Seems to me like you're just ignoring the books in languages you don't speak, tbh...
Legolas Send a noteboard - 29/12/2010 09:58:15 PM
Or rather, you're not doing the efforts that you'd have to do to find good books worth your time in lesser-known languages. It's obviously true that there aren't many famous classics (famous among us, anyway) written in those languages you name, or in many others. But a lack of fame and repute doesn't necessarily mean a lack of quality.
I'll give it a shot, though. In Turkish, the obvious name would be Orhan Pamuk, and I must admit I can't really name any others myself, but I'm sure there are some. In Japanese, The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu has become rather famous as one of the first novels in world literature, while modern authors like Yukio Mishima (I intend to read and review one of his novels these coming weeks) and of course Haruki Murakami definitely have their fair share of international acclaim. I'm not sure how fluent your modern Arabic is, but since you said you'd read Mahfouz in translation as well, it's probably safe to assume you'd read his other books or other Arabic novelists in translation as well. Same for modern Hebrew, with the likes of Amos Oz, David Grossman and others. I know shamefully little about Chinese literature, but it's safe to say there are many works worth reading there as well, and is your Chinese good enough to read them in the original? And that's just a handful of languages, albeit mostly large ones. Camilla is right about the Scandinavian languages, and I would, unsurprisingly, add Dutch (Mulisch of course, and Claus, but perhaps even more Lanoye).
I'll give it a shot, though. In Turkish, the obvious name would be Orhan Pamuk, and I must admit I can't really name any others myself, but I'm sure there are some. In Japanese, The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu has become rather famous as one of the first novels in world literature, while modern authors like Yukio Mishima (I intend to read and review one of his novels these coming weeks) and of course Haruki Murakami definitely have their fair share of international acclaim. I'm not sure how fluent your modern Arabic is, but since you said you'd read Mahfouz in translation as well, it's probably safe to assume you'd read his other books or other Arabic novelists in translation as well. Same for modern Hebrew, with the likes of Amos Oz, David Grossman and others. I know shamefully little about Chinese literature, but it's safe to say there are many works worth reading there as well, and is your Chinese good enough to read them in the original? And that's just a handful of languages, albeit mostly large ones. Camilla is right about the Scandinavian languages, and I would, unsurprisingly, add Dutch (Mulisch of course, and Claus, but perhaps even more Lanoye).
This message last edited by Legolas on 29/12/2010 at 10:00:22 PM
I think I'm through with translations
29/12/2010 04:53:47 AM
- 578 Views
Well, you might need it for part of José María Arguedas' Los ríos profundos
29/12/2010 05:56:31 AM
- 339 Views
I'm sure they're good writers, but are they GREAT writers?
29/12/2010 10:14:11 PM
- 341 Views
Thiong'o is
29/12/2010 10:46:00 PM
- 360 Views
Since I can read Spanish the question of who is or isn't great in Spanish is moot.
29/12/2010 11:57:18 PM
- 357 Views
I agree on the Spanish
30/12/2010 12:47:30 AM
- 371 Views
If the Kalevala were actually historic I might be tempted.
30/12/2010 05:27:00 AM
- 343 Views
It's a common 19th century thing, I'll admit
30/12/2010 10:49:42 PM
- 368 Views
Sadly, a lot of people STILL think The Da Vinci Code was historically accurate.
31/12/2010 12:04:40 AM
- 324 Views
Ha!
31/12/2010 03:53:32 AM
- 351 Views
Norwegian? or other Scandinavian languages?
29/12/2010 01:44:46 PM
- 340 Views
No, no interest.
29/12/2010 10:10:26 PM
- 372 Views
Re: No, no interest.
29/12/2010 10:11:45 PM
- 425 Views
I'm basing this on others not being translated or mentioned or discussed. *NM*
29/12/2010 10:14:48 PM
- 148 Views
Seriously?
29/12/2010 11:24:34 PM
- 368 Views
I'm dismissing authors that don't have general acceptance in the literary canon.
30/12/2010 12:01:18 AM
- 372 Views
You are only going to read what people read in college?
30/12/2010 12:08:43 AM
- 326 Views
Let me state it otherwise: no one outside Scandinavia reads those people.
30/12/2010 05:25:28 AM
- 367 Views
August Strindberg definitely is a big name. And as for Blixen...
30/12/2010 07:00:42 PM
- 354 Views
Ew...Out of Africa...I hated that movie.
30/12/2010 09:41:35 PM
- 341 Views
See my point?
30/12/2010 10:23:27 PM
- 366 Views

Oh, and I read and loved Kierkegaard.
29/12/2010 10:15:05 PM
- 323 Views
in translation? *NM*
29/12/2010 11:58:13 PM
- 159 Views
Yes, in translation. I don't know Danish and am not going to learn. *NM*
30/12/2010 12:02:14 AM
- 156 Views
Seems to me like you're just ignoring the books in languages you don't speak, tbh...
29/12/2010 09:58:15 PM
- 335 Views
Odd question prompted by this. Has The Lord of the Rings ever been published in Elvish? *NM*
01/01/2011 04:21:21 AM
- 187 Views