i just wanted to add: I've seen a quite a few comments from non-native english speakers saying that it has always been very normal for them to read a lot of translated fiction -- i just wanted to clarify that i discuss this at 27:50 and acknowledge that i am speaking more to native english speakers when i try to encourage reading more translated fiction!! i appreciate that it's quite far into the video and most people will head to the comments section before getting that far in, so i just wanted to note that i am aware that this is a native-english speaker thing, but also a vast majority of my youtube audience are based in the USA, UK, and Australia, which is why i wanted to speak about the value of translated fiction! for example, i did a whole literature degree and almost every single book was originally written in english. also, booktube and booktok tend to really disproportionately over-represent english books, which is why i wanted to specifically draw attention to these amazing books too. i also think i could've articulated myself better that i was trying to recommend books translated from a range of different languages + countries, which is why i chose 7 books from all around the world. if you want to skip the section on the value of translated books and just dive straight into book reviews, they begin at 7:45! :)
I'm one of the people who went straight to the comments to leave my opinion on reading non-english authors as a non-native english speaker and how it's not such a big deal in my country, but I want to clarify it's nothing against you or the video, it was just an interesting observation! You are actually one of the first booktubers (and emmie!!) I saw exploring translated fiction specifically, which got me into reading more asian/african/south american authors so thank you so much for broadening our horizons!!
Hi. If you're interested in translated fiction, "Blindness" by José Saramago is something you might like. It's translated from portugese. A little heavy read but an amazing experience.
I'm from SE Asia with an English literature degree and you were right about a lot of canon books being originally in English. Native English speaker or not, diversity in reading material does need to be intentional since most readers have their go-to genre and author so thank you for this video.
I actually love this idea, I would love for you to continue this series of reading books from other countries and cultures. I am from Serbia and I found myself with the opposite problem, because we are so used to reading translated books (usually from Russian American English or French authors) I automatically gravitate towards them rather than the ones from my own country and think they’re “better”, even though I read so many great books from great Serbian authors. Unfortunately the Internet plays huge part in this because most of people watch content creators speaking in English and they are usually from USA or UK, they promote books written in English. Maybe this is just me I’m not saying this as a fact, but I feel like usually when they talk about translated books is when they hop on the trend of supporting Black people or Asian trend and quickly go back. Obviously there are a lot of creators who actually do read translated books from around the world regularly like you. That’s why I actually really love this concept, even if I am someone who is used to reading translated books I still gravitate towards authors from certain countries and this really helps open my horizons. Sorry for the rent, great video and I would love to watch part 2 to this video with other 7 countries 😊
I don't have dyslexia but I read it like that too. My first thought was, 'are you trying to set yourself up for a reading slump in multiple languages? / are you trying to break your mind in seven days?'
Not gonna lie, this is a bit of a weird concept as a person who doesn't speak english as the native language. My books as a child were mostly translated. I never gave it a second though. So this was quite an eye opening video! :D And as always hugely entertaining!
@@isabellearaujo8991 As a brazilian, we have some amazing fantasy authors who don’t ger enough recognition. A book I’d always recommend is Ordem Vermelha, it’s amazing.
For me as a non-native English speaker it is kinda funny to hear you talk about translated fiction as a new interesting way of experiencing literature. Since for me and I believe for many others it has always been completely normal to read translated books. But it was way more exciting to read an English novel in its original form for the first time.
My thoughts exactly, I'm very proud of myself for rarely reading translated books, because I mostly read untranslated English books nowadays 😂 But I guess the main point of this video/experiment is to read more books that are not originally written in English and/or your native language... and that's definitely something I don't do very often either
i was about to comment the exact same thing JDSJD we've been reading translated books our entire lives and idk abt you all but at least here in my country (Chile) we don't even call them "translated books", they are just....... books jdjsjdsjdjsdsj
the problem here in brazil is the opposite, we read so much books of other countries that we have to make projects for people to realize that brazilian literature is amazing too
Sim, é bem triste. Tem tantos autores brasileiros incríveis, Machado de Assis, Clarice Lispector, Carlos Drummond de Andrade, etc... mas a maioria das pessoas leem livros estrangeiros. Eu mesmo só era interessado em livros estrangeiros até pouco tempo atrás, mas agora tô tentando dar mais atenção para a literatura brasileira também.
