I read this book after hearing the author read from it and enjoying the humor. 
 It is the story of an old woman who lives alone and translates books. She does one a year--never intending to publish them; the joy is in the doing. She has a very distant relationship with the other women in her apartment building, mostly observing them and commenting (usually negatively) on their behavior. 
 Because she is so bookish she frequently alludes to or quotes from a large number of books, some familiar and some not. Sometimes the references are apt. It doesn't matter if they are recognized or not to the content of the allusions, but there are times when it slows the action to a grinding halt and seems intrusive, beyond characterizing the old woman. 
 And the fault I find with so many books: the ending is not believable.