Riot New Media

Readers with kids often ask me for recommendations so they can make reading women in translation something they do as a family, so I thought I’d start with two books for young people. The one is Inkheart, which I have listened to and relistened to countless times over the years. The book follows a young girl named Meggie whose father repairs books. She loves her quiet life with her dad, but when a mysterious visitor named Dustfinger shows up at their door, Meggie’s whole world begins to change.

This audiobook is the perfect adventure for any young bookworm who has always wondered what they would do if they ever had the opportunity to meet the characters from their favorite books. Lynn Redgrave performs the book perfectly, creating the most incredible voices for each of Inkheart’s memorable characters. 

Narrated by Lynn Redgrave (Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis and The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield)

As the second book that would be perfect for the kids in your life, I have to tell you about A Winter’s Promise, which is part of a quartet of fantasy novels translated from French by Hildegarde Serle. Our protagonist, Ophelia, lives in a world where people live on Arks, floating pieces of land that each have their own culture and customs. Her parents decide to marry her off to a man far to the north, sending her off to meet her future in-laws with just her chaperone as company. Soon, Ophelia finds herself entangled in the political machinations of the different factions in her new home. Emma Fenney does a fantastic job capturing the large cast of characters and providing distinct voices for them that help the listener remember who is who.

Narrated by Emma Fenney (Envy by Amanda Robson and The Stylist by Rosie Nixon)

Like many readers back in 2015, I found myself entangled in the incredible story that is Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan quartet. Lena and Lenu are two best friends from a working class neighborhood of Naples. Their relationship is fraught with jealousy, competition, and manipulation. For the entire series, we watch as these two characters are drawn back to each other again and again through the decades. If you want a saga that will capture your attention from the first page until the last, this is it! Hillary Huber narrates the audiobook edition, giving listeners a narrator that they can get invested in and stick with for the entire series.

Narrated by Hillary Huber (Library at Mount by Char by Scott Hawkins and Final Girls by Riley Sager)

I listened to Notes of a Crocodile last year, and it stood out as one of my favorite audiobooks. The story begins with an unnamed narrator writing her story of attending university in Taiwan in the 1980s. She describes her experience falling in love with another girl in her class and her own struggle with internalized homophobia. As her story unravels, we watch as she creates a found family for herself in her search for a place to belong. Jo Mei narrates the audiobook skillfully, capturing the voice of the unnamed protagonist so well.

Narrated by Jo Mei (The Eighth Girl by Maxine Mei-Fung Chung)

Winner of the 2016 Man Booker International Prize, The Vegetarian needs no introduction. The novel focuses on a young woman who decides to become a vegetarian, much to her family’s horror. As time passes, they become more and more convinced that the protagonist needs to be pulled out of what they believe to be an irrational belief. Narrators Janet Song and Stephen Park draw listeners into the story quickly, making this audiobook incredibly engrossing.

Narrated by Janet Song (All you Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung) and Stephen Park (The Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama)

The Enlightenment of the Greenage Tree begins with the death of the narrator. Although dead, she remains with her family as they flee the city for the Iranian countryside. There, each family member experiences their own fantastical journey to untangle meaning from the series of tragedies that they’ve experienced. Azar uses her own imagination and inspiration from Persian folklore to weave together a narrative all her own. One of my favorite narrators, Priya Ayyar, creates the perfect feel for the audiobook edition.

Narrated by Priya Ayyar (Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed and The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani)