This is a great challenge that I’ll definitely be participating in. I love reading world literature, and it’s been my goal for the last two years to also read more in translation. In 2007, I read 14 titles with 10 different languages represented, and so far in 2008, I’ve read 19 books with 9 different languages in translation.
The goal of Frances’s challenge is to read six works in translation. I’ll plan on having at least 6 different languages respresented as well. This will be a good one!
- The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa (Japanese)
- Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair by Pablo Neruda (Spanish)
- Thousand Cranes by Kawabata (Japanese #2)
- X-Kai- Vol. 2 by Asami Tohjoh (Japanese #3)
- Fear and Trembling by Amelie Nothomb (French)
- Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (Japanese #4)
- The Reader by Bernard Schlink (German)
- So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba (French #2)
- Solaris by Stanislaw Lem (Polish)
- A Tale of Two Gardens by Octavio Paz (Spanish #2)
- The Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho (Portuguese)
- Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer (Yiddish)
- The House of Paper by Carlos Maria Dominguez (Spanish #3)
- Ravel by Jean Echenoz (French #3)
Some titles I’m thinking about:
- The Good Women of China by Xinran (Chinese)
- Kafka on the Shore by Murakami (Japanese)
- The Devil and Miss Prym by Coelho (Portuguese)
- Ficciones by Borges (Spanish)
- The Girl Who Played with Fire by Larsson (Swedish)
- The Summer Book by Jansson (Swedish)
- To Siberia by Petterson (Norwegian)
- Measuring the World (German)
- Effi Briest by Fontane (German)
- Night Train to Lisbon (German)
- ? by Zweig (German)
- Inkspell (German)
- Inkdeath (German)
- The Piano Teacher (German)
- The Neverending Story (German)
The Reader and Night Train to Lisbon (if it’s the one by Pascal Mercier) are both excellent. I’d love to do this one.
I think I’m going to join this challenge. I’ve always been interested in world literature too and it inspires me to go learn another language (to be able to read in two languages! what joy!).
I second the suggestion on The Reader. It’s fantastic and I think the translation is spot on. I also recommend The Shadow of the Wind (spanish) is you haven’t read that yet.
That’s the thing with translations – I’ve read some where I know I’m not liking the book as much as I should because something has been lost in translation.
Sandra, glad you liked both of those!
Mae, I’ve read Shadow of the Wind and liked it but didn’t love it. I’ll probably definitely read The Reader, though.
I didn’t realize Inkspell and Inkdeath were translated from the German. My son really likes those books.
I just bought The Night Train to Lisbon – it looks wonderful!