Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Succubus Revealed Chapter 9

It wasn't until I arrived in Seattle on Sunday evening that the full dreamlike nature of my end of the week in Las Vegas hit me. Being there had felt so . . . common. I guess some portion of that was simply having old companions like Bastien and Luis around. However I'd been agreeably amazed at how effectively I coexisted with my more up to date associates, similar to Phoebe and Matthias. I'd even developed to like Jamie, however I never saw him after that night. In spite of my endeavors to discover him and get some information about Milton, the devil had stayed subtle for the remainder of my outing. Also, the show . . . how had that occurred? I was unable to try and find a strong line of work here in my present old neighborhood, yet hours in the wake of strolling off the plane in a bizarre city, I'd landed what was, from numerous points of view, my fantasy work. When we'd completed our subsequent practice, Matthias was at that point discussing an uncommon part he anticipated making for me, and a few of different artists were so frustrated at me leaving for a month, you'd think we'd known each other for a considerable length of time. It had, despite my hesitations, been an awesome end of the week. Reality set in when I strolled into my apartment suite. Roman was out, with just a note perusing Bowling training tomorrow evening to check his entry. Normally, the felines were as glad to consider me to be consistently. Scratching their heads thusly, I started to consider the coordinations of moving them two with me across state lines. I'd be removing them from Roman, whom they cherished, however there was not something to be accomplished for that. He was unable to accompany us. As a nephilim, he was in consistent peril of being pursued somewhere near different immortals, and it was just Jerome's security that permitted him to have a seminormal life in Seattle. Roman positively wasn't going to surrender that, what's more, Las Vegas was likely the most noticeably awful spot on the planet for him to endeavor to hang out. A container of pink-tipped white roses sat on the kitchen table, filling the air with pleasantness. I opened up the card and read Seth's scribbled composition: Welcome home. I've been tallying the minutes. †S I messaged him that I was back and gotten an answer encouraging me to approach Terry and Andrea's for supper. Subsequent to leaving a note for Roman guaranteeing him I'd be at training, I taking off, my psyche despite everything turning with a greater amount of the outcomes of moving. The apartment suite. I'd need to sell it. Except if I needed to lease it to Roman? Hellfire would almost certainly remunerate any moving expenses, yet it'd be dependent upon me to begin making the real courses of action now for things like movers and so forth. I was acceptable at making arrangements and sorting out things, yet the entirety of my abilities were futile against the one thing I needed to carry with me to Las Vegas the most: Seth. I despite everything had no answer for how to manage him. I was met with the typical overflowing of adoration from his nieces when I showed up, in the nick of time for a riotous family supper. With the extra relatives, they'd surrendered any affectation of eating at the kitchen table and had essentially taken their paper plates and natively constructed pizza off to the family room. The losses of food and furniture were ones Terry and Andrea were since a long time ago used to, however Margaret couldn't concentrate on her supper because of a paranoid fear of continually viewing the young ladies and what she saw as impending tomato-recolored fiasco. I was glad to see Andrea out with the family, which wasn't something that happened regularly of late. She looked drained yet was feeling great, and from the way the young ladies competed for position close to her, it was clear they were charmed to have her moving around as well. â€Å"Seth says you were out of town,† she let me know. â€Å"Anywhere fun?† â€Å"Las Vegas,† I answered. â€Å"Visiting friends.† â€Å"Man,† said Ian. â€Å"I wish I had companions in Las Vegas.† â€Å"I figured it'd be unreasonably business for you,† said Seth, vacant. Ian gulped a nibble of his pizza †it clearly wasn't a veggie lover day †before reacting. â€Å"Only in the event that you remain on the Strip and their overrated lavish lodgings. In the event that you look around in a portion of the off the beaten path places, you could discover some truly cool and dark dives.