The Extinction of Irena Rey | 
so-soWhat in the world did I just read and why? So far, the #ToB25 shortlist has NOT delivered gems to my reading life. This was weird and I was lost most of the time, though maybe that was part of the point…? Felt like I was wandering in a dark forest, like the cover. Though I did think more about translators and their experiences than ever before. I‘ve undoubtedly missed something so I guess I‘ll learn from the discussion. That ending though!
so-soWell, this was weird…. A group of translators gather together to translate Irena Rey‘s latest work. They only refer to each other by their languages - this book is written by Spanish but translated by English and I struggled to follow who was narrating. The MC, whoever she was, was also incredibly immature and whingey, or was that as a result of English not liking Spanish?! And the ending? 🤯🤨
I‘m kind of glad I read it though.
#tobshortlist
pickBetween a so-so and a pick because I never felt bored though I was often confused and bewildered. I enjoyed the questioning of how and what translators DO, I was intrigued by the devotion of the translators to their Dear Author, I found the animosity between English and Spanish amusing in its presentation. One word I read in a review somewhere calling this “delirium” - it fits! I have no doubt that a “discussion” would find me liking it more.
It made it! And so did Wild Horses! And Poor Deer! And many I don‘t recognize but many I do. Link in comments - I wouldn‘t have found it if weren‘t for the gr group site… #ToB2025_LongList #toblonglist
Starting next because might be on #ToB2025 Long List? #Hurryupalready
(Pic from a concert in 2015 that I don‘t remember… but thought might make a good backdrop for this cover 🤷🏻♀️)
panTo be honest I have no clue what I just read. The story is pretty clear but there‘s so much going on around it. In linguistics, in plot, in characters, in layers. Maybe it‘s good but it was hard to keep track and I lacked motivation towards the end.
My book club didn‘t hate me for picking this after all. In fact, the one person who finished it kind of liked it. For me it was too strange and layered. It sounded interesting though!
Takes place in eastern Poland. #whereareyoumonday
pickMystery, anxiety, celebrity, adoration, myth, nature, “death of the author.” Translators have arrived & writer is missing. Followers freak w/out a source text. Clever, petty, silly, meta. 2024
5 “We treated her every word as sacred, even though our whole task was to replace her every word.”
43 “all we really wanted was the novel. We wanted to possess it, to stake our claim to it, to make it our own before anyone else even knew of its existence.”
There are #leaves on the cover and leaves on the trees in the forest by the house where most of the action takes place, in this very quirky book. I hope my book club doesn‘t hate me for suggesting this. #coverlove
pickI expected this one to be super weird and it was, but turns out it‘s my kind of weird. Croft explores the relationship between authors and their translators and plays with language (I‘m sure even more than I realized), as well as winking at her own work. I didn‘t love the ending and this won‘t be for everyone, but I dug it.
