-
-
About
UnderratedReads is devoted to discovering underrated books and under-represented authors. We highlight hidden gems from around the world–honest reviews only, never pay-to-play.
Category Archives: World Literature
The Presence of Men – Francesca Marciano
(Reviewed by JD Jung) This novella immediately drew me in with its quiet emotional depth and evocative Italian setting. Starting over after divorce captures what it really means to rebuild a life. —messy, uncertain, and deeply personal. . Lara used … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction, Italian Literature, World Literature
Tagged emotional, short books
Comments Off on The Presence of Men – Francesca Marciano
My Dreadful Body – Egana Djabbarova (Author), Lisa C. Hayden (Translator)
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Author Egana Djabbarova shares a story about identity, illness, and cultural expectations in her novel, My Dreadful Body. Set between Russia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, it follows a Muslim woman who feels like she belongs nowhere—not in … Continue reading
Posted in Slavic Literature, World Literature
Tagged culture, Muslim, mysogeny
Comments Off on My Dreadful Body – Egana Djabbarova (Author), Lisa C. Hayden (Translator)
The Cut Line – Carolina Pihelgas (Translated from the Estonian by Darcy Hurford)
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Liine, an Estonian woman in her early thirties, just wants to take control of her life in The Cut Line. (more…)Read More →
Posted in Slavic Literature
Tagged abuse, climate change, Estonia, family dysfunction
Comments Off on The Cut Line – Carolina Pihelgas (Translated from the Estonian by Darcy Hurford)
The Ferryman and His Wife – Frode Grytten, translated from the Norwegian by Alison McCullough
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Ferryman Nils Vik has spent decades carrying people across the fjord. Widowed for many years and the father of two grown daughters, he wants this crossing to be his last day on earth or sea. (more…)Read More →
Posted in Reviewers' Top Picks, Scandinavian Literature
Tagged death, life, Norwegian literature
Comments Off on The Ferryman and His Wife – Frode Grytten, translated from the Norwegian by Alison McCullough
Ham’s Heaven- Ori Gersht (Translated by Joanna Chen)
(Reviewed by Christopher J. Lynch) Ham’s Heaven was a tough book to get through – but not for the usual reasons: poor plotting, pacing, etc. It was tough because it was a very emotional story that needed to be … Continue reading
Posted in Historical Fiction, Middle Eastern Literature
Tagged animal, NASA, space
Comments Off on Ham’s Heaven- Ori Gersht (Translated by Joanna Chen)
All That Dies in April – Mariana Travacio (translated by Samantha Schnee and Will Morningstar
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Lina wants to leave her Argentinian quebrada, where the soil is dry and the land barren, no longer offering them anything for sustenance. Her only son left years earlier with her younger brother. She is not … Continue reading
Posted in Latin American Literature, World Literature
Tagged Argentina, family, migration
Comments Off on All That Dies in April – Mariana Travacio (translated by Samantha Schnee and Will Morningstar
The Man of Middling Height – Fadi Zaghmout (Author), Wasan Abdelhaq (Translator)
(Reviewed by JD Jung) In most societies, identity and status are shaped by gender—and often, by the body parts we are born with. Jordanian author Fadi Zaghmount flips that concept on its head in his provocative speculative novel The Man … Continue reading
Posted in Middle Eastern Literature
Tagged gender, Jordan, Social satire, speculative fiction
1 Comment
The Yellow Dog – Georges Simenon (translated by Linda Asher)
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Originally published in 1931, in English in 1939, and now re-released in English, The Yellow Dog offers readers a taste of Georges Simenon’s signature crime storytelling. Set in the small seaside town of Concarneau, France, a … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, French Literature, Lost and almost forgotten
Tagged cozy mystery, crime fiction, France
Comments Off on The Yellow Dog – Georges Simenon (translated by Linda Asher)
A Carnival of Atrocities – by Natalia García Freire, Translated from the Spanish by Victor Meadowcroft
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Cocuán, a small town in Ecuador is doomed by a curse. Upon the death of Mildred Capa’s mother and the subsequent abandonment by her father, Mildred was intent on maintaining and working the farm. However, … Continue reading
Posted in Latin American Literature
Tagged abuse, Ecuador, literature, Religion
Comments Off on A Carnival of Atrocities – by Natalia García Freire, Translated from the Spanish by Victor Meadowcroft