Laima Muktupāvela’s novel about the experiences of Latvian guest workers in Ireland, Šampinjonu derība (Testament of Mushrooms), is now available in German, the Rīga-based Latvian Literature Centre has announced.

Translated by Berthold Forssman, the book is titled Das Champignonvermächtnis in German. The book was published by Weidle Verlag in Bonn, which in 2006 published a German version of the Anšlavs Eglītis novel Homo novus.

Translation and publication of the work was supported by a LVL 1,000 grant from the State Culture Capital Foundation (Valsts kultūrkapitāla fonds).

Šampinjonu derība was originally published in 2002 and the following year was translated into Lithuanian. A Swedish version is expected this autumn, according to the literature center.

The novel—Muktupāvela’s first—focuses on the character of Īva Baranovksa, a young Latvian woman who travels to Ireland to seek her fortune, and how she perseveres against various challenges.

Muktupāvela, Forssman and the publisher are expected to unveil the German translation during the Leipzig Book Fair, which is scheduled March 13-16. Latvian writers Nora Ikstena and Dace Rukšāne also are expected to participate in the fair.