† It took nine-year-old Kendall to state what all of us were thinking. â€Å"I'd preferably remain in extravagance. For what reason would you need to remain in a jump, Uncle Ian?† â€Å"Because it's nonmainstream,† he advised her. â€Å"Everyone remains at the pleasant places.† â€Å"But I like decent things,† she contended. â€Å"Don't you?† â€Å"Well, yes,† he stated, grimacing. â€Å"But that is not the point †â€Å" â€Å"Then for what reason would you need to remain at awful places?† she squeezed. â€Å"You're excessively youthful to understand,† he said. Seth laughed. â€Å"Actually, I think she comprehends perfectly.† Andrea chose to rest not long after that, yet not before removing a guarantee that somebody convey her treat later on. Subsequent to doing dishes (which was entirely simple with paper plates), our gathering scattered into independent exercises. Kendall, Brandy, Margaret, and Terry fired up a round of Monopoly while Kayla and the twins settled down to watch The Little Mermaid. Ian went along with them, energized for the opportunity to show how the film was a case of free enterprise crushing America. Seth and I nestled into a close by loveseat, apparently to watch the film, yet rather utilized an opportunity to get up to speed. â€Å"How was it, really?† he asked me in a soft tone. â€Å"I've been stressed over you. Was it as awful as you thought?† â€Å"No,† I stated, inclining my head against his chest. â€Å"It was really . . . truly great. Would you trust I have a vocation as of now ? Like . . . one that is not on Hell's payroll.† â€Å"You can't get one of those here,† commented Seth. â€Å"Yeah, the incongruity's not lost on me. I will be a Vegas showgirl, complete with sequins.† Seth trailed his fingers through my hair. â€Å"That's in reality sort of great. What's more, hot. On the off chance that you need to rehearse, I'd gladly give you some useful criticism.† I grinned. â€Å"We'll see.† There was a long delay. â€Å"So . . . it's genuine. This entire thing.† â€Å"Yeah,† I said in a little voice. â€Å"It's real.† I felt him tense and detected the concern emanating off of him. â€Å"It's alright. We'll make sense of this. It's as yet a month away.† â€Å"I know we will,† he said. â€Å"You and I have defeated crazier things than this, right?† â€Å"Crazier doesn't generally mean harder,† I called attention to. â€Å"I mean, when Peter attempted to make a ‘retro flame sconce' out of a Pringles can a month ago, that was quite insane †yet it was likewise entirely simple to manage once we discovered his fire extinguisher.† â€Å"You see?† said Seth. â€Å"This is the thing that I love about you. I don't think about that insane. I think about that normal existence with you, Georgina. You change all the definitions.† He squeezed a kiss to my temple. We fell quiet and viewed the film, however I speculated Seth was giving as meager consideration as I seemed to be. We were both lost in our own considerations, and I didn't generally wake up until I heard Ian telling Morgan, â€Å"I like the first fantasy better. It's quite elective, so you've most likely never known about it.† I looked at the clock and sat up. â€Å"I'm going to go beware of Andrea and check whether she needs her dessert.† Both Margaret and Terry rushed to offer to do it rather, however I waved them off, guaranteeing them I was fine and that they should come back to their game. Andrea was conscious, propped up on pads and perusing a book when I came in with the pie. â€Å"You didn't need to do that,† she let me know. â€Å"You should've asked Terry.† â€Å"He's bustling purchasing and selling property,† I advised her, helping her settle the plate on her lap. â€Å"I couldn't request that he intrude on that. In addition, he does plenty.† â€Å"He does,† she concurred, grinning thoughtfully. â€Å"They all do. Indeed, even you. It's so odd, having others deal with me. I'm excessively used to taking care of everybody else.† I settled down on a seat close to her bed, considering how regularly it must be filled of late. Andrea consistently had somebody looking out for her. â€Å"It's only for a brief period longer,† I said. That got me another grin as she bit a nibble of pie. â€Å"You're very optimistic.† â€Å"Hey, is there any good reason why i shouldn't be? You look extraordinary today.† â€Å"Great ‘ironically,' as Ian would say.† She ran a hand through her limp fair hair. â€Å"But I show improvement over I have for some time. I don't have a clue. It's beguiling, Georgina. There are days I feel certain I've beat each malignant growth cell in my body and others when I can't trust I'm despite everything figuring out how to walk this earth.