In 2020, I tried something I’d never done in any meaningful capacity: I read international fiction. Reading from a multiplicity of backgrounds and perspectives has stretched and taught me in ways that stories based in the U.S. (or in another world altogether) haven’t, and I count that as a win.
As a woman raised by two American-born parents in a fairly homogeneous suburban environment, there are so many stories, cultures, and shared experiences I have little to no exposure to--not on any real level, anyway.
Whether I’m reading about Cameroonian immigrants or Swedes in Sweden, I’m learning. While the experiences presented in books aren’t necessarily normative, they share one author’s unique story, usually with deep ties to some collective experience or cultural background. I can’t take what I learned from Adichie’s “Americanah” and apply it with broad strokes to all Nigerian immigrants, but I do have a deeper understanding of what it might be like for some to uproot their families and begin again in another country.
Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner” tells the story of a relatively privileged Afghani man, not the more common narrative of the poor trapped in a war-torn Soviet-then-Taliban-dictated country. And yet his perspective is still valuable and insightful to me, as someone who has so little diversity of experience.
Perhaps one of the most attractive pulls of international fiction is that it’s unstructured learning. I go at my own pace, there’s no deadline, and I’m taking in valuable information that I can regurgitate to my friends with alarming passion. If you’re looking for an excellent piece of international fiction to begin (or continue) with, check out the review of a Swedish novel below!
Fredrik Backman’s “My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry” was an accidental find for me during a Barnes & Noble browsing-only trip (you know the type). Published in Swedish in 2013, Backman’s second novel is a charming piece of fiction full of tender, suspenseful and laugh-out-loud moments. If you’re skeptical about the whole reading-in-translation thing, I get it; I too have felt the disappointment of a beautiful story in its original language mauled by a clumsy English rendition. Translator Henning Koch, however, masterfully preserves the charm of the Swedish text in its English setting.
The book centers on a lonely 7-year-old girl, Elsa, and her relationship with her “reality-challenged” grandmother, whose sharp wit and unapologetic matter-of-factness will amuse you to no end. The two share an incredibly special bond: every night, Granny takes Elsa into the whimsical Land-of-Almost-Awake, where she captures their imaginations with complex tales of monsters, musicians, and princess-warriors, which are told in their own fully operable secret language.
After Granny’s death, Elsa begins to realize the stories of Almost-Awake aren’t simply fairytales. Granny posthumously presents Elsa with an important and dangerous quest, one that will test both her courage and her capacity for empathy. As she delivers her grandmother’s handwritten apologies to old friends and neighbors, she discovers the deeply humanizing stories that drive and shape former strangers, as well as Granny’s own unique past. It is ultimately up to Elsa to save her family, her friends, and her home from a mysterious evil presence, one that seems to be following her on her adventures.
Backman engages well with death, trauma, and suffering while maintaining a light-hearted tone in his writing. You’ll easily fall in love with his characters, laugh at their interactions, and empathize with them as they experience love and loss. Though the cultural differences between his Swedish setting and an American context are subtle, they are a welcome reminder that the U.S. is neither the norm nor the sole producer of fantastic fiction.
“My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry” was my favorite of 29 fiction reads in 2020, narrowly beating out the popular “Where the Crawdads Sing.” I’d highly recommend it to anyone who loves “Eleanor Oliphant,” “The Penderwicks,” or the English language. At just under 400 pages, it was a relatively quick and easy read, perfect for a high-stress semester.
The book is currently available from Thriftbooks for those looking to save a buck, Amazon for those flush with cash, and is borrowable from me if you promise to take good care of it. If you like it, check out Backman’s debut, “A Man Called Ove,” or his most recent title, “Anxious People.” And shoot me an email--I’d love to know your thoughts!