(Harpervia)

The takhi, a Mongolian wild horse, also known as Przewalski’s horse, is the common bond that ties together the human beings who form the emotional core of this novel. Beginning in the 1880s, when a German explorer and a Russian zookeeper journeyed to Mongolia to find the fabled horse, to when a German veterinarian in the 1990s returned the almost-extinct animals to the country of its origin in a bid to rebuild the species, to Norway in the 2060s where generations of one family created a safe haven for the creatures in crisis as a result of the changing climate, including a few of the takhis. Horses are honest, they don’t lie or betray you, you know what you will get, and for that reason, these people in particular are drawn to them and invested in their survival. This book, winner of the Norwegian Booksellers’ Prize, Lunde’s books have been translated into 36 languages; their universal appeal is the connection she is able to illustrate in the people that populate her writing, most especially in this rich, rewarding novel that entwines past, present and future in three remarkable narratives.

— Reviewed by Jenny Lyons. Connect with her on Instagram @jennysbookshop to find more great book reviews and recommendations. Look for these titles and more at your local bookstore.

10 Must-Read Books in Translation

Title, author (translator)

Tokyo Ueno Station, by Yu Miri (Morgan Giles)

Winter in Sokcho, by Elisa Shua Dusapin (Aneesa Abbas Higgins)

The Books of Jacob, by Olga Tokarczuk (Jennifer Croft)

Jawbone, by Mónica Ojeda (Sarah Booker)

In the Eye of the Wild, by Nastassja Martin, (Sophie R. Lewis)

When I Sing, Mountains Dance, by Irene Solà (Mara Faye Lethem)

Portrait of an Unknown Lady, by Maria Gainza (Thomas Bunstead)

Bitter Orange Tree, by Jokha Alharthi (Marilyn Booth)

Extreme North, by Bernd Brunner, (Jefferson Chase)

In the Company of Men, by Véronique Tadjo (John Cullen)