some of the German children's stories--not just Brothers Grimm, but especially Hoffman's Struwwelpeter tales--are just so dark!). Like you, I also feel like I'm kind of aging into stories with more nuanced endings (although I'll be honest, I've always loved a book or movie that can make me cry)
I didn't realize Donoso was so prolific! I hadn't heard of him before but someone I follow on Bookstagram (And whose opinions I trust) raved about The Marquise so I got it from the library, can't wait to read and now possibly go through his catalog. I'd heard of Notes of a Crocodile but the rest were new to me so I really appreciated this roundup
I think he may have ten or so novels in translation! (which isn't to say they're all still in print, necessarily). Suzanne Jill Levine, who translated Hell Has No Limits, has translated the most of his work compared to any other translators, and I just saw in Words WIthout Border's "Best Books in (and on) Translation We Read In 2025" that Levine has a new memoir out specifically about her experiences translating Boom writers! called Unfaithful, which came out in June
Ooo that sounds up my alley!
mine too! a very easy add to the tbr!
Yes to Permafrost!! When I think of books I read years ago I often can't remember much about them except how they made me feel. Permafrost amused and delighted <3 thanks for the other recs!
Needing some amusement and delight in my life after these three !!
Pretty sure there is still some suicidality involved, to be clear…but like in a fun way
Such a strong quote from Bonnie Huie's interview: I very often find the books that haunt or impact me the most are the ones that aren't concerned with happy endings because life can't be tidy like that, and life is a constant and hard hard battle. Finding characters going through that is more resounding, I think.
Yes !!!!
wonderfully convincing write-ups!! i must confess that i tried to read 'last words from Montmartre' by Qiu Miaojin but, at least at the time, i could not get into its plotless, vibe-forward style (skill issue and user error!) not sure if this applies to notes of a crocodile.
donoso is also intriguing - although not available at my library system - because, per your previous writing about following translators, megan mcdowell has proved to be trustworthy!
Honesty is the best policy so yes I will confirm for you here that Notes of a Crocodile is plotless, vibe-forward……but as far as I’ve heard, although dark and bitter, it’s still less dark and less bitter than last words from montmartre (which, written even nearer to Qiu’s passing, and allegedly even more autobiographical, seems a little too daunting to me)
As far as the donoso—let’s email your library! 🤓