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Fiction

A 1960s black and white photograph of a street in Rostock, East Germany
FORTEPAN / Nagy Gyula, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Five O’Clock Train to Rostock
By Brigitte Reimann
This month, Transit Books publishes Siblings, East German author Brigitte Reimann’s first novel to appear in English. In this excerpt, the protagonist discovers that her brother and his wife have defected to the West.
Translated from German by Lucy Jones
Two pears hang from a branch in front of a blue sky
Photo by Mario015 Medeiros on Unsplash
Keder
By Yordanka Beleva
Bulgarian author Yordanka Beleva explores the sorrows left behind after a neighbor’s passing in this folkloric short story.
Translated from Bulgarian by Izidora Angel
MultimediaMultilingual
A black microphone on a stand
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
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
An old ornate mansion in India with a green wrought iron gate
Photo by Vikram Nath Chouhan 🇮🇳 on Unsplash
Once Elephants Lived Here: Part 2
By Geetanjali Shree
The city murmured in the mazes of her ancient face.
Translated from Hindi by Daisy Rockwell
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
Two distant snowmobiles driving across a snowy field while the sun sets behind snowy mountains
Photo by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen on Unsplash
The Ear
By Ann-Helén Laestadius
She had seen the man make the sign for death, so she knew this was serious.
Translated from Swedish by Rachel Willson-Broyles
A pair of black leather lace-up boots in front of a white wall
Photo by Rico Van de Voorde on Unsplash
Boots
By Nilutpal Baruah
People said Bedo Bora was a foot fetishist. He was fascinated by women’s feet, they said. When you met him he stared at your feet.  
Translated from Assamese by Rashmi Baruah
Multimedia
Two snowy mountain peaks
Mt. Huandoy, Ancash, Peru. Inti Runa Viajero, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Another Man’s Name
By Renato Cisneros
“You don't want to appear as the father, do you?”
Translated from Spanish by Fionn Petch
A man paddles a canoe in a river at sunset
Photo by Inu Etc on Unsplash
Roots
By Madhurima Barua
The stench of country liquor assaults her. Her husband is tottering.
Translated from Assamese by Syeda Shaheen Jeenat Suhailey
MultimediaMultilingual
A bookshelf filled with old books
Photo by Iñaki del Olmo on Unsplash
My Saint’s Day
By Luis García Montero
I guess that’s one approach to pitching an encyclopedia sale.
Translated from Spanish by Katie King
A wagtail perching on a stick by a body of water
Photo by Nikita Nikitenko on Unsplash
A Wagtail’s Song
By Bikash Dihingia
How was it possible that there was another me buried within? And how could someone else feel his presence even before I could?
Translated from Assamese by Harsita Hiya
Multilingual
A hospital waiting room with green seats next to bright windows
Photo by Greg Rosenke on Unsplash
Ito Returns to Japan and Finds Herself in a Real Pinch
By Hiromi Itō
Early the next morning, I got a call from Mom. The first words out of her mouth: Will you take me to the hospital today?
Translated from Japanese by Jeffrey Angles
A rusty lighter sitting in the dirt
Photo by Patrick Hendry on Unsplash
After Time
By Fahd Razy
Today, you finally saw the earth after its rebirth.
Translated from Malay by Adibah Abdullah
A dark room where only a small sliver of window lets in any light
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
A Friendly Face
By Sevgi Soysal
Just what she needed. An outing with a man just released from prison.
Translated from Turkish by Maureen Freely
Photo of a school framed by two trees
Snehrashmi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Crossroad
By Varsha Adalja
“Shame on you, boys. Dullards. A girl has outdone you all.”
Translated from Gujarati by Jenny Bhatt
Multimedia
Several rows of colorful patterned pagnes
Photo by Eva Blue on Unsplash
The Impatient
By Djaïli Amadou Amal
Love doesn’t exist before marriage, Ramla. It’s time you come back down to earth.
Translated from French by Emma Ramadan
Berriozabaleta Fountain, Elorrio, Spain
Joxe Aranzabal, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Household Matters
By Kirmen Uribe
Grandma Susana wore long skirts, and she even drank vinegar to make her face paler, as a mortification of her beauty.
