Category: Books in Translation

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2011 Books in Translation

A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cossé

A Novel Bookstore Translated from the French by Alison Anderson

Five words from the blurb: place, books, envy, secret, literary

A Novel Bookstore revolves around a secret committee, established to select the finest books for a new shop. This book shop will not sell new releases, but will only stock books specifically selected by the committee because of their importance and their ability to move and influence the reader.

For as long as literature has existed, suffering, joy, horror and grace, and everything that is great in humankind has produced great novels. These exceptional books are often not very well known, and are in constant danger of being forgotten, and in today’s world, where the number of books being published is considerable, the power of marketing and the cynicism of business have joined forces to keep those extraordinary books indistinguishable from millions of insignificant, not to say pointless books.

A Novel Bookstore is billed as a mystery because members of the committee receive threats and then suffer violent attacks, but anyone looking for a mystery will be disappointed as this aspect of the book is minor and ultimately disappointing.

The main benefit of this novel is that it recommends a large number books to the reader.

Among the books he wanted for The Good Novel were Dernier amour, by Christian Gailly, which, blown away, he mentioned to me; Sous réserve, a first novel by Hélène Frappat; and, among the foreign novels, short stories by Roberto Bolano. Francesca liked Tristano muore by Antonio Tabucchi, La réfutation majeure, by Pierre Senges, and more than anything, Segalen’s complete Correspondence, published at last.

The main problem, for the English reader, is that most are unavailable in this country. Some books are mentioned briefly, others described at length, but all the ones that intrigued me were impossible to track down.

In a Bengalese novel that I love, The Night on the Shore, the author devotes twelve pages to a description of the preparation of a traditional rich dish for weddings. It’s an unforgettable passage.

This is, perhaps, the point the book is trying to prove. These gems of literature are buried under a sea of averageness and only those with a specialist knowledge will be aware of their existence.

Most blog readers will be familiar with debates about what makes a book important and whether or not readers are wasting their time by reading lighter, more entertaining books, but if you are interested in these discussions you’ll find plenty to hold your attention in this book. I thought the arguments were put across very well, but I had heard all the points before and found reading over 400 pages of them a bit tedious.

This is a book for literature lovers and I’m sure the dream of owning a perfect bookshop will resonate with a lot of people, but although I found some aspects of the literature debate interesting I thought this book was too long for its weak plot.

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The thoughts of other bloggers:

While acknowledging that it is highly flawed…I also have to acknowledge that Cossé created a very appealing nook for a book lover to read in for a while. Nonsuch Book

….an engaging read which held my interest, despite the basic implausibility of the story…. A Common Reader 

…it makes me think about what reading means to me, what novels mean to me, what writing means to me. Of Books and Reading

Categories
2011 Books in Translation

Purgatory by Tomás Eloy Martínez

Purgatory Translated from the Spanish by Frank Wynne

Five words from the blurb: Argentina, history, political, disappearances, love

Tomás Eloy Martínez was one of the most important authors in the Spanish speaking world. He was born in Argentina in 1934 and became a journalist, challenging authority at every opportunity. His provocative journalism forced him into exile during the military dictatorship and he moved to Venezuela, where he wrote several novels. Purgatory was completed shortly before he died from cancer in 2010. It is said to be his most autobiographical work, covering much of Argentina’s recent history. I accepted a review copy of this book because he sounded like such an interesting author, but unfortunately it didn’t quite work for me.

Purgatory has a fantastic opening line:

Simón Cardoso had been dead thirty years when his wife, Emilia Dupuy, spotted him at lunchtime in the lounge bar in Trudy Tuesday.

Human rights groups estimate that 30,000 Argentinians were captured, tortured and killed between 1976 and 1983. This book focused on Simón Cardoso, a cartographer who disappeared during this time period, and the mystery surrounding what happened to him.

Purgatory was very easy to read. The simplicity of the text made it possible to underestimate the talent that this author possesses. Profound statements were sprinkled throughout the novel and there were many passages that could easily stand up against the best writing in the world, but unfortunately I don’t think the book worked very well as a novel. There were many long, dry sections in which little happened. It could be argued that these reflected the endless waiting endured by those who didn’t know if their loved ones were alive or dead, but as a reader I was bored.

