Rather than reply in the comments of the earlier post about the idea of a “Best Translations of 2007” list, I thought I’d post a little update and respond to the various questions people have asked about this.
First off, I think we should definitely include poetry on this list. At first I was going to list it separately, but with only two collections recommended so far, it didn’t seem right to ghettoize them.
I do want to try and restrict this to titles originally published in English in 2007 though, so I didn’t include Jasmine Isle by Ionanna Karystiani, translated from the Greek by Michael Eleftheriou on the list below, but I’ll mention it here instead. (I’ve heard a lot of great things about this book . . .)
In terms of criteria, I think the quality of the original book and the quality of the translation should go hand-in-hand. So the books on the list should be great books in great translations. A great book in a poor translation will unfortunately come off as a mediocre book to readers unable to read the original, and a great translation of a crappy book doesn’t deserve to be on the list. (I hope that’s clear.)
Listed below is what I have so far. But please keep sending in recommendations (chad.post at rochester dot edu) or posting them in the comments below.
- How I Became a Nun by Cesar Aira, translated from the Spanish by Chris Andrews (New Directions)
- Amulet by Roberto Bolano, translated from the Spanish by Chris Andrews (New Directions)
- The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano, translated from the Spanish by Natasha Wimmer (FSG)
- Christ versus Arizona by Camilo Jose Cela, translated from the Spanish by Martin Sokolinsky (Dalkey Archive Press)
- Autonauts of the Cosmoroute by Julio Cortazar, translated from the Spanish by Anne McLean (Archipelago)
- Ravel by Jean Echenoz, translated from the French by Linda Coverdale (New Press)
- Guantanamo by Dorothea Dieckmann, translated from the German by Tim Mohr (Soft Skull)
- The Little Girl and the Cigarette by Benoit Duteurtre, translated from the French by Charlotte Mandell (Melville House)
- The Collected Poems: 1956-1998 by Zbigniew Herbert, translated from the Polish by Czeslaw Milosz, Peter Dale Scott, and Alissa Valles (Ecco)
- Today I Wrote Nothing by Daniil Kharms, translated from the Russian by Matvei Yankelevich (Overlook)
- Sunflower by Gyula Krudy, translated from the Hungarian by John Batki (New York Review Books)
- Montano’s Malady by Enrique Vila-Matas, translated from the Spanish by Jonathan Dunne (New Directions)
- The Flying Camel and the Golden Hump by Aharon Megged, translated from the Hebrew by Vivian Eden (Toby Press)
- In Her Absence by Antonio Munoz Molina, translated from the Spanish by Esther Allen (Other Press)
- Day In Day Out by Terezia Mora, translated from the German by Michael Henry Heim (HarperCollins)
- Lost Paradise by Cees Nooteboom, translated from the Dutch by Susan Massotty (Harcourt Inc.)
- The Unforeseen by Christian Oster, translated from the French by Adriana Hunter (Other Press)
- Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson, translated from the Norwegian by Anne Born (Graywolf Press)
- Ice by Vladimir Sorokin, translated from the Russian by Jamey Gambrell (New York Review Books)
- The Complete Poetry: A Bilingual Edition by Cesar Vallejo, translated from the Spanish by Clayton Eshleman (Univ. of California Press)
- The Assistant by Robert Walser, translated from the German by Susan Bernofsky (New Directions)
- I Have the Right to Destroy Myself by Young-ha Kim, translated from the Korean by Chi-Young Kim (Harcourt Inc.)
Comments
A Voice from Elsewhere by Maurice Blanchot (not a novel — a collection of essays, but a wonderful book, utterly unique)
I love the idea of this list but (for a “serious” reader but a relative outsider), it’s a bit overwhelming—where the hell should I start? I’d hate to see great books excluded, but it’d be nice (for readers who aren’t necessarily in the publishing or translating “loop”) if there were some kind of grouping system. I mean, if I’ve decided that the 4-6 books I read this year are all going to be translations, what “should” they be?
I forget to mention earlier The Exception by Christian Jungersen, translated by Anna Patterson and Omega Minor, written and translated by Paul Verhaeghen.
I second Sunflower, by Krudy, tr. Batki — one of the most haunting books I’ve ever read. I do think it’s a republication of an earlier edition of this translation, though. (Not technically a “retranslation,” right?)
Angela, I think this is the first, gathering stage — the fine people at 3% will come up with their “Best” list later, I think?
Angela,
I’d suggest visiting the Reading the World website (www.readingtheworld.org). The past couple of years, a group of publishers that actually do works in translation, as well as a litany of independent booksellers and a smallish group of bloggers, have looked at a selection of about 20 titles. As one who had not read much (if any that I knew of) work in translation prior to the RTW 2006, I found it a great way to learn about some great titles and then spread the wings from there.
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- 23 November 09: Ferguson lecture on Knut Hamsun
- 30 November 09: Saugestad lecture on Knut Hamsun
- 1 December 09: European Book Club: To Siberia
- 3 December 09: Javier Marias in conversation with Paul Holdengräber
- 5 March 10: Babel Series: Azar Nafisi
Added to the previous post, but will do so again here, just in case:
Dark Paradise by Rosa Liksom, translated from the Finnish by David McDuff (Dalkey Archive)
Spring Tides by Jacques Poulin, translated from the French by Sheila Fischman