8 Peruvian Books In Translation
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Loading... - austin holly
- 28 Feb 2023
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From the Quechua oral tradition to the Hispanic colonization and the Spanish literature that would result, Peruvian literature has a rich and complicated history.
Through exploitation and violence, Peru, originally the seat of the Incan Empire, became the seat of the Spanish empire for the 16th and 17th centuries — largely because of its supplies of silver. This would change in the 18th century due to power changes and an Indigenous revolt, and Peru was declared independent on July 28, 1821, as part of José de San Martín’s quest to free Argentina and shove Spain out of the region. Indigenous rights would continue to be a topic of debate, protest, and suppression up until today.
In the 20th century, Peru has been a story of military juntas and authoritarian rule — of guerrilla warfare and the suppression of Indigenous and communist opposition —of periods of nationalism and economic difficulty. Many of the books below refer to or dig into some part of that century — Claudia Salazar Jiménez writes of the violence surrounding the Shining Path movement, while Santiago Roncagliolo writes about a story of deep-seated corruption and secrecy in law enforcement.
These eight Peruvian books in translation span a wide range of styles and genres, from surrealist and hazy short stories to creative memoir to rich, bloody historical fiction.
Please note that while I took great care to list content warnings where I could, things can fall through the cracks. Please do additional research on the recommended titles if needed.
LITTLE BIRD BY CLAUDIA ULLOA DONOSO, TRANSLATED BY LILY MEYER
A stranger keeps coming into the narrator’s apartment and staring at her plant. A woman rescues a bird her cat attacked, but accidentally carries it into her job interview. A woman ends up accidentally married due to a misunderstanding. Donoso wrote these surreal, strange stories for a blog while suffering from insomnia after her move north of the Arctic Circle. They all are infused with the haze of late nights and dazed fatigue. Schweblin fans will love Donoso’s short stories. Read More…
