Circe by Madeline Miller is one of the first books I saw in Italy. At first, I didn’t even think the book was a translation. The cover was almost identical to my copy back in the States, and the title hadn’t changed at all—which makes sense as it is a name. A quick flip through the first couple of pages proved me very wrong. This was the first time I’d seen a translated book that wasn’t a classic, and I was absolutely ecstatic. I immediately wanted to know everything about it—who published it, who translated it, how the acquisition happened. There’s nothing like seeing a story you know and love being shared and well-appreciated across cultures. And well-appreciated it truly is. I’ve quickly learned that Madeline Miller is very popular here in Italy. La canzone di Achille, when name-dropped around Italian university students, had gotten me a chorus of excited shouts. Miller’s works are a consistent staple amongst Italian bookstores, across all the towns I’ve visited. I’ve seen the...
Foreign finds, publishing notes, and reviews