Translated from Basque by Elizabeth Macklin
A wolf sleeping in the snow
Christian Pietzsch, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Wolfskin
By Risten Sokki
When the forested valleys in Russia start filling up with snow, the wolf begins its journey from the south toward the plains in the north.
Translated from North Sámi by Olivia Lasky
fishermen sitting on a pier with boats behind them
Dmitry Makeev, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sky of the Lost Moon
By Ty Chi Huot
I was assigned to work in the propaganda group to recruit more people to our cause.
Translated from Khmer by Rinith Taing
two rows of people playing pachinko
Tischbeinahe, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Pachinko Parlor
By Elisa Shua Dusapin
“Do you know what your grandmother’s mother did to avoid being subjected to speaking Japanese at school? She sliced off part of her own tongue.”
Translated from French by Aneesa Abbas Higgins
A herd of reindeer attached to a sled at sunset
Photo by Hans-Jurgen Mager on Unsplash
Polar Fire
By Moa Backe Åstot
Are there homosexual reindeer herders?
Translated from Swedish by B. J. Woodstein
Map of German East Africa
Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
German Medicine
By Abdulrazak Gurnah
Her mother was dead, she knew that, but she did not know why her aunt and her uncle were the ones who took her in.
A cobblestone street in Rwanda at sunset with a few pedestrians and motorcycle riders
Photo by Michael Muli on Unsplash
No Familiar Faces
By Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse
I had the look of a Westerner fresh off the boat, with my wrinkled trousers, tourist backpack, and it didn’t tally with my fluency in Kinyarwanda.
Translated from French by Alison Anderson
Late evening view on a bridge leading to Dutch countryside houses
Photo by Daria Nepriakhina on Unsplash
Welcome to the Real Holland
By Rodaan Al Galidi
When they chucked me out in the middle of the goddamn winter, you gave me your coat and seven euros.
Translated from Dutch by Jonathan Reeder
Palm trees along the shoreline in Huahine, Tahiti
Matthew Dillon from Hollywood, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Two Birthdays
By Titaua Peu
For weeks, Ma didn’t feel a shred of warmth for the baby.
Translated from French by Jeffrey Zuckerman
A rooftop in Riyadh
Photo by Rashyd . on Unsplash
Hi Maryam, It’s Arwa
By Areej Gamal
The world appeared in stages with each rung of the ladder I climbed.
Translated from Arabic by Addie Leak
Multilingual
Tropical forest in Guadeloupe
Photo by Tim Oun on Unsplash.
Where Dogs Bark with Their Tails
By Estelle-Sarah Bulle
As they drew nearer, knives in hand, Hilaire recognized the feverish eyes behind their scarves.
Translated from French by Julia Grawemeyer
A bust of Lenin lying on the grass
Photo by Daniil Onischenko on Unsplash
Apartment No. 9: Goodbye, Lenin!
By Oleksiy Chupa
“We toppled Lenin!” exclaimed Firman after a dramatic pause.
Translated from Ukrainian by Uilleam Blacker
A retro radio sits in focus
La radio by mariateresa toledo is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
An Ordinary Monday Morning
By Boubacar Boris Diop
I’ll speak up, I’ll be fearless, and I swear to never back down until I have prevailed against the powerful trying to lock up the weak in a dark hole.
Translated from Wolof by El Hadji Moustapha Diop & Bojana Coulibaly
A fox standing in snow is facing the camera
Fox by Chrisbkes is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Pityriasis Rosea
By Jokha Alharthi
It’s because all we’ve been talking about these evenings are the old legends, and that’s what brought the fox here.
Translated from Arabic by Marilyn Booth
A sprig of berries in shadow
Photo by Dmitry Bukhantsov
A Little Hole
By Alhierd Bacharevič
They stuffed these intoxicating little spheres into their mouths and kissed the juice off of the palms of their hands.
Translated from Belarusian by Jim Dingley & Petra Reid
A black-and-white image of battered market kiosks
Photo copyright © Kseniya Fuchs
Conservation
By Kseniya Fuchs
I knew I was born here and I would die here.
Translated from Ukrainian by Ali Kinsella
Something No One Else Has
By Kyung-sook Shin
San feels reassured that Namae’s body is as skinny and pathetic as her own.
Translated from Korean by Anton Hur
Ellamma Is Distressed
By Gogu Shyamala
They may even throw us out of this village.
