I read extensively in my first language for personal and professional reasons. In the summer of 2019, I noticed that the selection of Italian novels translated into English was not broad. I had my findings confirmed by the words of Jhumpa Lahiri, the Pulitzer-winning writer, who fell in love with Italy and started to write in Italian and about Italian culture: “I was struck by how many translations were either out of print or outdated, difficult to track down, and I was even more struck by the many great Italian authors who had scarcely been translated at all”.
Having a passion for books and politics, I decided to investigate this and other literary matters with Cate Simmons.
Cate is one of the wonderful people who run News from Nowhere, a radical and independent bookshop well-known here in Liverpool. I have always assumed the name was from the William Morris’ novel.
“Yes, it is. Bob Dent started the shop in 1974, down in Whitechapel, and he picked the name. He must have been a fan of the book, which is about utopias and socialism, so it very much fitted with our bookshop. It sticks in people’s mind, and we always have the book on our shelves. Bob started the shop, with just a couple of staff. We currently have a team of 7 staff who happen to be all women, but whenever we advertise for new positions, anyone is welcome to apply, and everyone is considered.”
Cate’s history with books began before News from Nowhere.
“I started here in 2002, and before I was at Waterstone’s in Birkenhead. I knew NfN as a customer and loved it, I thought that ethically it fitted more with my politics. So, one day I just took a chance, I rang and asked if they had a vacancy, and, pure luck, one of the members of staff was going on maternity leave. I am pleased to say that this is a job in which people tend to stay for a number of years, even longer than I have. Mandy, who is about to retire, has been working here since 1974. It feels like a family, everyone is well respected, even when we have our disagreements.”
The shop defines itself as ‘radical’, which is not surprising in Liverpool, but does not allow this to limit its appeal.
“We are not only a socialist bookshop, we cover many aspects under the umbrella of ‘world change,’ so people come for all different reasons, such as climate change, Marxism or Feminism. We work with many local activist groups, we advertise demos and marches, but we also have people who come in because they want a really good novel. We work with schools, who come to us for issues like anti-racism, refugees, inclusivity and diversity. We can find books that are not available on Amazon, for instance.”
Cate explained how a small, independent bookshop will always face challenges.
“There is always competition from big firms because we cannot afford to discount the way that they do. But people really want to support independent bookshops, for ethical reasons as well as the very different experience of talking to booksellers. You find things in a bookshop that you might not have known existed.
“We do not have a manager, so we do everything, from the bins to accounts. We also own the building, so we deal with builders or workmen when something breaks. And we look after our tenants. In our basement there is a social centre which is used by different activists, the John Moore’s Foundation have an office at the first floor, as does a local magazine called Nerve that specialises in politics. Liverpool Pride as well, recently. At the second floor a Methodist church runs a bread-making workshop, meant for anybody – you do not need to be religious. The third floor is a flat. So yes, work is challenging, but lovely and extremely rewarding.
“It is non-profit, so we do not make any money, if we do, we buy more books for the shelves, and we all share the same jobs. And we manage to pay everybody.”
So, the rewards far outweigh these challenges.
“For someone like me, the best aspect is being surrounded by books. I loved books from a very young age, I grew up in a household full of them. It is a similar experience for my colleagues, some are more readers, others more into politics, so we are all here because we love literature or the ethos of the place. We are a cooperative: everyone gets to make decisions, we all choose what books we should stock, which is so different than working in hierarchical organisations. I also love the range of people you get to talk to and engage with, a huge range from all walks of life. It is fantastic, a real joy.”
The lockdown meant more reading but more online purchases. A huge change for the bookshop.
“We were quite worried in March 2020, when we were into the unknown; before then we never had to close the shop for a long period of time. Nearly half of our staff had to be furloughed for health reasons or because of caring responsibilities. Four or us continued working with mail orders and we developed the website: it was not really planned, but it was a big, unexpected success. We were really busy: many people contacted for books, but also to check that we were ok. I have spoken to several other booksellers in the same situation: people really wanted to make sure that we survived, which was wonderful.
Then after the tragic events of last summer wewere inundated with people requesting books on racism, Black America, Black Britain, wanting to know also what they could do and how they could educate themselves, which was amazing. It was very moving.”
So, to go back to the point I made earlier, what about Italian literature?
“We do get asked for some Italian books, and we do have some, but books in translation do not get picked in the same way. However, Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend is now so popular that people are starting to look for more Italian books, or even more world literature books, which is good. But yes, there is little available.
“About two years ago I read Ocean-Sea by Alessandro Baricco. It is a philosophical piece about five people who all arrive at an inn by the sea and all intersect in many ways, but it does not become clear until the end. It is a beautiful, poetic book about the healing power and the wilderness of the sea. I absolutely loved it.
“You will find big names in world literature who are popular, like Isabelle Allende or Haruki Murakami. I like a series called ‘Reading the City’, by Comma Press. Each volume is a selection of ten short stories that depict the social, historical or political essence of a city, for instance Jakarta or Shanghai, but also our Liverpool. It is a very good way for people to taste the literature originated in a specific culture so to step outside of their comfort zone and try new things and know new cultures.”
Cate’s Recommended Reads
I am going to start with 10 minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak. I read it last year, and it is now one of my favourite books ever. It is about a woman prostitute who is murdered at the start of the book, and in the first part of the novel – 10 minutes and 38 seconds – she remembers aspects of her life as she dies, and it is an amazing and colourful life. Later in the book her friends dig her up to give her a proper burial, on the run from the police. It is absolutely beautiful, there is a lot in it, from its settings in Istanbul to the position of women in the Turkish society, explored in a feminist perspective. It is very moving, but also rich and life-affirming, she is an amazing main character.
The second book that I have chosen is The Night Tiger by Malaysian writer Yangsze Choo, who I did not know before. I must confess that I picked the book from its cover! I can confirm that many pick books from their cover, it works with our customers as well! Some are really appealing, there is so much competition for your attention. But on the book: it is an historical murder mystery set in 1930s Malaysia that connects a young woman who works in a dance hall with a young Chinese boy who works as a servant for a white man. It intertwines elements of Malaysian and Chinese mythology and superstition, delving in an out of the world of ghosts and dreams. The two characters become connected because of a murder, and they have to try and figure out what happened.
The next book that I have chosen, also written by a woman, is The Girl with the Louding Voice by Nigerian author Abi Daré, which is the story of a young woman in Nigeria who decides to run away from an organised marriage and to live her own life. Throughout the book she fights for her rights to get out of poverty and to get an education. She is absolutely fantastic, a wonderfully inspiring heroine. The book is a fantastic read, with a lovely, uplifting ending. I knew little about Nigeria, so it was an eye-opening for me.
A book that is not a new one, it came out in 1989 and was translated into English in 2000, but it is one of my favourites ever: Asleep by Japanese writer Banana Yoshimoto, whose work I love, she is such an elegant writer. This particular book is a collection of three short stories around the theme of sleeping, each focused on a woman. The style is not descriptive, but very poetic, the stories are haunting and a bit melancholic, but ultimately very uplifting as well.