Texts

I very much prefer that you have physical copies of the texts. I believe that you read better when you read on paper, rather than on screen.

I will be ordering copies of the texts that should be available at the UBC bookstore. But you may prefer to order them from Pulp Fiction, “Vancouver’s legendary independent bookstore,” which is often able to offer them at a lower price, though they sometimes need up to two weeks to get the books in. (Below, I will indicate the Pulp Fiction price and current availability.)

Note that if you are enrolled in RMST 495, then you do not have to read all the books. See Assessment (RMST 495).

I am providing also a page count, which will give you a rough sense of the relative length of each novel. I cannot verify that these page counts are completely accurate, and of course they do not account for things such as font size or words per page, nor in practice how much time it will take you to read each text. But this may be a factor as you choose which books you will be reading.

Buying physical copies of the texts is an important investment on your part. At the same time, I am aware that your wallets are not infinitely elastic. As such, I have tried to choose texts that I have managed to find in PDF versions, which I am making available below.

I cannot guarantee that these PDF versions are 100% complete and accurate. If you find pages are missing and/or blank, do tell me, and I will try to upload scans of what is lacking.

  • Di Pietrantonio, Donatella. A Girl Returned. Trans. Ann Goldstein. London: Europa, 2019. (170 pp.) goodreads [$24.95 from Pulp Fiction; two to three business days to order]
  • Ernaux, Annie. The Possession. Trans. Anna Moschovakis. New York: Seven Stories, 2008. (62 pp.) goodreads [$15.95 from Pulp Fiction; two to three weeks to order]
  • Ferrante, Elena. The Days of Abandonment. Trans. Ann Goldstein. London: Europa, 2005. (192 pp.) goodreads [$29.50 from Pulp Fiction; ten days to order, but supplies are low at the distributor]
  • Lisboa, Adriana. Symphony in White. Trans. Sarah Green. Lubbock: Texas Tech Press, 2010. (192 pp.) goodreads [not available from Pulp Fiction]
  • Luiselli, Valeria. The Story of My Teeth. Trans. Christina MacSweeney. Minneapolis: Coffee House, 2015. (195 pp.) goodreads [$26.50 from Pulp Fiction; about four weeks to order]
  • Pereira de Almeida, Djaimilia. That Hair. Trans. Eric M. B. Becker. Portland, OR: Tin House, 2020. (148 pp.) goodreads [$21.95 from Pulp Fiction; two to three weeks to order, but stocks are low at the supplier]
  • Schweblin, Samanta. Little Eyes. Trans. Megan McDowell. London: Oneworld, 2020. (241 pp.) goodreads [$24.95 from Pulp Fiction; two to three weeks to order]
  • Serrano, Beatriz. Discontent. Trans. Mara Faye Lethem. 2025. (177 pp.) goodreads [$23.00 from Pulp Fiction; two weeks to order]
  • Slimani, Leïla. Lullaby. Trans. Sam Taylor. London: Faber and Faber, 2018. (207 pp.) goodreads [$24.95 from Pulp Fiction under the alternative title, The Perfect Nanny; two weeks to order]
  • Solà, Irene. When I Sing, Mountains Dance. Trans. Mara Faye Lethem. London: Granta, 2022. (198 pp.) goodreads [$23.00 from Pulp Fiction; two to three business days to order]
  • Sosa Villada, Camila. Bad Girls. Trans. Kit Maude. New York: Other Press, 2022. (192 pp.) goodreads [$22.99 from Pulp Fiction; roughly two weeks to order]
  • Thúy, Kim. Ru. Trans. Sheila Fischman. Toronto: Random House Canada, 2012. (160 pp.) goodreads [$22.00 from Pulp Fiction; two weeks to order, but stocks are low at the supplier]

Free Choice Option: If you choose to read more than four texts then, if you want, you may substitute one of the texts listed above for a book of your own choosing. It must, however, fit all the following conditions: 1) It must be a novel; 2) It must be originally written in a Romance language; 3) It must be written by a woman (for our purposes, this includes trans women); 4) It must be first published in the twenty-first century; 5) It must be a book you have not read previously; 6) You must have your choice approved by the course instructor.

Here are some examples of possible texts (many of which I considered including in this course) that you may want to choose:

  • Baltasar, Eva. Permafrost (Catalonia, 2018)
  • Bracher, Beatriz. I Didn’t Talk. (Brazil, 2004)
  • Danticat, Edwidge. Claire of the Sea Light. (Haiti, 2013)*
  • Despentes, Virginie. Dear Dickhead. (France, 2022)
  • de Vigan, Delphine. Based on a True Story. (France, 2015)
  • Fontaine, Naomi. Manikanetish. (Canada, 2017)
  • Garréta, Anne. In Concrete. (France, 2017)
  • Laurens, Camille. Who You Think I Am. (France, 2016)
  • Mesa, Sara. Un amor. (Spain, 2020)
  • NDiaye, Marie. Three Strong Women. (France, 2009)
  • Ojeda, Mónica. Jawbone. (Ecuador, 2018)
  • Parrella, Valeria. Almarina. (Italy, 2019)
  • Pârvulescu, Ioana. Life Begins on Friday. (Romania, 2009)
  • Portero, Alana. Bad Habit (Spain, 2023)
  • Sanz, Marta. My Clavicle and Other Massive Mis-alignments. (Spain, 2025)

*Danticat’s book is in fact originally written in English, but I would allow it as she is writing in a Romance language tradition.