Translated from Telugu by P. Pavana
Like Two Drops of Water
By Sergi Pàmies
Tempo, for instance: one drop every so often, always the exact same so often, like a time trial in a bicycle race.
Translated from Catalan by Lisa M. Dillman
Princess
By Marta Orriols
A headband, you say? You’re ridiculous.
Translated from Catalan by Mara Faye Lethem
Boulder
By Eva Baltasar
Having a kid is the same as enrolling in a lifetime plan of suffering.
Translated from Catalan by Julia Sanches
The White Tablecloth
By Irene Solà
Eight years and I’m still not over it.
Translated from Catalan by Mara Faye Lethem
War of the Species
By Michel Nieva
Completely unaware that this was the kind of sacred moment when you pledge your undying allegiance to a team, through thick and thin, I stated my choice.
Translated from Spanish by Rahul Bery
Statistics
By Álvaro Baquero-Pecino
On a bad night, a train car on the red line takes more than half an hour to appear, and no fewer than twenty-one minutes to traverse the eleven stations to the southern tip of Manhattan.
Translated from Spanish by Sarah Pollack
Multilingual
No One Really Knows Why People Shout
By Mario Michelena
His lips are moist, as though he were stewing on more insults.
Translated from Spanish by Lindsay Griffiths & Adrián Izquierdo
The Common Good
By Sara Cordón
All she can think about is why it ever occurred to her to dress like this in public.
Translated from Spanish by Robin Myers
Plans and Commitments
By Naief Yehya
He checked Mel’s Instagram and Twitter accounts again, waiting anxiously for her to post something, anything.
Translated from Spanish by Samantha Ortega
The Wind Blows Where It Wishes and You Hear Its Sound
By Andre Trantraal
It should be patently obvious to anyone but the most resolutely blind that he is not aching with impatience to go to the house of the Lord.
Translated from Kaaps by the author
Snake’s Hill
By Olivia M. Coetzee
JB was the one to start that fire inside my head.
Translated from Kaaps by the author
MultimediaMultilingual
The Gut Demons
By Melaka Portuguese Oral Tradition
“When you go in search of food, you must do so at night, and you must only go with your head and intestines.”
Translated from Melaka Portuguese by Sara Frederica Santa Maria
Multilingual
From I Am Alive
By Kettly Mars
At eighty-six years old, Éliane had to stand up and confront her own private nightmare.
Translated from French by Nathan H. Dize
Treasures
By Mohamed Magani
She tapped the photo and said, “When I am dead, this is the photo of me I want you to keep.”
Translated from French by Edward Gauvin
Tribades
By Nazlı Karabıyıkoğlu
Whatever you do in Turkey, you do it alone.
Translated from Turkish by Ralph Hubbell
Dark as a Boy
By Ho Sok Fong
Pretty much everyone knew Saw Ai’s family had problems.
Translated from Chinese by Natascha Bruce
Mona Fandey’s Cassette, or Gray Feather
By M. Navin
Who would smile like that after such a thing?
Translated from Tamil by Sreedhevi Iyer
Sinarut 1994
By Alis Padasian
Why couldn’t Mama just leave Father?
Translated from Malay and Dusun by Siti Malini Mat
The Lovers of Muharram
By Fatimah Busu
On this terrible morning, everything is relentless.
Translated from Malay by Pauline Fan
Bambi
By Ubah Cristina Ali Farah
In your opinion, why'd he do it?
Translated from Italian by Hope Campbell Gustafson
A Night in Timimoun
By Nina Bouraoui
It's your skin I feel sliding beneath my soapy palms.
Translated from French by Aneesa Abbas Higgins
In the Shadows
By Olivia M. Coetzee
The rhythmic flow of Shadow Heights was something she often missed and longed for while she was in Joburg.
Translated from Kaaps by the author
Gustavo
By Javier Stanziola
My departure had nothing to do with you or your brother.
Translated from Spanish by Alexander Aguayo
Solo Dance
By Li Kotomi
From that day on, her memories of Danchen were frozen.
Translated from Chinese by Natascha Bruce
Theo
By Fahmi Mustaffa
I'm not like you, Pak.
Translated from Malay by Adriana Nordin Manan
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