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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
Last Words on Earth – Javier Serena, Translated from the Spanish by Katie Whittemore
(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “The paradox of letters made weapons, words made bayonets with which to pierce the page and exact revenge against my own destiny, which I had judged—until then—to be so harsh.” Poet and writer Ricardo Funes … Continue reading
Posted in Latin American Literature, World Literature
Tagged Mexico City, negacionismo, Peru, poetry, Roberto Bolaño, Spain
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The Unwanted Dead: The Shocking End of Zorba’s Heretical Author – Yorgos Pratanos
(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned Nikos Kazantzakis, a popular post WWII Cretan writer, died in October 1957. His works included Zorba the Greek and The Last Temptation of Christ. Many thought he was a Communist and a heretic, and the … Continue reading
Posted in Historical Fiction, World Literature
Tagged Greece, Greek history, journalism
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The Final Days of Abbot Montrose: An Asbjørn Krag Mystery – Sven Elvestad and Stein Riverton
(reviewed by Ann Onymous ) Retired Detective Asbjørn Krag and his police colleague Keller are trying to solve the mystery of the disappearance of Abbot Montrose. But with no photographs, no one really knows what the Abbot looks like. He … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Scandinavian Literature, World Literature
Tagged crime fiction, Norwegian literature
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Nine Moons – Gabriela Wiener, Jessica Powell (Translator)
(reviewed by JD Jung) “Europe is the best place for a Latin American to starve to death and drink good wine.” Gabriela Wiener and her husband originally travelled from Peru to Barcelona on student visas. However, when these two journalists … Continue reading
Posted in Bios and Memoirs, Latin American Literature
Tagged childbirth, immigration, pregnancy
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Arsène Lupin, gentleman-burglar – Maurice LeBlanc, Edgar Jepson (Translator)
(reviewed by JD Jung) “You don’t know who Lupin is? The most whimsical, the most audacious, and the most genial thief in France. For the last ten years he has kept the police at bay….In fact, he’s our national robber.” … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, French Literature, Historical Fiction, Lost and almost forgotten
Tagged class, Crime, Lupin, social justice
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A Sunday in Ville-d’Avray – Dominique Barbéris (Author), John Cullen (Translator)
(reviewed by JD Jung) “My sister had always been incapable of choosing. She was also incapable of breaking off the relationship…She was yielding little by little—I see that now, and something in me understood her—to the novel-like element he imported … Continue reading
Posted in French Literature
Tagged Paris, short books, suburbs
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The Last Twist of the Knife – João Almino (Author), Elizabeth Lowe (Translator)
(reviewed by JD Jung) “Pieces of the past arrive that either frighten me or invite me to a reunion. It’s what I see, what I hear. The rest I imagine…” A seventy-year-old lawyer decides to abandon his current life in … Continue reading
Posted in Latin American Literature
Tagged Brazil, Crime, jealousy, revenge, short books, translated world literature
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Death in a Bookstore: An Inspector De Vincenzi Mystery – Augusto De Angelis
(reviewed by JD Jung) Inspector Carlo De Vincenzi is faced with one of his toughest assignments yet. Senator Prof. Ugo Magni was found shot to death in a Milan antiquarian bookstore. On the shelf just above the body, a book … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Italian Literature, Lost and almost forgotten, World Literature
Tagged golden age, Italian literature, Milan
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