Novels
The Clerk
“To what depths is a man willing to go to hold on to a dream?”
Translation of Guillermo Saccomanno’s El oficinista
Open Letter, 2020
Andrea interviews author Guillermo Saccomanno in Southwest Review of his newest English-language translation, The Clerk.
To read more about The Clerk, or to purchase, please click here.
Featured in SouthWest Magazine as One of the 10 Must-Read Books of 2020!
Daughter
“Daughter is, without a doubt, one of the best novels by the best contemporary Argentine writers.”
Translation of Ana María Shua’s Hija
(Literal Press, 2020)
Read a review of Ana María Shua’s Daughter in Andrea’s English translation.
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“Cynical and funny: a yarn worthy of a place alongside Cortázar and Donoso.” -Kirkus Reviews
Published by Open Letter, 2019
Finalist, Best Book Award, The Millions magazine
Lew Whittington’s review in The New York Journal of Books
George Henson’s review in World Literature Today
Ross Nervig’s review in Southwest Review
Gesell Dome
Excerpts from Guillermo Saccomanno’s Gesell Dome
JewishFiction.net, No. 18, Summer 2016
HEAR WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING ABOUT GESELL DOME:
“Cynical and funny: a yarn worthy of a place alongside Cortázar and Donoso.”
-Kirkus Reviews
“Like Twin Peaks reimagined by Roberto Bolaño, Gesell Dome is a teeming microcosm in which voices combine into a rich, engrossing symphony of human depravity.”
– Publisher’s Weekly
“(A) bizarro Robert Altman film in book form: hundreds of characters and storylines that paint a portrait of a community, but with events far stranger than anything Altman created (…) Fans of straightforward narratives aren’t the target audience. And because of the novel’s repetitive elements — there’s a lot of adultery, bigotry and murder here — the tension sometimes sags, especially in the book’s midsection. But if you enjoy lyrical depictions of iniquity and a sprinkling of philosophy mixed in with your noir fiction, then you’ll like Gesell Dome.”
– Michael Magras, San Francisco Chronicle
“Through a skillful weaving of characters and plotlines, coming together like a completed puzzle, Saccomanno has crafted a monumental novel where individual stories unnerve us while building to the unexpected and explosive finale.”―El Mundo
Winner of the 2013 Dashiell Hammett Prize
Recipient of a PEN/Heim Translation Fund Award
To read a full-length review of Gesell Dome, click HERE
The End of the Story
Translation of Liliana Heker’s El fin de la historia
Biblioasis International Translation Series, 2012
The Weight of Temptation
Translation of Ana María Shua’s El peso de la tentación
University of Nebraska Press, 2012
Death as a Side Effect
Translation of Ana María Shua’s La muerte como efecto secundario
University of Nebraska Press, 2010
The Island of Eternal Love
Translation of Daína Chaviano’s La isla de los amores infinitos
New York: Riverhead/Penguin: New York, 2008
The Rainforest
Translation of Alicia Steimberg’s La selva
University of Nebraska Press, 2006
Finalist, PEN USA Competition, 2007
Reviews for The Rainforest
Labinger’s melodic translation lyrically enhances Steimberg’s potently symbolic portrait of a woman in transition.” –Booklist
“From Argentine novelist Steimberg . . . comes a poetically written and beautifully translated perspective on personal happiness, solace, and mature love.” –Library Journal
“Steimberg’s eloquent and engrossing tale flows smoothly. . . . Steimberg has created an unforgettable protagonist who captures the sympathies of the reader as she attempts to overcome the tragedies of her life.”–Roberta Gordenstein, MultiCultural Review
“Steimberg’s prose is extraordinary: by turns earthy and ethereal, it is always compelling.” –Tower Light (Towson, MD)
An Empty House
Translation of Carlos Cerda’s Una casa vacía
Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, Fall 2003
The Tenth Circle
Translation of Mempo Giardinelli’s El décimo infierno
Pittsburgh: Latin American Literary Review Press, 2001
Call Me Magdalena
Translation of Alicia Steimberg’s Cuando digo Magdalena
Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, Fall 2001
Finalist in the PEN USA Literary Competition, 2002
Reviews for Call Me Magdalena
“Labinger’s thoughtful, fluid translation . . . makes available to an English-speaking audience the most important work within the Argentinian author’s fictional oeuvre.” –Shelley Godsland, Bulletin of Hispanic Studies
Clara
Translation of Luisa Valenzuela’s Hay que sonreír.
