And the winner is...

She Who Remains

by Rene Karabash, translated by Izidora Angel

In order to prevent an arranged marriage in a village entrenched in archaic laws, a young woman named Bekija renounces her identity as a woman and decides on a life of absolute virginity. 

This choice leads to a brutal chain of events that devastates her family and separates her from loved ones. 

Years later, a journalist returns to the area, recounting the story and uncovering buried truths and the sorrowful contemplation of missed opportunities.

The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran

by Shida Bazyar, translated by Ruth Martin

1979. Behsad, a young communist revolutionary, fights for a new order after the Shah’s expulsion. A decade later, he is living a new life in West Germany with his wife, Nahid.

Tehran is not what Laleh remembers from her childhood after she and Nahid return to Iran. In Germany, Laleh’s brother Mo is more concerned with a friend’s heartbreak than with student demonstrations.

This novel offers a prismatic account of a family’s journey out of and back to Iran, exploring themes of revolution, oppression, resistance, and freedom.

The Director

by Daniel Kehlmann, translated by Ross Benjamin

Grounded in the biography of 20th-century filmmaker G. W. Pabst, this visionary tale follows the famous director who left Europe for Hollywood to resist the Nazis, but subsequently found himself entangled with the regime's propaganda after returning home.

Kehlmann delivers another luminous performance with this triumphant novel, an urgent work that expertly juxtaposes darkness and light, dissecting the dangerous link between art and power.

On Earth as It Is Beneath

by Ana Paula Maia, translated by Padma Viswanathan

A penal colony was established by the state in a remote area where enslaved people were once tortured and murdered. Here prisoners could undergo rehabilitation, but escape was impossible.

However, as the operation fails and wanes, a new terror emerges: on every night of the full moon, the prisoners are set free. Armed with rifles, the warden starts the hunt.

With raw honesty, this book provides a potent look at humanity’s violent nature and our refusal to accept responsibility for the results of our collective actions or omissions.

The Witch 

by Marie NDiaye, translated by Jordan Stump

In a quiet, small town, Lucie hails from a lineage of witches.

A mediocre witch, trapped in a mediocre marriage, all she can ever foresee are trivial details. As she tries to transfer her abilities to her twin daughters, it’s obvious they have skills far exceeding hers.

With a witty, surreal, and disturbing charm, this novel sharpens the focus on the mysteries of womanhood and motherhood, and how even unbreakable bonds can suddenly shatter.