As a novel translator, it makes me so happy that you get so excited when you talk about translated fiction!! Also, A Man Called Ove shattered me in the best way possible, Fredrik Backman’s books are amazing😭
As an Italian, I have to actively remind myself to read books by Italian authors once in a while because I mostly read translated fiction, not just from English but also from French, Russian, German, etc... it's very interesting to see the opposite
@@lauramolteni2431 quando ero al liceo, ho iniziato con i classici del 900 e 800 tipo il gattopardo o se questo è un uomo, Pavese, Calvino, Morante, Moravia, tipo la Ciociara o il Conformista. Io adoro la letteratura della Resistenza quindi tipo i libri di Fenoglio o L’Agnese va a morire. Di scrittori contemporanei a me piace tanto Pino Cacucci e poi vabbè c’è la Ferrante, o il collettivo Wu Ming, e poi in generale guarderei i libri candidati al premio Strega! Spero ti abbia aiutato un po’ :)
Same, especially ever since I started mostly listening to audiobooks, which are much easier to access in English. Also books from around the world are usually first translated into English rather than my native language (if at all)
I’ve seen so many reviews of the book (which I loved), surprised that no one has mentioned how Ove is like Carl. I know the curmudgeon is a trope, but I couldn’t get Carl out of my head while reading.
I’ve read Murakami in both English and Japanese and I noticed that I felt it was much more well written in English. Interested by this, I asked one of my Japanese school teachers about this because she also has read Murakami in both English and Japanese. She said that the translators are so good at their jobs that many times, Murakami ends up attracting more international readers than Japanese readers. (As this intrigued me and it has to do with the subject of this video, just thought that I would share!) ❤️
This is super interesting to me because I have read a few of Murakami's works both translated to English and to German and I have the feeling that his writing style fits the English language quite well, while in German it sounds pretty dull (just imo, his works are still pretty popular in German speaking countries). I've always wondered how others thought his writing style compares in different languages So, thanks for sharing :)
I have read murakami books in Spanish and also works well, I have not read them in English so I can’t compare how much the style changues between languages. As fast as my personal option goes, Murakami In Spanish feels really (dreamy I guess) in the sense that reality and fantasy often gets confusing and it’s more about the ambience and the feelings that the actual plot that it’s happening, I often remember murakami’s books more as a landscapes that an actual story
I've also heard a bunch of Japanese people saying that his novels were not easy for them to read because it felt as if it's translated from a foreign language (into Japanese).
@@localabsurdist6661 Yes, but most of those books are translated from English. Those books aren’t a particularly good representation of world literature.
I love the confusion from everyone (me included) who is not natively english. I have been reading translated fiction from all over the world my whole life, as have most people I know. I can't imagine not reading a book just because it was originally written in another language
I honestly believe it’s a matter of the publishing industry. Like, my parents have just gone to Europe for the first time ever and I asked them to buy me a book called “Afirma Pereira” in Portugal. This book is originally written in Italian, it is by an Italian author named Antonio Tabucchi and this book, particularly, IS about a Portuguese dictatorship. He is famous for being an Italian in love with Portugal. Nevertheless, it was extremely difficult for my parents to find a translated copy of this book :(
I think he meant that comment towards native English speaking people who unfortunately don’t tend to go out of their native language when it comes to books. Most of his audience consists of native English speakers so it goes back what he was say regarding the content being created with a certain audience in mind! Hopefully that clears up some confusion
But are you reading books that weren't originally translated from English? I'm also not a native English speaker, but until I started paying attention to it, all the translated books I read were translated from English to my native language. Not from other countries
@@knowthatgirlnextdoor Here in Germany you get books translated from Swedish, French, Spanish, Japanese etc. as well as English, into German. Probably quite a lot of readers don‘t even think about it that much.
@@lindamundt4637 I'm Swedish and it's the same here, and you're right: I've never even given it a thought before I saw this video and realised that some people, for some undistinguished reason, don't read translated literature. It's very odd for someone who grew up reading translations from all over the world without ever thinking about it, unless the translation was noticeably bad.
As a non-native speaker, I get what a lot of the people in the comment section talk about when they say they’re used to reading translated fiction from an early age, but I also think (for me at least) it’s been a lot of books translated from English specifically. As an avid reader I’ve definitely had to consciously make an effort to expand my reading experiences from just being my native language’s books and english books (whether or not they’ve been translated into my native language) to including more world literature overall.
This is exactly what I wanted to comment as well. I read so many books translated either from english or from other western European languages (but even that is rare) and there the culture is always similar to what I know from Germany. Jack's videos really inspire me to make an effort to read books from all over the world, even if I'm not as drawn to them initially because I can't relate to the context as easily just by reading the cover text.
Yeah, this is what I wanted to comment as well. A lot of the translated books other commenters are talking about are translated from English specifically. The fact a lot of commenters are mentioning how all the popular and "cool" books in their respective countries are the ones translated from English, or musing over having not read a book from their own country until their teens or even adulthood, is really just another symptom of the same disease: imperialism. It's a good goal, then, I think, to be more conscious of translated fiction as a whole and seek out books that aren't originally written in English.
