India, Sept. 13 -- Which was the first Japanese book that you translated and how was the experience?

The first Japanese book I translated was Then Why Ask Me to Come? by Risa Wataya, an author I am delighted to reintroduce to English readers in 2025. She is a literary superstar in Japan who was perhaps introduced a bit too early (10 years ago) to catch this current wave of Japanese translated literature by brilliant women. I hope this is the start of many more translated novels to come from Wataya, whose body of work I think readers would love to get to know. In translating her hit title, Then Why Ask Me to Come, I had wonderful bilingual editors who pored over the text (in both languages) with me and provided the most insightful advice....