† â€Å"Andrea †â€Å" â€Å"No, no, it's true.† She delayed for more pie, yet her eyes took on an immense, knowing look that helped me frightfully to remember Carter. â€Å"I've acknowledged it, deal with the way that there's as yet a decent possibility I'll bite the dust. Nobody else has. Nobody else will discuss it. I'm alright with that. In the event that that is the thing that God wills for me, at that point so be it.† I felt a bunch hold in my stomach. I was unable to say much regarding God, yet I'd seen enough of Heaven and Hell to blow up when I heard people acknowledge their destiny as a component of some higher reason. A fraction of the time, it appeared to me the heavenly powers were making up this game as they came. â€Å"I'm not stressed over me,† Andrea proceeded. â€Å"But I am stressed over them.† That quietness blurred, supplanted by genuine human concern, a mother's dread for her youngsters. â€Å"Terry's solid. So brilliantly solid. Be that as it may, this is no picnic for him. He can't do only it, which is the reason I'm so happy Seth's here. I don't have the foggiest idea what we would have managed without him. He's the stone supporting all of us right now.† The nervousness inside me facilitated for a couple of seconds, supplanted by a spreading warmth a

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Tesco Financia Statement & Ratio Analysis - Free Solution

Question: Investigate the budgetary exhibition of the two organizations dependent on your figurings, distinguishing and talking about the reasons for computing those proportions and the shortcomings of proportions examination. Answer: Presentation The principle goal of bookkeeping is to give data to the leaders (Peterson Drake and Fabozzi, 2012). Budget report is a composed articulation which is set up to know the working execution, budgetary position, removal of excess and development of transient resources, money position and all out reserve position. Budget report investigation is the assessment of noteworthy money related information with the utilization of a few monetary apparatuses, for example, Ratio examination, Cash Flow explanations, Profit Loss Account and Balance sheet. The primary motivation behind examining money related records is to assess the companys present execution and gauge the future potential and hazard craving of the organization. These announcements creates those data which are important for the association, guarantee the nature of income and aides in doing the SWOT investigation of an organization. In this examination for monetary investigation of two organizations in particular Tesco and Sainsbury(Anon, 2015) are mulled over and their standard of execution are dissected based on three bookkeeping p eriod 2012, 2013 and 2014 (Anon, 2015). Organization foundation Tesco is perhaps the biggest retailer on the planet. It was established by Jack Cohen in the year 1919 from a little market at London. As the time passes this organization develops and today it is working across 12 nations on the planet. They utilize very nearly 530000 individuals and serve a great many client consistently. Their fundamental two rivals on the planet advertise are Wal-Mart and Carrefour. Sainsbury is another prestigious organization in retail division and more established than Tesco organization. It was shaped in 1869 and today it works over very nearly 12000 market and accommodation store. They have utilized right around 161000 people who served for the benefit of the organization. They requested that they offer most ideal assistance to their clients among all the retail parts in a similar classification (Collis, Holt and Hussey, 2012). Money related execution investigation TESCO Sainsbury-A near examination As I have just referenced that for execution examination of a specific firm a few procedures are utilized and proportion investigation is one of the significant variables among those all. So here the investigation is fundamentally done based on Ratios (Campilho and Kamel, 2012): (Collings, 2015). Gainfulness proportions Gainfulness proportions as the name propose are those proportions which are utilized to gauge the benefit of an organization. Benefit implies the arrival accomplished by the endeavors of the executives on the reserve contributed by the proprietors of the business. It is a net aftereffect of huge number of approaches and choices. Long