10 of The Best New Books in Translation Out Spring 2023

“Hampir, the Indonesian for almost, only a letter away from vampir — the bloodsucking demon. What does it mean to be happy? Also, what does it mean to be almost happy?…So, in a world where we celebrate disneyified heterosexualities, for queer folks what is happiness? Often, it becomes the bloodsucking demon, the vampir, the hampir.” I’ve been eagerly anticipating this collection since it was longlisted for the International Booker Prize, and now its finally coming out in the U.S. Norman Erikson Pasaribu is a queer Indonesian Toba Batak writer, and in his debut short story collection he asks what it means to be almost happy, exploring loneliness and melancholy. The emotions the stories brought out in me often caught in my throat, torn between sadness and the collection’s clever use of humor — the phrase “laughing to keep from crying” comes to mind. The stories and the thoughtful conversation between the author and translator included in the book have me longing for more from this pair.