Voices under the Sun 陽光下的聲音

One of my new year’s resolutions for 2016 is to read more and write more book reviews. Indeed, I have increasingly found a 30-minute reading before sleep to be pleasant and relaxing. It is also thought-provoking. While brainstorming is not necessarily a good thing for a brain that is desperately in need of some rest (particularly at one or two o’clock in the morning), I find it quite a joy, in that twilight area between consciousness and oblivion, to reflect on new story ideas, characters and plots.

So, it is a delight to have found the Australian Women Writers Challenge Blog, where good Australian writers and writings are recommended and excellent reviews shared. I am a firm believer in book reviews, as they often reveal more about the reviewers themselves than the authors whose books are reviewed. Reviews are two-way mirrors where reviewers see into the minds of authors while their own preferences and adventures in literature are exposed.

I decided to participate in the Australian Women Writers Challenge 2016 for two reasons. The first is to share my own reviews of some of the Australian women writers I have translated. As a translator, it is not my job to make comments. But some of these authors and their stories have touched me so deeply that I, as a reader and fellow writer, need to find a way to release the joy that has been accumulating in my heart.

There is another, and more important, reason for participating in the Australian Women Writers Challenge. It is simply a good thing to do, not just for writers who are female and/or based in Australia, but for writers of diverse backgrounds. Diversity is a fact that deserves worldwide recognition, and we as reviewers can do more to help promoting it. Knowing that someone, somewhere, is passionate about reading diversity can be quite encouraging for all that are involved in books. It may inspire readers to pick up something they do not normally try, writers to explore and experiment a myriad of ways to express diversity in their writing, and even publishers to discover and promote new authors of diverse backgrounds.

In short, it is better late than never to join in a valuable literary activity like this. I have set a goal to read and review 10 books by Australian women writers this year. Reviews are coming.