haul productivity is crucial for a companys endurance and advantages got by the investor. There are numerous proportions which can show the benefit yet out of those some principle proportions are Gross benefit proportion, Net Profit Ratio and Operating benefit proportion (Drury, 2012). Net Profit proportion is determined based on net deals income. It speaks to the level of gross benefit earned by an organization on deals. Net benefit implies the benefit earned from direct exchanging exercises. The gross benefit proportion of Tesco for the year 2014 is 4010/63557*100=6.3%, for the year 2013 is 4154/63406*100=6.6% and for the year 2012 is 5261/64539*100=8.2%. A high Gross Profit proportion demonstrates a decent gainfulness. In any case, in Tesco Company is monetary record examination it is discovered that, their Gross Profit proportion in 2013 and 2014 were 6% (approx) contrasted with 8% in 2012. The gross benefit proportion of Sainsbury for the year 2014 is 1387/23494*100=5.9%, for the year 2013 is 1277/23303*100=5.5% and for the year 2012 is 1211/22294*100=5.4%. The decrease in Gross Profit proportion might be because of the less measures of offer in 2014 and higher measure of Cost of deals in 2013 while if there should arise an occurrence of Sainsbury Company, however their Gross Profit proportion is not exactly Tesco yet it is in expanding pattern (Robinson, 2012). Working Profit proportion is another apparatus utilized for productivity assessment. Working benefit implies the benefit which can be gotten from the Gross Profit subsequent to deducting the working cost from the Gross benefit. This methodology is proficient than Gross Profit approach as the investigation depends on increasingly exact financials. The working benefit proportion of Tesco for the year 2014 is 2631/63557*100=4.1%, for the year 2013 is 2382/63406*100=3.8% and for the year 2012 is 3985/64539*100=6.2%. In Tesco, the pattern of the working proportion is in a crisscross way as in 2012 it was 6%, in 2013, it was 3% and in 2014, it was 4%. In general, the proportion is radically diminishes by half (approx) in 2013 and however it has expanded somewhat in 2014 still it isn't a lot of agreeable. The working benefit proportion of Sainsbury for the year 2014 is 1009/23494*100=4.2%, for the year 2013 is 882/23303*100=3.8% and for the year 2012 is 874/22294*100=3.9%. In Sainsbury Company, it keeps up a steady development as this proportion isn't fluctuating broadly. Net Profit proportion is the most precise procedure utilized for benefit investigation as the net benefit is determined subsequent to wiping out every single roundabout cost from working benefit. The net benefit proportion of Tesco for the year 2014 is 970/63557*100=1.53%, for the year 2013 is 24/63406*100=0.04% and for the year 2012 is 2814/64539*100=4.36%.The Net Profit proportion of Tesco shows an intense fall in the year 2013 from 4.36% to 0.04%. In this year the organization needed to modify an enormous measure of misfortune from its suspended tasks which might be one reason of this fall. In 2014, they demonstrated an expanding pattern contrast with earlier year. The net benefit proportion of Tesco for the year 2014 is 970/63557*100=1.53%, for the year 2013 is 24/63406*100=0.04% and for the year 2012 is 2814/64539*100=4.36%.Sainsbury additionally didn't perform quite well yet its condition is better than Tesco. Liquidity proportions Liquidity proportions show the liquidity position of an organization. Liquidity implies the measure of money and money reciprocals the firm has available and the measure of money it can mastermind in a brief timeframe. Liquidity is fundamental for easily directing of business exercises. In the event that the firm has a poor liquidity position it may not ready to make opportune installments to the loan bosses and, as a result won't be in a situation to purchase products and administration further using a credit card. High liquidity can assist with getting a handle on various market openings. The most two significant liquidity proportion is present proportion and speedy proportion (Alan Russell, R. Langemeier and C. Briggeman, 2013); (Collis, Holt and Hussey, 2012). Current proportion is otherwise called the working capital position proportion. It shows whether a companys momentary obligation is fit for taking care of its transient liabilities. Higher the proportion better will be the companys position. The perfect proportion is constantly 2:1 for example for 1-rupee obligation there ought to be