I've read My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante translated from Italian, and it was excellent. I am not sure where you are in the world, but I think for Americans we miss out on a lot of translated literature because so many of our awards and ranking systems prioritize American writers! Quite to our detriment. Disoriental won or was nominated for a staggering number of awards! What a shame its given little visibility. I am adding this to my list for sure :)
I have never read My Brilliant Friend but it is on my radar, I’ll bump it’s priority! I’m in London but I would agree with you about missing out on translated fiction in America! It can be so hard to find when large publishing houses like Penguin dominate so much & almost all the works they publish are English - in my opinion they are suffocating the publishing world. My tip would be to get familiar with publishing houses who focus solely on translated fiction, follow them on socials & subscribe to their emails. Then you start to get a lot of exposure to what’s circulating! International Booker prize is a good list to follow every year as it’s exclusively translated fiction. Then with that familiarity comes more confidence in choosing translated fiction (at least that’s how I felt). Since I sought it out more a few years ago, almost half of what I read is translated & I love it! The lack of visibility to Disoriental is such a shame it is such an impressive book. I’m happy to hear you’re adding it to your list, you’ll have to get back to me once you’ve read it and lmk what you think!
Thank you so much for your recommendation! I actually saw this in a book shop recently and for some reason passed up on it? I’ll try pick it up soon! The premise reminds me slightly of drive my plow?
I appreciate the recommendations so much. I am doing the "Around the World" challenge and attempting to read a book from every country. I have added quite a few of these to my list!
Thank you Yulani! I love to hear that you're doing an 'Around the World' challenge - that is so cool! I am also attempting to do the same, but with translated books. The process is a bit slower bc not every country has translated books available in english - but I have a lifetime to keep working on it!! Because of your love for nature, I think you'd be interested in 'When I Sing, Mountains Dance' xx
I've read My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante translated from Italian, and it was excellent. I am not sure where you are in the world, but I think for Americans we miss out on a lot of translated literature because so many of our awards and ranking systems prioritize American writers! Quite to our detriment. Disoriental won or was nominated for a staggering number of awards! What a shame its given little visibility. I am adding this to my list for sure :)
I have never read My Brilliant Friend but it is on my radar, I’ll bump it’s priority! I’m in London but I would agree with you about missing out on translated fiction in America! It can be so hard to find when large publishing houses like Penguin dominate so much & almost all the works they publish are English - in my opinion they are suffocating the publishing world. My tip would be to get familiar with publishing houses who focus solely on translated fiction, follow them on socials & subscribe to their emails. Then you start to get a lot of exposure to what’s circulating! International Booker prize is a good list to follow every year as it’s exclusively translated fiction. Then with that familiarity comes more confidence in choosing translated fiction (at least that’s how I felt). Since I sought it out more a few years ago, almost half of what I read is translated & I love it! The lack of visibility to Disoriental is such a shame it is such an impressive book. I’m happy to hear you’re adding it to your list, you’ll have to get back to me once you’ve read it and lmk what you think!
Marzahn, Mon Amour by Katja Oskamp has been my favourite read this year (translated from the German)
Thank you so much for your recommendation! I actually saw this in a book shop recently and for some reason passed up on it? I’ll try pick it up soon! The premise reminds me slightly of drive my plow?
Yes very! But more wholesome & heart warming - you’ll love it! Let me know ❤️
Oh lovely, we like wholesome! Fab I will get my hands on it soon and let you know! Thank you ❤️
I wrote about it here: https://open.substack.com/pub/thisbookchangedmylife/p/41-marzahn-mon-amour-katia-oskamp?r=2hfdn&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Yay! Thank you for this! ❤️
I appreciate the recommendations so much. I am doing the "Around the World" challenge and attempting to read a book from every country. I have added quite a few of these to my list!
Thank you Yulani! I love to hear that you're doing an 'Around the World' challenge - that is so cool! I am also attempting to do the same, but with translated books. The process is a bit slower bc not every country has translated books available in english - but I have a lifetime to keep working on it!! Because of your love for nature, I think you'd be interested in 'When I Sing, Mountains Dance' xx
I plan to read that one first honestly 😂. You know me so well!