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When it comes to reading challenges, one of the best ways to set yourself up for success is by having mini-goals, and reading translated fiction is one of those mini-goals that more readers add every year.
Since my speciality is in the speculative genre (science fiction/fantasy/horror), I think these 20 translated-to-English books would be a great place to start setting up your Want to Read shelf for 2025!
If you’re newer to translated fiction, I’ve got a classic series for sci-fi lovers, a few short absurdist takes on governments and politics, a Nobel Prize winner’s masterpiece, and a recent release that’s a certified future classic. Many of these books have already made waves in their native language before translation, so there’s no doubt your new favorite could be on this list.
Happy reading!
posted by Sharon on December, 16
Kick Off Your Reading Year With Great Sci-fi, Fantasy, And Horror In Translation
Kerine Wint (she/her) is a freelance writer, editor, and reviewer of speculative fiction for publications including FIYAH literary magazine and Goodreads. She’s also writing media critique essays, recording podcasts, and designing (editorial and packaging) too!
To help inspire a new year of reading, we asked her to share some of her favorite works of speculative fiction that have been translated into English.
To help inspire a new year of reading, we asked her to share some of her favorite works of speculative fiction that have been translated into English.
When it comes to reading challenges, one of the best ways to set yourself up for success is by having mini-goals, and reading translated fiction is one of those mini-goals that more readers add every year.
Since my speciality is in the speculative genre (science fiction/fantasy/horror), I think these 20 translated-to-English books would be a great place to start setting up your Want to Read shelf for 2025!
If you’re newer to translated fiction, I’ve got a classic series for sci-fi lovers, a few short absurdist takes on governments and politics, a Nobel Prize winner’s masterpiece, and a recent release that’s a certified future classic. Many of these books have already made waves in their native language before translation, so there’s no doubt your new favorite could be on this list.
Happy reading!
Tender Is the Flesh is easily one of the more popular works of SFF in translation in the book community with its divisive take on the ethics and consequences of the meat industry. At no point does Bazterrica ease up on the uncomfortable discussions or disturbing visuals, forcing readers to confront how easy it is to dehumanize and lean into apathy for the sake of a misguided “greater good.” Even if you don’t mind cannibalism in your horror, be forewarned that this might be a lot to stomach.
What would you do if you found out you’re walking 40,000 steps while asleep? Add a few bruises, and everyone’s “wellness” advice that does not work, and you know how Iðunn feels as she spirals looking for answers. Is it a haunting? Is it a mental breakdown? It’s probably easier not to try to predict how this fast-paced novella ends.
Next to Game of Thrones and The Rings of Power, The Witcher is a recognizable modern juggernaut in fantasy adaptations. So if you’re missing the show or you want a longer series to get into, check out the adventures of a monster-slaying assassin.
Thai translations into English are hard to come by so it’s only fair to ensure the few that do get a spotlight. Following sisters Chareeya and Chalika, and their friend Pran, this novel is equally a phenomenally luscious feat of writing and a devastating journey to escape the sorrows of a harsh life. Luckily, Veeraporn Nitiprapha wraps our senses in the richness of Thai culture that is inextricable from every thread of this story.
Remember that certified future classic I was talking about? Here it is! This one is another inescapable tome; it took over Goodreads members’ Want to Read shelves in 2023 to raging success. It’s hard to do this one justice in a short write-up, but be prepared for a family saga steeped in the occult while dissecting decades of Argentinean history through a horrifying inheritance.
The Mirror Visitor Quartet covers are some of the most recognizable and beautiful of the fantasy genre. But within lies a shattered Earth with people inhabiting floating rocks, devious court intrigue, and illusory magic. All together that sounds like a good time.
In U.S.-occupied Iraq, a junk dealer has stitched together body parts from bomb victims, bringing to life Whatsitsname, a monster on a killing spree to avenge the lives of every appendage. With a premise like that, it’s easy to mistake this book for a thriller/horror, but it’s surprisingly (darkly) humorous. Fragmented to its core—from the narrative structure to the ruins of everyday life—it still comes together to question how we can get back to solidarity when conflict and occupation begets endless violence and revenge.