rupees two as present resource. The present proportion of Tesco for the year 2014 is 13085/20206=0.65, for the year 2013 is 12465/18703=0.67 and for the year 2012 is 12353/19180=0.64. In Tesco Company, the present proportion isn't at all in a decent situation as in all the 3consequtive years the proportion is underneath 1 for example there are insufficient current resources for pay of the present liabilities. The present proportion of Sainsbury for the year 2014 is 1612/4847=0.33, for the year 2013 is 1677/4667=0.36 and for the year 2012 is 1572/4651=0.34. In Sainsbury Company additionally the proportion is really awful rather it is in decreasing pattern. Brisk proportion is otherwise called the Acid Test Ratio. This proportion further reclassifies the liquidity by estimating the fast resources and speedy liabilities. These proportions avoid those things which are hard to transform into money like stock, prepaid cost. The purpose behind the exclusion of stock from the present resource might be that stock can be esteemed in various manners by various firms. Fast proportion is frequently contrasted and current proportion. On the off chance that the fast proportion is relatively higher it demonstrates the reliance on the stock. The brisk proportion of Tesco for the year 2014 is 9509/20206=0.47, for the year 2013 is 8721/18703=0.47 and for the year 2012 is 8755/19180=0.46. If there should arise an occurrence of this proportion likewise the Tesco Company shows an unacceptable picture as this is additionally beneath 1 it suggests the organization needs more money and money identical to take care of its liabilities. The brisk proportion of Sainsbury for the year 2014 is 1612/4847=0.33, for the year 2013 is 1677/4667=0.36 and for the year 2012 is 1572/4651=0.34. One fascinating thing occurred if there should arise an occurrence of Sainsbury in light of the fact that in Balance sheet the organization doesn't have any stock parity so the brisk proportion is same as its present proportion. Proficiency proportions Every exhibition has some norm and when the presentation goes past the standard it is known to be a productive execution. The productivity proportions are the marker of estimating the efficiencies. Receivable assortment period, stock turnover, intrigue inclusion proportion and so on are the ordinarily utilized productivity pointers (Foroughi, 2012). Resource turnover proportion is demonstrating the accessibility of absolute resources based on deals income earned. It additionally uncovers the degree of use of the complete resource into the business. The proportion demonstrates the proficiency of the administration in operational exercises. Higher the proportion better will be the position. The advantage turnover proportion of Tesco for the year 2014 is 50164/63557=1.27, for the year 2013 is 50129/63406=1.26 and for the year 2012 is 50781/64539=1.27. Tesco Company have practically stale turnover proportion among the three time frames. The proportion over 1 shows that the organization can win more than rupee 1 by its business income in the wake of using rupee 1 as resource. The benefit turnover proportion of Sainsbury for the year 2014 is 10485/23949=2.28, for the year 2013 is 10441/23303=2.23 and for the year 2012 is 10342/22294=2.16.The Asset Turnover Rat

Sunday, August 2, 2020

20 Must-Read Short Story Collections by Women in Translation

20 Must-Read Short Story Collections by Women in Translation While looking back at my reading over the last few years, I noticed that many of my favorite books have been short story collections by women in translation. This came as a surprise to me initiallyâ€"I hadn’t realized I had even read that many short story collectionsâ€"but once I began to look these books over again I was struck anew by their brilliance. And so I sought out others to round out a list from around the world that will hopefully bring as much joy to you as the reading and compiling did for me. Because boy was compiling this list of 20 must-read short story collections by women in translation a pleasure! I dipped in and out of these stories with utter amazement, finding something for every mood, whim, and desire. Do you want to laugh? Maybe pick up  An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good or The First Prehistoric Serial Killer. Is it October and you want to be utterly terrified and not sleep for days? There are so many options, from Revenge to Flowers of Mold to The Houseguest. Do you want to read a story so achingly perfect that youll never try to write again? Well, there are more than a few stories like that in these collections, but I would start by flipping to almost any story in The Woman Who Borrowed Memories. The list could go on. I wish you many hours of happy reading! 