But there is a thriving population today speaking in Greek — Greek that is not Homer’s Greek any more than our English is Shakespeare’s English. Modern-day Greece is haunted by much different ghosts than those of Achilles or Odysseus. From war with Turkey that resulted in many refugees and a large-scale population exchange, to the post–World War II civil war, to the 1960s military dictatorship, to the devastating economic crisis that began in late 2009, Greece’s modern history has room to fill epics of its own. These books represent Greece as much as, if not more than, the Greece of ancient poetry or of influencers’ Instagram photos. But they don’t give perfect representation. I was unable to find a single novel translated from modern Greek into English that was written by authors of color. Particularly given Greece’s current refugee crisis, it’s more important than ever that Greek authors of color and other marginalized Greek authors are published and translated. Many of these books dwell on the hardships that came from the conflicts and political and economic upheavals that Greece has gone through in the past 100 years. From a toxic friendship that haunts an anarchist protagonist to a series of short stories weighted down by the grief of economic struggle, these books dig into the heartbreak and fight of everyday people — with a couple twists of surrealism or magic here and there. Please note that while I took great care to list content warnings where I could, things can fall through the cracks. Please do additional research on the recommended titles if needed. Looking for more works in translation? Check out these books from Catalonia, Japan, Southeastern Europe, Argentina, Central Africa, Japan, Ukraine, Germany, and Chile, and books translated from Arabic and French. Or you can check out all of our in-translation content. The relationship will remind readers of Elena and Lila from Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels. It also has a satisfying glimmer of sapphic sexuality and political commentary about colonialism, oppression, and feminism running through the story. It’s a book, ultimately, about the politics — both personal and societal — of power. Content warnings for sexual harassment, disordered eating, g-slur, suicide, homophobia, sex shaming / misogyny, racism, violence. Content warnings for violence, domestic violence, violence against children. Nikolaidou’s novel is a generational, fast-paced story, that picks apart what it means to see justice, and how quickly society likes to find a scapegoat, a person on whom they can place their problems, as the easy way out. Content warnings for g-slur, torture, substance abuse, ableism, racism. Wildcat Under Glass is narrated by a young girl named Melia. Through her eyes, we see the 1930s fascist government take hold and how her parents and town react. The book has been translated into more than 20 languages and is part of a loose trilogy by Zei that covers 50 years of Greek history. Content warnings for police brutality, violence, bullying. This book features the poems he wrote while imprisoned. He writes of a sort of community paired with deep weight and loneliness. He writes of silence, the emptiness of words, and the pain and fear of the encampments. His poetry is rich, sad, and worth the read. “Ants / have their house of dirt — it’s warm in there. / I don’t fit into my voice. My feet / stick out.” Content warnings for g-slur, implied violence, themes of torture and pain. Content warnings for child death, domestic abuse, sexual violence, suicide. I know it sounds a bit obvious, but it’s genuinely delightful: a fun, classic fantasy tale of what a good king should be and what a good kingdom looks like that without too much stretching can be applied to our modern-day systems and how, with the right mindset and knowledge at hand, they could be changed. Content warnings for fatphobia, ableism, violence. *Sugar is on his seventh life. I originally found this immensely puzzling until discovering a note online that the Greek phrase references cats’ seven lives, not nine. Content warning for animal death, racism. Content warnings for adult/minor relationship, sexual assault, animal death, fatphobia. Content warnings for violence, rape, suicidal ideation, substance abuse, ableism, animal cruelty, and homophobic, antisemitic, and racist language. If you have recommendations or requests for future lists of books in translation, or if you want me to know about a book I missed, please let me know on Twitter!
