67: 'Convenience Store Woman' and the art of translation w/ Ginny Tapley Takemori

Ginny Tapley Takemori is probably best known for her 2018 translation of "Convenience Store Woman," the bestselling novel by Sayaka Murata, which won the prestigious Akutagawa Prize when it was first published in Japanese in 2016. Like the original, the English translation was a bestseller, and the author and translator have collaborated again to translate Murata’s 11th novel, "Earthlings," which was published at the beginning of October. We hear from Ginny about the art of translation and why she thinks we should all be reading more books from other cultures.

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Read more:

Reviews of new and classic books in The Japan Times Books section • In "Convenience Store Woman," Sayaka Murata questions normality in modern Japan • (Nicolas Gating, The Japan Times)

• Sayaka Murata's 'Earthlings': Alienated misfits fight against the ties that bind • (Kris Kosaka, The Japan Times)

• Strong woman, soft power • (David Jacobson, GLLI)

• Order a copy of 'Earthlings • ' (Granta)

On this episode:

Ginny Tapley Takemori: Author profile

Oscar Boyd: Twitter | Articles | Instagram

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Photo: Sayaka Murata's "Convenience Store Women"