20 Must-Read Short Story Collections by Women in Translation The Houseguest by Amparo Dávila, translated by Audrey Harris and Matthew Gleeson The horrors of The Houseguest are rarely described on the page. They lurk in the margins. They haunt the shadows. And its this thrilling psychological tension that leaves you gasping for air after each story of desire, paranoia, and isolation.  Carmen Maria Machado writes  that Each of these stories is equal parts Hitchcock film and razor blade: austere, immaculately crafted, profoundly unsettling, and capable of cutting you. Amparo Dávila is Kafka by way of Ogawa, Aira by way of Carrington, Cortazár by way of Somers, and I’m so grateful she’s in translation. And do you really need more than that? Thirteen Months of Sunrise by  Rania Mamoun,  translated by Elisabeth Jaquette In this beautiful debut collection, Sudanese author, journalist, and activist Rania Mamoun crafts a complex and moving portrait of contemporary Sudan. Its a uniquely urban collection as Mamoun reflects on the isolation that can come with urban life, but she also depicts powerful stories of human connection and love. Youll feel these stories deeply in Elizabeth Jaquettes thoughtful translation. The First Prehistoric Serial Killer: And Other Stories  by Teresa Solana, translated by Peter Bush I love this short story collection and don’t think it gets nearly the attention it deserves! It is one of the funniest books, especially if you like dark humor. Very odd things happen in Teresa Solana’s stories. Statues decompose and stink out galleries. Two old grandmothers are vengeful killers. The first prehistoric serial killer is afoot, but so is the first detective. The collection also includes an interesting and fun web of stories that explore the darker side of Barcelona. Clever and effortlessly funny, this collection is a gem. Mouthful of Birds: Stories by Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell Samanta Schweblin, author of the literary sensation  Fever Dream, returns with her first short story collection translated into English. Like  Fever Dream, I was struck by the elusive, almost unsatisfactory nature of the stories. Some are strikingly short. Others are carefully crafted to confound. All leave you wanting more and thinking about them long after. Strange and fantastic, dark and disturbing, the stories in  Mouthful of Birds  are sure to please fans of Schweblin’s uniquely unsettling style. The Woman Who Borrowed Memories: Selected Stories by Tove Jansson, translated by Thomas Teal and Silvester Mazzarella If youve ever read Tove Janssons classic The Summer Book, a novel that distills the essence of the summerâ€"its sunlight and stormsâ€"into twenty-two crystalline vignettes, then you wont be surprised that Janssons short stories are also exquisite. Dealing with many of the same themes as her longer works, her stories touch on art, nature, isolation and so much moreâ€"the various stages between sunlight and storm, the spectrum of shades between light and dark. In her introduction, Lauren Groff writes, We read Tove Jansson to remember that to be human is dangerous, but also breathtaking, beautiful. Aetherial Worlds: Stories by Tatyana Tolstaya, translated by Anya Migdal This fascinating collection from one of Russias most important contemporary writers transcends ordinary realities into dazzling other worlds of folklore and fantasy,  rendered with the emotional insight of Chekhov, the surreal satire of Gogol, and a unique blend of humor and poetry all her own. Rich and clever,  these stories explore  politics, identity, love, and loss in Tolstayas masterful voice. After finishing it, I rushed out to get her collection of essays  Pushkins Children: Writings on Russia and Russians, translated by Jamey Gambrell. The Complete Stories by Clarice Lispector, translated by Katrina Dodson Gathered from the nine collections published during her lifetime,  The Complete Stories captures Clarice Lispector in all of her “darkness and dazzle.” The stories, written during her adolescence all the way up until her death, are inventive and haunting, often about women at various stages of their lives. Some are more traditional than the novels she’s come to be known for, but as a whole the collection is