Pittsburgh: Latin American Literary Review Press, 2000
Reviews for Clara
“This crisp translation of the first major novel of Argentine writer [Luisa] Valenzuela . . . is raw, sensuous and stylish as a tango.” -Publishers Weekly
“Labinger’s style is agile, savvy and non-intrusive, yet she doesn’t make the reader forget that Valenzuela comes from a reality different [from] ours. It is in large measure thanks to her presence as a translator that this reissued novel, long buried in the stacks, comes alive again so magically.” -Ilan Stavans, Newsday
To Die in Berlin
Translation of Carlos Cerda’s Morir en Berlín
Pittsburgh: Latin American Literary Review Press, 1999
Reviews for To Die in Berlin
“…Andrea Labinger’s translation is admirably true to the haunting language of the Spanish original.” -Idra Rosenberg, Barnard College
Bubbeh
Translation of Sabina Berman’s La bobe
Pittsburgh: Latin American Literary Review Press, 1998
Reviews for Bubbeh
“Andrea Labinger’s rendering of the novel sparkles like the gem in the bubbeh’s molar. Her prose preserves the freshness and immediacy of the young narrator. The translation successfully suggests the personal quirks of many different speakers and rettains the humor of Berman’s novel.” -Lois Barr, Lake Forest College
Musicians and Watchmakers
Translation of Alicia Steimberg’s Músicos y relojeros
Pittsburgh: Latin American Literary Review Press, 1998
Short Stories in Anthologies and Journals
Haute Couture
The story “Haute Couture” …
Translation of G. Saccommano’s “Alta costura“
Jewishfiction.net, 10th anniversary issue, No. 25, September 2021
Read an excerpt here
Family Matters
“Family Matters” (“Asuntos de familia”), excerpt from Varda Fiszbein’s Asuntos de familia, at JewishFiction.net
Translation of Varda Fiszbein’s Asuntos de familia
JewishFiction.net, No. 19, September 2017
Murder of a Different Stripe
Excerpt from Alicia Plante’s Murder of a Different Stripe (Una mancha más)
Catamaran, Vol. 4, No. 4, Winter 2016
Eni Furtado Has Never Stopped Running
Translation of Alicia Kozameh’s Eni Furtado Has Never Stopped Running
Two Lines, No. 25, Winter 2016
Meet the Author
Translation of Ana María Shua’s “Ha llegado un escritor”
Catamaran Literary Reader, Vol. 2, No. 2, February 2014
A Few Days at the Beach
Translation of Ana María Shua’s “Unos días en la playa”
Spolia Magazine, No. 6, Winter 2013
Far from Home
Translation of Varda Fiszbein’s “Lejos de casa”
JewishFiction.net, No. 11, September 2013
Travel Fatigue
Translation of Liliana Heker’s “Maniobras contra el sueño”
Catamaran Literary Reader, Vol.1, No. 2, February 2013
Short Stories in Anthologies and Journals (Archived)
For more Short Stories in Anthologies and Journals from the archives, click here.
Novellas and Short Story Collections
The Sanctuary
Treading the line between crime thriller, detective story, and horror novel, The Sanctuary is a chilling portrayal of an upside down world, where evil is the norm and spaces once considered safe havens hold unimaginable terror.
When their car breaks down outside of the small Argentinian village of Los Huemules, indie filmmaker Álvaro and his wife, muse, and lead actress Alicia consider it a minor inconvenience. Seeking shelter in the town’s lone motel, they settle in for a night of decadent fun, but after Alicia disappears without a trace the following morning, Álvaro embarks on an increasingly desperate quest to find her. Armed only with a video camera and with a growing sense of dread, Álvaro begins gradually uncovering the town’s many dark secrets, with each revelation being more horrific than the last. “Comparable to a David Lynch nightmare.”
Schaffner Press Inc., October 2023
Read the feature in the New York Times Sunday book review here!
Read more about the book, its author and translator here.
The Guest
Click here to listen to Linda Jiménez Glassman’s interview with anthologist Nora Gold on Radio Sefarad. Nora discusses, among other topics, Andrea’s translation of writer Varda Fiszbein’s magical short story, “The Guest.”
