This month, Emily Wilson’s translation of The Iliad will be released by Norton, following the success of her Odyssey in 2017. In a 15-page Translator’s Note, she recalls the difficulty of rendering Homer into English—and by extension, the problem of all translation: “No translator, including me, can fully replicate all the poetic, dramatic, and emotional effects of the Greek. No translation can be simply ‘the same’ as the original.” Our starred review suggests that Wilson succeeded, saying that “a bloody tale of ancient war and grief comes to vibrant life in modern-day English.” Here’s a look at several other books in translation being published this month.

What You Are Looking for Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama; translated by Alison Watts (Hanover Square, Sept. 5): This volume is a book lover’s delight featuring a Tokyo librarian, Sayuri Komachi, who helps her diverse patrons find their paths with kind words and book recommendations. “A delightful, gentle unfolding of stories that offer hope and joy to those who find themselves in a pivotal moment in life,” according to our review.

Reykjavík by Ragnar Jónasson and Katrín Jakobsdóttir; translated by Victoria Cribb (Minotaur, Sept. 5): In 1986, as Reagan and Gorbachev are about to meet in Iceland’s capital, a reporter investigates the decades-old disappearance of a teenage girl. Our starred review calls this novel “a slow-burning, spellbinding whodunit. Agatha Christie, to whom it’s dedicated, would be proud.”

The Future by Catherine Leroux; translated by Susan Ouriou (Biblioasis, Sept. 5): Canadian writer Leroux conjures an alternative, dystopian Detroit that’s still under the control of the French, where a group of kids has taken over a local park and a woman is searching for her two missing granddaughters. “This atmospheric novel elevates disparate voices, drawing a complex picture of community-focused life beyond the family unit,” according to our starred review.

The Devil of the Provinces by Juan Cárdenas; translated by Lizzie Davis (Coffee House, Sept. 12): The unnamed protagonist of Cárdenas’ novel has returned to his hometown in Colombia after 15 years away and is swept up in an investigation into the murder of his brother. “Briskly paced, thoughtful, and truly weird: a whodunit that takes on the very idea of blame,” according to our starred review.

Self-Portrait in Green by Marie NDiaye; translated by Jordan Stump (Two Lines, Sept. 12): This is a 10^th-anniversary edition of French writer NDiaye’s book chronicling the unnamed narrator’s experiences with various “women in green”; our starred review says it “may be a novel or fable; it may be memoir, autofiction, or photo essay. One certainty? This small story is too big for one genre box.” Knopf will be publishing another of NDiaye’s books, Vengeance Is Mine, also translated by Stump, on Oct. 17.

A Dictator Calls by Ismail Kadare; translated by John Hodgson (Counterpoint, Sept. 19): Albanian poet and novelist Kadare explores the story of Boris Pasternak, a writer who battled the Soviet leadership and received a phone call from Josef Stalin in 1934. What was the call about? Kadare comes up with 13 different possibilities. “An interior, prismatic tale of writerly defiance,” according to our review.

Laurie Muchnick is the fiction editor.