a great way to “get” (or grasp at, at least) a sense of Lispector and her prose. You can dip in and out of these storiesâ€"86 in the hardcover and 89 in the paperback with three newly discovered storiesâ€"but I would recommend picking them up early in your reading of Lispector. Find your way into the other works of Clarice Lispector with this reading pathways post. The Sea Cloak   Other Stories by  Nayrouz Qarmout, translated by Perween Richards Author, journalist, and women’s rights campaigner Nayrouz Qarmout draws from her own experiences growing up in a Syrian refugee camp as well as her current life in Gaza in this collection of stories that looks at what it means to be a woman in Palestine today. Qarmout thoughtfully weaves together stories of conflict and strife with tales of ordinary life, resulting in a deep and moving collection. The Lonesome Bodybuilder by Yukiko Motoya, translated by Asa Yoneda I loved this collection of quirky and wonderful stories. Winner of the Akutagawa Prize and the Kenzaburo Oe Prize, Motoya is a magicianâ€"she takes mundane, daily life and just twists it into these amazingly strange and fantastic tales. In these stories, a newlywed notices that her husband’s features are sneakily sliding around his face to match hers, umbrellas are more than they seem, women are challenging their boyfriends to duels, and you might want to reconsider dating the girl next door. I’d recommend this collection to fans of Hiromi Kawakami. I Am the Brother of XX by Fleur Jaeggy, translated by Gini Alhadeff Once youve read one book by Fleur Jaeggyâ€"an undeniable master of the short formâ€"you wont want to read much else until youve finished all of her work. In these stories, which are so emblematic of her short, piercing style, Jaeggy writes of madness, obsession, and violence and “contrives to somehow stealthily possess your mind with her champagne gothic worlds [that are] seething with quiet violence. Her prose has been compared to shards of glass and cut gems and while I wont add to the descriptions, I will warn you nowâ€"you wont come away from these stories unscathed. An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten, translated by Marlaine Delargy An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good  is dark, funny, and oh so satisfying. Maud is an 88-year-old Swede who has no scruples about solving life’s problems with some lowkey murder. I enjoyed this story collection and have since picked up Helene Tursten’s mystery novels, including the Inspector Irene Huss series and the  first installment in her brand new series featuring Detective Inspector Embla Nyström,  Hunting Game.  An Elderly Lady  is also just such a great packageâ€"the title is fun and clever, the needlepoint cover is hilarious, and the small trim size finishes it off perfectly. Things We Lost in the Fire: Stories by Marianna Enríquez, translated by Megan McDowell I was blown away by this collection of dark, macabre short stories set in contemporary Argentina. They are stories of ghosts, disappearances, violence, inequality, and more, and I promise that you will be haunted by them. My favorites were stories of obsession like “The Dirty Kid” in which a young professional woman discovers that a local child has been killed and mutilated, and “The Neighbor’s Courtyard,” a story of an exâ€"social worker who believes her neighbor has a child chained up in the backyard. The collection is reminiscent of Shirley Jackson and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed Her Body and Other Parties: Stories  by Carmen Maria Machado. Flowers of Mold Other Stories by Ha Seong-Nan, translated by Janet Hong “If you’re looking for a book that will make you gasp out loud, you’ve found it.” So says  Kirkus Reviews  and dozens of other publications and reviewers who can’t stop talking about  Flowers of Mold, myself included. Unnerving, haunting, captivating, these ten stories follow ordinary characters going about their livesâ€"they have a nightmare, lend their neighbor a spatula, or find out their landlord wants to sell their building. But something disturbing lies just below the surface. One small crack and everything’s unleashed. “The latest in the trend of brilliant female Korean authors to appear in English, Ha cuts like a surgeon, and even the most mundane objects become menacing and unfamiliar under her scalpel.” The Complete Stories of Leonora Carrington by Leonora Carrington, translated by Kathrine Talbot and Anthony Kerrigan For the first time, all of