It is the first anthology of translated multilingual Jewish fiction in twenty-five years, and it has already received glowing advance reviews from Publishers Weekly, Cynthia Ozick, Dara Horn, and Josh Henkin, among others. The anthology features one of Andrea’s translations: Varda Fiszbein’s Passover story, “The Guest.” Click here to peruse and order.
Academic Studies Press, October 17, 2023
Man of America/Hombre de las Américas.
Translation Gustavo Gac-Artigas’ Man of America/Hombre de las Américas.
Colección Museo Salvaje, June 2022.
To learn more, click here
The Virus of Death
How did a Chilean playwright and poet ride out the darkest days of the pandemic? Read my translation of “The Virus of Death”
Translation of Gustavo’s El virus de la muerte
Viceversa Magazine, October 10, 2021
Waiting for the Revolution
Gustavo Gac-Artigas takes us on a journey, this time to present-day Havana, and muses on how it’s changed from the Cuba of his memory.
Translation of Gustavo’s Esperando la revolución
Observatorio, Vol. 2 (2020-2021), a publication of the Instituto Cervantes at Harvard University
To read an excerpt click here
The Madwoman Down the Hall
If you’re in a noir mood – and who isn’t these days? – here’s my translation of Guillermo Saccomanno’s short story “The Madwoman Down the Hall” ( “La loca del fondo”) that’ll make you wonder if you should buy a Mother’s Day card this year.
Translation of a short story by Guillermo Saccomanno
Southwest Review, Vol. 106, No. 1, Spring 2021
To learn more about The Madwoman Down the Hall and to order a copy, please click here
Proceed with Caution: A Novella and Stories
“…an intriguing introduction to Ratto’s unusual fiction.” – Terry Hong
Translation of prose fiction by Patricia Ratto
Schaffner Press, 2021
Reviews
In the tradition of surrealist masters Julio Cortázar and Leonora Carrington, and joining contemporaries Guadalupe Nettel (Bezoar & Other Unsettling Stories) and Samanta Schweblin (Mouthful of Birds), Argentine writer Patricia Ratto’s English language debut collection, Proceed with Caution, offers an alternate reality that is both mysterious and familiar . . . Translated from the Spanish by PEN/Heim award-winner Andrea G. Labinger, Proceed With Caution is a striking collection, brimming with emotion, animal instinct, and a sense of wonder that announces the arrival of a compelling new voice in Latin American literature. – Goodreads
To learn more about Proceed with Caution and to order a copy, please click here.
Friends of Mine
Translation of Ángela Pradelli’s Amigas mías
Latin American Literary Review/Press, 2012
The Confidantes
“Casablanca,” in Casablanca and Other Stories
Co-translated with Donald and Joanne Yates
Michigan State University Press: Fall 2006
Reviews for Casablanca
“These brilliant and haunting stories, superbly translated…will introduce American readers to a contemporary Argentine fiction writer of startling power and subtlety, a writer whose stories it is no overstatement to mention in the same breath with those of Poe and Borges. Prospective readers of this book have a real treat in store.” –John T. Irwin, Decker Professor in the Humanities, Johns Hopkins University
“For the first time in English, the Argentine labyrinths of Edgar Brau…For an Argentine writer, the influence of Borges must be hard to resist, and many of the pages in Casablanca call to mind the epistemological vertigo, that mix of the real and fantastic, so characteristic of the older master. Brau’s stories, though, don’t feel like imitations so much as further explorations of the same geography of the imagination. Most of them are quite haunting.” -Michael Dirda, Washington Post Book World
Finalist, PEN USA Competition, 2007
Poetry
Deseos/Longings/J’Aimerais Tant
“. . . con ecos de Mistral, Vallejo y Neruda, Gustavo Gac-Artigas, poeta y escritor chileno, nos entrega esta colección trilingüe de veintinueve poemas.” – David Unger
Translation of poetry by Gustavo Gac-Artigas in collaboration with Priscilla Gac-Artigas and Ada Mondès
Ediciones Nuevo Espacio, 2020
To order click here.
Non-Fiction
Borges and Mathematics
Translation of Guillermo Martínez’s Borges y la matemática
Purdue University Press, 2012