[Discovery Read Vote] September-October | Non-English Prize Winners

[u/Vast-Passenger1126]

Hello book friends. It's time to choose our next Discovery Read!

As always, our Discovery Reads are a chance to read something a little different, step away from the BOTM, Bestseller lists, and buzzy flavor of the moment fiction. We have got that covered elsewhere on r/bookclub. With the Discovery Reads, it is time to explore the vast array of other books that often don't get a look in. 

This year's theme is Prize Winners and this month we'll be nominating:

Prize winning books originally written in languages other than English

This could include books from previous prize categories we've already covered, such as the Nobel Prize or International Booker Prize. Or if you're looking for inspiration, here are some international book prizes to browse:

• Prix Goncourt
• Miguel de Cervantes Prize
• International Prize for Arabic Fiction
• Akutagawa Prize
• FIL Literary Award in Romance Languages

Before nominating, please make sure an English translation of the book is widely available so that everyone can read and join in the discussions.

Voting will be open for four days, from the 1st to the 5th of the month. A reminder will be posted 24 hours (+/-) before the vote is closed and the winners will be announced asap after closing the vote. Reading will commence around the 21st of the month so you have plenty of time to get a copy of the winning title!

Nomination specifications:

• Must be a book that has won a literary prize and was not originally written in English
• An English translation of the book must be widely available
• Any page count
• Any genre
• No previously read selections

Please check the previous selections to determine if we have read your selection. You can also check by author here. Nominate as many titles as you want (one per comment), and upvote for all and any you will participate in if they win. A reminder to upvote will be posted on the 4th, so be sure to get your nominations in before then to give them the best chance of winning!

Happy reading nominating 📚

Note - The mod team does not constantly review nominations so if you suspect that a nomination does not fit the specifications you are welcome to report this and note that it "Does not fit Specifications". The mod team will review it and approve or delete accordingly. Any comments on the validity of other users' nominations will be removed immediately. Winning nominations are always confirmed to fit specs before the winners announcement is made

[u/_pineapple1865]

Shoko's Smile: Stories by Choi Eunyoung

Originally published in Korean

A bestselling and award-winning debut collection from one of South Korea’s most prominent young writers.

In crisp, unembellished prose, Eun-young Choi paints intimate portraits of the lives of young women in South Korea, balancing the personal with the political. In the title story, a fraught friendship between an exchange student and her host sister follows them from adolescence to adulthood. In “A Song from Afar,” a young woman grapples with the death of her lover, traveling to Russia to search for information about the deceased. In “Secret,” the parents of a teacher killed in the Sewol ferry sinking hide the news of her death from her grandmother. 

In the tradition of Sally Rooney, Banana Yoshimoto, and Marilynne Robinson–writers from different cultures who all take an unvarnished look at human relationships and the female experience–Choi Eunyoung is a writer to watch.