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The Home Front

December 2008

knight from chess set
Copyright © Cyrus Chong
The Knight
By Olga Tokarczuk
“Why are you crying?” he said. “Over chess, over that knight?”
Translated from Polish by Jennifer Croft
The Karma Some Girls Have
By Juan Forn
“This story befuddles expectations and foils them.”—Ariel Dorfman
Translated from Spanish by Marina Harss
“Arnold . . . !”
By Astrid Roemer
She’s wondering how to tell his children when an immense silence numbs her.
Translated from Dutch by Laura Vroomen
Bats
By Lena Kitsopoulou
We were only thirteen. We blended in, so we were invisible.
Translated from Greek by Sidney J. Kornberg
Summer
By Mercè Rodoreda
She stopped in front of a shop window full of umbrellas, and her friend, who was walking ahead of her, suddenly turned around: “Carme, we’ll get separated!”
Translated from Catalan by Martha Tennent
Martin Hansen’s Outing
By Kjell Askildsen
I carried on walking, roaming the streets; it was just half past nine, and I had no desire to go home.
Translated from Norwegian by Agnes Scott Langeland
The Sarima’s Mission
By Miguel Angel Oxlaj
I can still hear that echo and feel the great terror that came over me at that moment.
Translated from Spanish by Sylvia Sasson Shorris
Happiness
By Mercè Rodoreda
Last night, before falling asleep, she had realized winter was almost over.
Translated from Catalan by Martha Tennent
From “Irlanda”
By Espido Freire
My cousin Irlanda was more beautiful than I remembered.
Translated from Spanish by Toshiya Kamei
From “The Remnants”
By Hagop Oshagan
Her parents, like thousands upon thousands of other creatures of their class, lived lives divided between earning their keep and taking care of their children
Translated from Armenian by G. M. Goshgarian