FP Staff Picks: The Best Translated LGBTQ+ Titles
Five out of five FP staffers think you could be reading more LGBTQ+ translated fiction, and we've got the cure right here! Start with LA BASTARDA and then work your way down the list. What's missing? Tweet at us @FeministPress and we'll add your rec to the list (really!).
Everyone
La Bastarda by Trifonia Melibea Obono, translated by Lawrence Schimel
Published by: US!
Equatorial Guinea
The first novel by an Equatorial Guinean woman to be translated into English, La Bastarda is the story of the orphaned teen Okomo, who lives under the watchful eye of her grandmother and dreams of finding her father. Forbidden from seeking him out, she enlists the help of other village outcasts: her gay uncle and a gang of “mysterious” girls reveling in their so-called indecency. Drawn into their illicit trysts, Okomo finds herself falling in love with their leader and rebelling against the rigid norms of Fang culture.
Elise
Sphinx by Anne Garréta, translated by Emma Ramadan
Published by: Deep Vellum
France
Jamia
Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Miaojin, translated by Bonnie Huie
Published by: NYRB
China
Drew
Beijing Comrades by Bei Tong, translated by Scott E. Myers
Published by: The Feminist Press
China
Tenny
Mundo Cruel by Luis Negrón, translated by Suzanne Jill Levine
Published by: Seven Stories Press
Puerto Rico
Neeti
Forbidden Colors by Yukio Mishima, translated by Alfred H. Marks
Published by: Vintage Books (Alfred A Knopf)
Japan
Alyea
The Others by Seba al-Herz
Published by: Seven Stories Press
Saudi Arabia
Sophia
Monsieur Vénus by Rachilde, translated by Melanie Hawthorne
Published by: MLA
France
Hannah
Thérèse and Isabelle by Violette Leduc, translated by Sophie Lewis
Published by: The Feminist Press
France
Jisu
Testo Junkie by Paul B. Preciado, translated by Bruce Benderson
Published by: The Feminist Press
Spain
Suki
Not One Day by Anne Garréta, translated by Emma Ramadan
Published by: Deep Vellum
France
Lauren
Sirena Selena by Mayra Santos-Febres, translated by Stephen A. Lytle
Published by: St. Martins Press
Puerto Rico
Lucia
Apocalypse Baby by Virginie Despentes, translated by Siân Reynolds
Published by: The Feminist Press
France