Thanks to the multiple adaptations floating around, I’m sure most people have heard about this sci-fi juggernaut. But if you haven’t thought about it yet, here’s your sign to join the club of fans who fell in love with the high-concept sci-fi concepts, the exploration of Chinese history, and the thought-provoking question of whether humanity is worth saving.
Walking Practice is a weird book. And if weird books are your cup of tea, then you’ll enjoy the examination of human nature through the eyes of a shapeshifting alien with an appetite for sex and—even more so—flesh. It’s gory and absurd, yet frighteningly observant of the human need to belong and survive.
A house with three peculiar siblings, an emotionally distant mother, and a father with a dangerously fragile ego sets the stage as a microcosm of the dictatorship in which they exist. The matter-of-fact tone and absurd characterizations create a strange tension that builds to a frightening severity in the second half. Easily unpredictable, uneasy, and unforgettable.
With the highly anticipated Netflix adaptation out now, there’s no better time to discover the classic behind it all. Often cited as a pioneer of magical realism as a genre, Gabriel García Márquez pens a feverish, cyclical chronicle that’s hard to follow at times but keeps you trapped in and entranced by the town of Macondo.
When most people think of Nobel Prize winner Han Kang, they’re thinking of her breakout novel, The Vegetarian. Through three perspectives, Kang chronicles Yeong-hye’s life as dreams of blood and brutality drive her to renounce eating meat—an act of defiance that moves her out of the ideal and into a real individual. Every detail counts in this erratic and provocative fever dream of a story.
If there’s anyone who knows how to stretch the imagination, it’s Samanta Schweblin. The story follows Amanda, who’s dying in a clinic, and the conversation she has with a young boy, David, as he tries to guide her to important moments she needs to remember. At every turn, it’s obvious that something is profoundly wrong—and that feeling never goes away. And it’s all packed into a novel that is initially hard to parse but even harder to put down.
Little Foxes Took Up Matches was originally written in Russian before Katya Kazbeck self-translated the final draft to English, so this one is a bit of a stretch, but bear with me! Swallowing a needle may be an odd start, but following Mitya as he comes of age in a country rebuilding itself endears you to him even as he endures some horrific events. Add a fairy tale that unfolds alongside his journey, and you have a worthwhile read.
The Memory Police is a dystopian novel set on an unnamed island where objects are arbitrarily being removed from everyone’s memories. Despite its obvious Orwellian nature, this is a quiet story with a seemingly stark lack of urgency. But there is so much heart in these pages as Yōko Ogawa asks us to pay attention to the role memory plays in shaping identity and sustaining human connection. It’s a dark allegory beautifully rendered.
Although this is a more minimal take on time travel, Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a novel-in-stories that is heartwarming and heart-wrenching in equal measure. Be forewarned that this one will hit harder if you’ve recently lost someone, but there’s hope, healing, and immense charm waiting at every turn.
Woodworm alternates between a grandmother and granddaughter trapped in a house haunted by spirits and saints alike, weaving together their tales as victims of classism and violent misogyny—and the revenge they take into their own hands.
What can you do about stranger danger when that stranger is the only person who knows you’re living the same day repeatedly? Let the Dyachenkos show you all the bizarre ways it can go. From summer vacation to a mysterious institute, Vita Nostra traps you in a surreal bubble of fear, coercion, and consequence with a unique magic system that’ll keep you hooked.
Another staple in SFF in translation circles that still manages to be discovered anew every year, Lonely Castle in the Mirror is a certified tearjerker that follows seven teens escaping the hardships of adolescence who’ve found themselves in a magical castle. It’s an empathetic, healing tale of friendship packed with emotional insight and hope.
I don’t think dragons will ever truly go out of style, so you should definitely add Blood of the Old Kings to your 2025 reading list. Plus, it has great takes on classic fantasy tropes (multi-POV, quest for justice, and an empire to overthrow). It also has mummified-sorcerer-corpse-batteries—seriously!
posted by Sharon on December, 16