This Guardian article indicates that the author wanted to write:

without descriptions of atrocities, without depictions of rape and torture – rather a recreation of what it felt like “to breathe in the contaminated air”

He has definitely achieved this, but I’m afraid I prefer my novels to be more powerful. The absence of violence lead to a very quiet novel that was too subtle for me.

I also think that a lot of the satire went over my head. I only have a limited understanding of the political situation in Argentina and so I’m sure that I missed references to specific people/events.

This is clearly an important book, but it was too subtle for me and I’d only recommend it to those with a strong knowledge of Argentina.

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Have you read anything written by Tomás Eloy Martínez?

Do any of his earlier books have a stronger narrative drive?

 

Categories
Books in Translation Thriller Uncategorized

The Devotion of Suspect X – Keigo Higashino

The Devotion Of Suspect X 

Translated from the Japanese by Alexander O. Smith with Elye J. Alexander

Five words from the blurb: Tokyo, ex-husband, shattered, Police, genius

I hadn’t heard of this book until one of my sister’s friends recommended it to me, but I love Japanese thrillers and so decided to give it a try. I’m pleased that I bought a copy because I’ll be recommending this intelligent thriller to everyone.

The Devotion of Suspect X begins with a woman murdering her ex-husband with the help of her daughter. Their neighbour hears the crime and offers to help dispose of the body, beginning a gripping narrative that centres on the question: Will they get away with it?

The premise is very similar to Out by Natsuo Kirino (my favourite thriller), but The Devotion of Suspect X is a much lighter novel. It is quicker and easier to read and doesn’t contain the same level of violence or dark emotion. For this reason I’d recommend it to those trying Japanese fiction for the first time.

The plotting in this book is perfect. There are no unnecessary scenes and the pace is relentlessly intriguing throughout. The main battle of wits is between the neighbour, a maths genius, and a friend of the police officer who happens to be a physics genius. I admit that this scenario is unlikely to occur, but I didn’t care because it led to one of the cleverest series of twists I’ve come across.

The characters were all well formed, with interesting flaws. I didn’t develop an emotional attachment to any of them, but this ended up being a positive as I found myself rooting for both sides equally. This is quite unusual in a police procedural as I normally find myself less interested in one of the plot threads.

The Devotion of Suspect X is a perfect thriller. It isn’t particularly deep or meaningful, but it is endlessly entertaining. I can see why it sold 2 million copies in Japan and I hope that word-of-mouth spreads it around the world.

Highly recommended.

 

Categories
2011 Books in Translation

Seven Houses in France – Bernardo Atxaga

Seven Houses in France Translated from the Spanish by Margaret Jull Costa

Five words from the blurb: Congo, fortune, jungle, enslaved, kidnapping

I hadn’t heard of Atxaga before this unsolicited review copy popped through my letter box, but the impressive list of awards he has won (including the Spanish National Literature Prize and a shortlisting for the European Literature Prize) grabbed my attention. The Observer also listed him as one of the top 21 writers of the 21st century, so I was keen to discover why his writing is so highly regarded.

Seven Houses in France is set in 1903 and follows a French Captain who is sent to the Congo to pillage the rain-forest of rubber, mahogany and ivory. He sends a vast amount of wealth back to France, enough to buy the seven houses mentioned in the title.

The quality of the writing was very high, but I hated the actions of the central character so much that I struggled to read it. At one point I almost gave up, but the entire book was a bit like a car crash – you know you are going to witness something horrible, but you are unable to avert your gaze.

The screeches of those vile monkeys was the worst thing about Yangambi, the worst thing about the Congo and about Africa, and he wanted to flay them with his chicotte, to whip them to the bone. He bounded down the first stretch of the path, slithering in the mud, then gradually slowed to a halt.

There were no redeeming scenes – the entire book is about one despicable man who kidnaps young girls from local villages and rapes them; a man who thinks it is entertaining to tie monkeys to posts and use them for target practice – and that is before I even mention the gathering of ivory, the enslavement of local people and all the other shockingly bad things he does without batting an eyelid.

I’m really hoping that Atxaga is being deliberately provocative with his writing; creating an obnoxious character to ensure that we become enraged by his actions. I’m sure some people will love the strong emotions produced by reading this book, but I’m afraid I can’t recommend it to anyone. It is important we know these terrible events happened, but I don’t like the images I now have in my head.