surrealist artist and writer Leonora Carringtons short stories have been collected in one definitive volume, many of which are translated from French and Spanish. The result is a fiercely intelligent and fantastical collection. The stories themselves are pure flights of imagination, ranging from biting satire to the macabre, and even some outrageously comedic tales. A strange and surreal treat! Arid Dreams: Stories  By Duanwad Pimwana, translated by Mui Poopoksakul Duanwad Pimwana, an important literary figure in contemporary Thai literature, hit the U.S. literary scene by storm last April with two new books, both translated by Mui Poopoksakul. Bright, published by Two Lines Press, was the first-ever novel by a Thai woman to appear in translation. And Pimwana made her short story English debut with Arid Dreams, published by Feminist Press. In Arid Dreams,  Pimwana turns her keen eye and sharp wit on modern Thailand, as she explores issues of class and gender in insightful and subtly subversive stories. Revenge: Eleven Dark Tales by Yoko Ogawa, translated by Stephen Snyder I’m in awe of Yoko Ogawaâ€"shes published more than 20 works of fiction and nonfiction and has won every major Japanese literary award. Her range is incredible, from books like this dark collection to her touching novel The Housekeeper and the Professor  and her latest The Memory Police, her take on an  Orwellian novel of state surveillance. Revenge is an intricately interwoven collection of stories about grief, death, and yes, revenge, where each story stands alone but also connects in surprising ways to its fellows. This layered effect coupled with the subtle calm of Ogawas prose makes the disturbing elements of these stories feel even more chilling. Forgotten Journey by Silvina Ocampo, translated by Suzanne Jill Levine and Katie Lateef-Jan Silvina Ocampo is one of our best writers. Her stories have no equal in our literature, wrote Jorge Luis Borges. Now for the first time in English translation, readers can delight in all of the strange brilliance that is Silvina Ocampos first collection of stories, Forgotten Journey. Published alongside her novella The Promise, this collection is primarily concerned with the lives of young women and girls. Often menacing and strange, each story has a thrill to it, a dark joy that keeps you fixed to the collection. In her foreword, Carmen Boullosa writes of the often cited comparison between Ocampo and Julio Cortázar but argues instead that, While in his fabulous stories Cortázar discovered the unreal in everyday life, Silvina enters real, detailed, intimate spaces, which she observes with an eye that is intimate, real and detailed, and yet an eye from another world. Toddler Hunting And Other Stories  by Taeko Kono, translated by Lucy North Kenzaburo Oe calls Taeko Kono “the most carnally direct and the most lucidly intelligent woman writing in Japan” and its hard to disagree after reading the unsettling and striking stories in Toddler Hunting. Pleasure and pain mix in the lives of the women of Taeko Konos stories, as scenes  of sadomasochism and obsession veil her sharp attacks at the ideals of motherhood and femininity. Love in a Fallen City by Eileen Chang, translated by Karen S. Kingsbury Eileen Chang is one of the great writers of twentieth century China, and her first collection in English, Love in a Fallen City, introduced many readers to her incredible short stories. In this collection, written when Chang was still in her 20s, the stories swirl around themes of love, loss, and family, combining an unsettled, probing, utterly contemporary sensibility, keenly alert to sexual politics and psychological ambiguity, with an intense lyricism that echoes the classics of Chinese literature. A Nail, A Rose by Madeleine Bourdouxhe, translated by Faith Evans Neglected for decades, interest in Belgian author Madeleine Bourdouxhes work has seen a resurgence and Im so thrilled to have been introduced to her work through this collection. Praised by Simone de Beauvoir in The Second Sex and close friends with Russian revolutionary writer Victor Serge, Bourdouxhe was a fascinating feminist writer.  Like her critically acclaimed novels Marie and La Femme de Giles, her short stories tell the inner lives of ordinary, primarily working class, women in elegant and vivid prose. And I so appreciated the wealth of detail in translator Faith Evanss introduction. For more great reads by women in translation, check out this list of 50 Must-Read Books by Women in Translation.