World Editions Read the World A to Z Series Books. Which novels are appearing in the Read the World A to Z book series? Who is the author of the book? Where is the writer from, and what is the subject of the book?
World Editions Read the World A to Z Series Books
For some time now, World Editions has been publishing the Read the World A to Z Series. It is a highly curated selection of world literature. All titles published as part of the series are written by contemporary, influential authors and reflect social and cultural realities of their countries of origin. The emphasis is on works that portray modern society, give insight into current developments in culture and have shaped or continue to shape public discourse.
Which novels are published in the World Editions Read the World A to Z Series?
Links point to detailed information about the novels’s content, the author, reviews, and ordering options. The books are arranged by publishing date.
Maryse Condé (Guadeloupe, France) – The Gospel According to the New World
To be published: August 3, 2027
One Easter Sunday, Madame Ballandra puts her hands together and exclaims: “A miracle!” Baby Pascal is strikingly beautiful, brown in complexion, with gray-green eyes like the sea. But where does he come from? Is he really the child of God? So goes the rumor, and many signs throughout his life will cause this theory to gain ground. From journey to journey and from one community to another, Pascal sets off in search of his origins, trying to understand the meaning of his mission. Will he be able to change the fate of humanity? And what will the New World Gospel reveal? For all its beauty, vivacity, humor, and power, Maryse Condé’s latest novel is above all a work of combat. Lucid and full of conviction, Condé attests that solidarity and love remain our most extraordinary and lifesaving forces.
Natalia García Freire (Ecuador) – A Carnival of Atrocities
To be published: June 1, 2027
Cocuán, a desolate town nestled between the hot jungle and the frigid Andes, is about to slip away from memory. This is where Mildred was born, and where everything she had—her animals, her home, her lands—was taken from her after her mother’s death. Years later, a series of strange events, disappearances, and outbursts of collective delirium will force its residents to reckon with the legend of old Mildred. Once again, they will feel the shadow of death that has hung over the town ever since she was wronged. The voices of nine characters—Mildred, Ezequiel, Agustina, Manzi, Carmen, Víctor, Baltasar, Hermosina, and Filatelio—tell us of the past and present of that doomed place and Mildred’s fate. Natalia García Freire’s vivid language blurs the lines between dreams and reality and transports the reader to the hypnotic Andean universe of Ecuador.
Stine Pilgaard (Denmark) – The Land of Short Sentences
To be published: April 7, 2027
A young woman relocates to an outlying community in West Jutland, Denmark, and is forced to find her way, not only in the bewildering environment of the residential Folk High School where her partner has been hired to teach, but also in the inscrutable conversational forms of the local population. And on top of it all, there’s the small matter of juggling her roles as mother to a newborn baby and advice columnist in the local newspaper. In this understated and hilarious novel, Stine Pilgaard conjures a tale of venturing into new and uncharted land, of human relationships, dilemmas, and the ways and byways of social intercourse.
Kristien Hemmerechts (Belgium) – The Woman Who Fed the Dogs
To be published: October 6, 2026
Odette sits in her prison cell preparing for imminent release, laboring through the memories of her former life. Obsessive and reflective, yet crucially lacking in remorse, Odette’s testimony is a tricky script to untangle. Based on the real-life events of Michelle Martin, ex-wife of the notorious child abductor, murderer, and serial rapist, Marc Dutroux, this is a powerful and intelligent fictionalized account of the inner workings of Michelle Martin’s mind before, during, and after the crimes that shook a nation in the 1990s.
Mariana Travacio (Argentina) – All That Dies in April
To be published: October 6, 2026
Set in a stark landscape of cliffs and precipices high above the Argentine pampas, Mariana Travacio’s All That Dies in April follows the members of one small family as each makes a solitary journey out of their treacherous mountain home in search of a better life. Lina has dreamt for years of leaving her tiny village in the drought-stricken region. Her son left long ago to find work and a better fortune. Relicario, her husband, is content to stay put in the land of his ancestors, tending to their graves. Ignoring Relicario’s pleas, a desperate Lina decides to abandon their home in search of her son, work, and water. She starts her journey on foot, and Relicario eventually follows behind, bringing a donkey and a sack with his ancestors’ bones. Both witness unspeakable violence, cruelty, and folly, but the hope of reuniting their family keeps them alive. Poetically charged, restrained, and delicately condensed, this is a suspenseful ancestral tale rooted in a long Latin American history of rural displacement and perpetual inequality.
Zhang Yeran (China) – Cocoon
To be published: October 6, 2026
Cheng Gong and Li Jiaqi go way back. Both hailing from dysfunctional families, they grew up together in a Chinese provincial capital in the 1980s. Now, many years later, the childhood friends reunite and discover how much they still have in common. Both have always been determined to follow the tracks of their grandparents’ generation to the heart of a mystery that perhaps should have stayed buried. What exactly happened during that rainy night in 1967, in the abandoned water tower? Zhang Yueran’s layered and hypnotic prose reveals much about the unshakable power of friendship and the existence of hope. Hers is a unique fresh voice representing a new generation of important young writers from China, shedding a different light on the country’s recent past.
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