WWB in 2023: The Year in Fiction

December 2023

We look back on fiction highlights from the past year at WWB, including short stories translated from Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Russian, and Spanish.

Two blue glass skyscrapers seen from below against a cloudy blue sky

Photo by Shubham Sharma on Unsplash

Once Elephants Lived Here: Part 1

By Geetanjali Shree

Here, all things old have been suppressed.

Translated from Hindi by Daisy Rockwell

A pair of wire-rimmed glasses with a crack in one lens lying on a piece of striped fabric

Photo by Jorien Loman on Unsplash

Éva Popa

By Edina Szvoren

Rather audaciously, given her age, she wore her hair in a buzz cut on the sides and in the back.

Translated from Hungarian by Ottilie Mulzet

A dark kitchen table and chairs seen through a doorway with a single light above them

Photo by Ehud Neuhaus on Unsplash

Anna and Her Daughter’s Partner

By Laksmi Pamuntjak

“In Indonesia there are only two categories,” you replied. “Pacar atau suami—boyfriend or husband.”

Translated from Indonesian by Annie Tucker

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Black-and-white sketches of the human skeletal system

Photo by Joyce Hankins on Unsplash

Letter to Juan in Space

By Armonía Somers

From there, he went straight out to wage no-holds-barred warfare on everyone and everything.

Translated from Spanish by Kit Maude

Photo by Ilyass SEDDOUG on Unsplash

A Village Fest

By Alisa Ganieva

“It needn’t be me. I mean . . . I . . . I’m not much of an orator.”

Translated from Russian by Will Firth

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