For those who are worried about whether anything gets lost in translation, I'm not sure.But you can see that for the most I have rated them very highly.
Many of these books have been prize winners in their original language, which is how they have come to the notice of English publishers.
THE SNOWMAN, Jo Nesbo - from Norwegian, my rating 5
THE MAN FROM BEIJING, Henning Mankell - from Swedish, my rating 5
THE DARKEST ROOM, Johan Theorin - from Swedish, my rating 5
DEVIL'S PEAK, Deon Meyer - from Afrikaans, my rating 5
THE WATER'S EDGE, Karin Fossum - from Norwegian, my rating 4.7
CROSSFIRE, Miyuke Miyabe - from Japanese, my rating 4.6
THE SILENCE OF THE RAIN, Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza - from Portuguese, my rating 4.5
THE LAST POPE, Luis Miguel Rocha - from Portuguese, my rating 4.3
It's great to see so much translated fiction available these days isn't it Kerrie? I love my English village mysteries and American thrillers too but it's great to get different perspectives on the world.
ReplyDeleteI have read all but the last three - having recently read my first Miyabe novel I am keen to read another, and have already ordered Silence of the Rain on the basis of your review. I love reading translated fiction as you know, so I am very much with you on it! It is great to get recommendations of new titles to try from fellow reviewers.
ReplyDeleteI've seen comments by people who say they "never read translated books", but I just don't think they've tried hard enough, or they were just unlucky in what they chose to read. I've only read one book that I can remember where I thought the language/translation was a "bit odd". In general the translators are so skilled, that you are not even aware you are reading a translation.
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