For the long, cold months after Christmas, it’s always good to have a couple of books ready—even if they are not about light-hearted topics. We’ve collected works by Central and Eastern European authors published in English in 2022. So, even if there are no translations in your own language, you still have the chance to explore them.
Daša Drndić: Canzone di Guerra
The Croatian Drndic, as in her other books, deals with the theme of war. The narrator reflects on her own past, along which she pieces together forgotten mosaics of historical events.
Krystyna Dąbrowska: Tideline
The poems of this young Polish poet explore how stories and history hide beneath the surface: in the face of a neighbor, in the streets of the city, in under the ruins, and even beneath language.
Yevgenia Belorusets: Lucky Breaks
Stories of women living in the shadows of war in the Donbas region of Ukraine—including a florist, a beautician, a fortune teller, and a witch. The author intertwines humor and realism with stories of survival. The book also features twenty-three of her original photographs.
László Krasznahorkai: A Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to the West, a River to the East
A tranquil and poetic novel about the mythical figure of a wanderer living in a monastery of Kyoto; as well as a meditation on nature, life, history, and existence.
Amanat: Women’s Writing from Kazakhstan
An essential volume that offers a glimpse into the life and history of one of the largest countries to emerge from the dissolution of the Soviet Union, through the stories of twenty-four Kazakh female writers.