Exactly. There are 23 books on the upper shelf of my bookcase - and 18 of them are either in English, or translated from English (one takes place in rural Mongolia though). And when you look around in a bookshop, the majority of translated books you see is about white English-speaking people doing white English-speaking people things. Sure, we also get Murakami, Backman and loads of Scandinavian crime books here in Czech Rep., but other than that, you have to look for diversity.
i find it interesting that translated fiction is kind of underrated for native english speakers because as someone who didn't grow up speaking english most of the books i read as a child/young teen were translated from other languages without me even knowing
Doesn’t everyone read translated fiction ? Maybe it’s because I’m not from an English speaking country but it seems impossible to imagine people reading only books by authors from their country.
If you live in Canada/USA/UK, it's very easy to only read books written in English and published in an English speaking country. It would be possible to only read books from the US and not even recognize it
if you live in, let's say France you'll have french books, and english translated books teh translated books are the most popular ones, the ones that will have an audience think about how many international books that's very popular that aren't english living in an english speaking country you have all the popular books so it's rarer to read non-english books ig
English is a main language of so many countries that it's quite easy for us to not read anything translated. I don't think I read a single translated book as a child.
lol this is sooo funny cuz native english sprakers(specially the ones coming from northern countries) seem to live in such a cultural bubble in terms of entertainment while the rest of the world has their media productions shoved down our throats without even thinking about it - I only read my 1st book by a national author last year and every time I think about it it feels so weird ...
The only non english books I’ve seen hyped up in English speaking countries (at least currently) are murakami’s. Then there’s the french and russian classics but I don’t know how many average people have read them
7:45 At Night All Blood is Black 10:45 Death and the Penguin 13:00 Heaven 16:29 My Pen is the Wing if a Bird 19:27 Paradais 22:11 Cursed Bunny 24:57 A Man called Ove
As a native french speaker who's second language is english, I will sometimes read the translated one first and then the original version, and I have to admit some of the translations are very good. I personnally loved the translation for Frankenstein, it kept the style and prose in an amazing way.
I’m mexican and i’ve read “Paradais” and while reading the book i remember thinking “this book must be a pain in the ass to translate” cause it’s filled with mexican slang from start to finish, now i’m curious and i cannot wait to get my hands on the english translated edition.
Mariana, same with Signs Preceding the End of the World by Yuri Herrera! It's still gritty in English but I feel for the translator because they definitely had to translate the ideas, not the words
English isn't my first language so most of the things I read are translated 😂 I had no idea it was a thing until booktube P.S if anyone wants to read Belarusian Iiterature I suggest Boys in Zinc by Svetlana Alexievich
@@bookishmillennial5297 My bad author is Belarusian but she won a noble prize so still worth to check 😅she has a book about Chernonyl and mistook her ethnicity
I finished that book last week and oh boy it was such an eye opener, im also from eastern europe and Russia always had alot of influence on my country so i knew how bad the country is but i never thought the government there was THAT vile
Fredrick Backman is my favorite author. From randomly picking up his book in a bookstore in New Jersey while on a trip to see my mother, to receiving a heart bending book about family and forgiveness (My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry) to devouring everything he’s ever written. His new book comes out in September, so show him some love if you liked his work, and read all of the other things because they are all fantastic and thoughtful, and I’ve learned so much about the human experience from the feeling he provoked with his writing. It’s amazing. He’s amazing.
Considering your love of translated fiction, here's a video idea: Reading the classic literature of other countries Example: Faust by Goethe, Dream of The Red Chamber by Cao Xueqen
This concept of translated book as a thing people choose to ignore is so mind boggling to me. As a Chilean and a child of the internet, I always considered the world to be bast and full of talent, and I didn't even stop to think to keep myself only in Spanish o Chilean literature, it wasn't an option, since I have read books from all over the world since my first year in school. Although, this type on mental state does resonate a lot with the ego of England and the U.S., the classic "we are the only culture that matter". I'm sorry for the short essay, it's just that I'm amazed with this.
Francisco, in Chile do the schools incentivize the reading of Chilean literature? Here in Brazil we do, but it feels like students mostly want to read international books because they are more current. By that I mean that they generally do not enjoy classic literature (which is what schools incentivize) as much as YA and fantasy, and these two genres are just not as prominent in Brazil :( Fortunately we have many booktubers who try to incentivize the reading of our authors, which I love ♥️
In The Netherlands, kids are encouraged to read from a young age, however, in high school they introduce "the reading list". All books read for Dutch, have to be Dutch literature. Often, from that moment on, reading enjoyment plummets. Since the rise of booktok, reading has become more popular, but the general consensus by adults is that they should be reading Dutch literature, which often has themes that simply don't appeal to young audiences. Besides that, the average Dutch book costs €25 and the average English book costs €13. Even books translated to Dutch are often around €15. It's quite an interesting debate to see unfolding, but mostly I'm happy (as a 22 year old) that people are finally standing up for our youth and that they are getting encouraged by people around my age to start reading whatever they want.
