Reading Women in Translation Month: All the Books I Read in August

There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job

by Kikuko Tasmura and translated to English by Polly Barton

This month was Reading Women in Translation month so I made it my priority to finally get round to reading There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tasmura, I actually pre ordered this book before it came out late last year with every intention of reading it immediately, predictably I did not.

However, reading it this month turned out to be the perfect timing because I’m currently working with an agency doing a wide variety of ‘easy’ jobs, in fact, I started reading this book whilst covering the reception in an empty office whilst the usual receptionist was on her holidays, I was there just in case the phone rang (of course it did not.) I then finished the book commuting to a job working in a museum were I was tasked with invigilating sessions in the soft play.

That being said I completely agree with the title of the book, there truly is no such thing as an easy job, every job is difficult/frustrating/annoying in its own specific way.

I found this Virago book of Love Poetry in a local charity shop for 50p. Reading on the train, I opened it up to find an inscription in blue ink on the inside “Who says romance is dead? Happy Birthday – Graham xxx 1991” I love books with writing in them, perhaps it’s the Art Historian in me that continues to be drawn to the materiality of objects. Between pages 92 and 93, I found a train ticket to Benfleet from March 2006 being used as a bookmark and on page 81, a taxi card from Hull. Were these bookmarks left by whoever was gifted this book by Graham for their birthday in 1991 or another mystery reader? Were they marking these pages for particular reason?

Today I’m going to share a poem in translation from this book

Nothing is Sweeter than Eros

by Nossis

Nothing is sweeter than Eros. All other delights                                                                                                                hold second place – I spit out from my mouth even honey.                                                                                                  Nossis declares this: whoever Cypris has not loved                                                                                                              does not know what sort of blossoms her roses are

Translated by Jane McIntosh Snyder

And finally a Tiny Love Story from the Modern Love Column in the New York Times that I really enjoyed

I Think on Thee, Dear Friend

by — Ann V. Klotz

“Shark, our 5-year-old carnival fish, swims in his tank on our crowded kitchen counter. Orange and shiny like iridescent glass, he dives into his gravel when he is bored. Each morning, I check that he is still alive and offer him a few lines of Shakespeare. Shark opens and closes his mouth, seemingly attentive and patient, perhaps because his foul-smelling fish food flakes follow the recitation. Folly to love a fish. Or anyone who might leave us. But oh, what a gift.”