Top Foreign Fiction of 2008

Of 340 new works of foreign fiction and poetry translated for US audiences this year, NPR has culled five of the best into a list:

• Senselessness, by Horacio Castellanos Moya: A Latin American freelance writer is hired by the Catholic Church to edit sinister documents in this compact dark comedy.
  

• Kieron Smith, boy, by James Kelman: This tale of a Scottish boy and his difficulties growing up is authentic and endearing.
• 2666, by Roberto Bolaño: This late author's novel, which centers on atrocities against women in a Mexican city, is among year's best works in any language.
• Metropole, by Ferenc Karinthy: A linguist finds himself in a strange city and endeavors to find his way home in this Hungarian work.
• The Lost Daughter, by Elena Ferrante: A mother struggles with not loving her children in this Italian novel.

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