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Have you read anything written by Bernardo Atxaga?

Are his other books less disturbing to read?

Categories
1950s 1980s Books in Translation Nobel Prize

Two Abandoned Nobels

The Piano Teacher Translated from the German by Joachim Neugroschel

The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek

Elfriede Jelinek won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2004

Five words from the blurb: Vienna, emotional, self-destruction, intensity, porn

The Piano Teacher is an unrelenting, intense tale of one woman’s self-destruction.

Erika is a piano teacher who lives with her controlling mother. She begins an affair with one of her young students, but he cannot save her from her destructive cycle of self-harm.

I initially loved the gripping, emotionally charged narrative, but I quickly found I needed space to breathe, wishing there were some breaks from the darkness. I then began to find the narrative style, with its capitalised pronouns, irritating:

SHE only has to glance at this scene, and HER face instantly becomes disapproving. SHE considers her feelings unique when she looks at a tree; she sees a wonderful universe in a pinecone.

As the book progressed it became increasingly dark and sexually explicit. I found the scenes of her self-harm uncomfortable to read and her trips to watch pornographic shows held little interest.

I skimmed over several sections and then decided to give up entirely. This book has a grippingly original narrative voice, but it was too harsh for me.

Recommended to those with a strong stomach.

 

The Tin Drum (Vintage Classics)Translated from the German by Ralph Manheim

The Tin Drum by Günter Grass

Günter Grass won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1999

Five words from the blurb: Germany, Nazis, dwarf, scathing, horrors

The Tin Drum is one of those classics that had intimidated me for far too long. Inspired by German Literature month I decided to set my fears aside and give this imposing chunkster a try. Unfortunately, in this case, the intimidation was justified and I failed to finish this complex, multi-layered masterpiece.

The Tin Drum is narrated by Oskar, a dwarf with learning difficulties who calms himself by beating his toy drum. I’d love to be able to tell you what happens, but I’m afraid I can’t:

a) because very little happens
b) I didn’t get that far into the book

The writing was impressive and I loved Oskar’s character, but the book had very little narrative drive. It skipped from one scene to the next and I struggled to see the connection between them.

I crawled at a snail’s pace through the first 100 pages, becomingly increasingly bored. After another difficult 20 pages I decided to abandon it. I’m sure that this book is a masterpiece and everything makes sense in the end, but I don’t think I’m in the right stage of life to appreciate it. I think I’ll give it another try in twenty years.

Have you tried reading either of these books?

 

Categories
2000 - 2007 Books in Translation Crime

The Sinner – Petra Hammesfahr

The Sinner Translated from the German by John Brownjohn

Five words from the blurb: killed, man, past, childhood, horrors

The Sinner was a bestseller in Germany, staying at the top of the book charts for fifteen months. I can see why it was so popular – it is well written, intelligent, and packed with unexpected twists. It is a shame that it is not well known outside it’s country of origin as I think it is a fantastic piece of crime fiction.

The Sinner begins with Cora, a young mother, stabbing a man in front of her family and friends during a quiet picnic by the lake. She immediately confesses to the crime, but no one can understand why a seemingly normal woman would turn into a cold blooded killer. Through police interviews and a series of flashbacks we discover details of Cora’s troubled childhood and the reason for her violent outburst.

The book is narrated by both Cora and Police Commissioner Rudolf Grovian, allowing us to see inside the head of both parties.

Cora Bender had attacked a defenceless man like a maddened beast. She’d gone berserk with her little knife and was showing no hint of remorse or sympathy for her victim. Yet to see her sitting there with her lips trembling, enumerating her husband’s good qualities, anyone would have thought she was the victim.

It is perfectly structured with little hints (and red herrings!) dropped at frequent intervals, ensuring the momentum is maintained throughout.

As well as being a clever why-dunnit piece of crime fiction The Sinner is also a gripping psychological insight into the mind of a troubled woman. Cora’s difficult childhood is described with great empathy, giving the reader that rare ability to have sympathy with a murderer.

The concentration on the troubled female mind means that this book will appeal to women more than men, but I loved reading a piece of crime fiction where the central character is so well drawn.

Recommended.

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I read this as part of German Literature Month. Head over to Lizzy’s Literary Life and Beauty is a Sleeping Cat to find out about a wide range of German literature.