@@hanneke3979 Oh in Russia it’s similar. In high school we read ONLY classic Russian literature and almost everyone hates it ( coz you know russian classics are complicated and depressing as hell as well as long. So most young adults read only translated works or don’t read at all
@@isabellearaujo8991 It's quite similar in Chile, schools do try to make students read chilean literature, and hispanic literature, but they are mostly classics that younger audiences aren't interested in. So, the ones who do read end up knowing more books written in english. I'd say it is definitely weird for us to see the "translated books" label, since most of what we read is translated and we don't really think much of it
@@hanneke3979 This is interesting! Fortunately for me, I live in the US and in a very liberal state, and in a very diverse town. Our reading lists included authors from all over the world but mostly American authors. We had Mexican authors, Chicano authors, Asian authors, authors from Afghanistan, Iraq, Russian authors, the ancient authors etc etc. I guess I was fortunate in this sense. I have heard that the Netherlands isn’t really as diverse as people think it is. Idk if that might play a role
A Man Called Ove is a masterpiece. I read it in 2020 over a book prompt that was "a book about a senior." I didn't even expect to like it, I just thought "Oh, well I'll get this prompt over with I guess." Ended up being one of my favorite books of all time, and I've gone ahead and read it again earlier this year. My only regret is that I only have the book in audio format so I can't loan it out to my loved ones. Also, picture me: listening to the ending sitting in my car after a drive home, just crying, smiling, laughing all at the same time. There is so much heart and life just pouring out of those pages. Love it.
If you enjoy poetry, I highly recommend classic Ukrainian poets like Vasyl Stus, Lesya Ukrainka, Vasyl Symonenko and modern poets like Serhiy Zhadan and Kateryna Kalytko. Some of their poems are translated in English. My personal favourite is the poem "They buried their son last winter" by Serhiy Zhadan.
Hi! Can you recommend me Ukrainian classical novels? Last year I tried to get into them but got confused pretty quickly and gave up. So, it would be nice if someone with background knowledge gave me recommendations. Thanks, in advance.
@@chinares Hi! Sadly many Ukrainian gems are not translated in english. For example only tiny part of my favorite short story in ukranian "Intermezzo" by Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky is translated, but it is top tier. Also understand how it could be hard to read due to historical context foreigners are not familiar with. But I can recommend in English: - "The City" by Valerian Pidmohylny, first urbanistic Ukrainian novel - play "The Forest Song" by Lesia Ukrainka if you want to learn a bit more about Ukrainian folklore - "The Hunters and the Hunted" by Ivan Bahryany show how Ukrainians always fight for being free - modern classics like any translated fiction by Serhiy Zhadan, "Death and the Penguin" by Andriy Kurkov - my childhood fave: "Two Toreadors from Vasukovka Village" by Vsevolod Nestaiko about adventures of two kids
As a translator I find it really incredible how you credit the translations, since in many venues of life translators are overlooked and not even mentioned. I've also read translated fiction all my life so it's fascinating seeing things from english speaking people's point of view. ALSO, It is not a "crisis" in Ukraine, it's a WAR. You know that language is important.
Having Swedish as my first language, I practically grew up reading translated works. And I fully agree with you - reading books in their translated version can be just as special and enriching as reading them in their original language! Glad you enjoyed ’A Man Called Ove’ (it broke my heart as well…), if you’re interested in reading more works by Backman I would recommend ’Beartown’!
Oh man I was looking through the comments to see if anyone had recommended it yet! I love almost all of Backmans work but Beartown is easily one of my absolute favorites. I hope Jack sees your comment and decides to give it a read!
As a fellow Swede, I completely agree. A man called ove is great, but Beartown is just a masterpiece! One of my favourite books of all time. I really hope Jack decides to give it a go! Edit: I also highly recommend the movie adaptation of A man called Ove. One of the few book-to-movie films I think is really good!
I love his books! My favorite book is A man called Ove. I read Anxious People last year and I think it's my new favorite. My native language isn't Swedish, so I read the English versions. Kinda curious about the difference if you've read the English versions as well
I was born in Sweden but have lived in the UK for over 10 years now so my Swedish is a little rusty (especially reading and writing unfortunately lol) I was wondering if any other swedes have some good recommendations of Swedish books and authors to check out. (LOVED A Man Called Ove when I read it!) Gonna check out Beartown as well.
@@crypticlish6717 I sadly haven’t read that many Swedish contemporary books (I really want to though!!), but if you’re into classics I would recommend Kallocain by Karin Boye and The Dwarf by Pär Lagerkvist! Kallocain is definitely one of the best dystopias I have ever read, and The Dwarf is a fascinating study of evil and hatred.
A man called Ove was my very first novel I bought with my own money. I read it when I was in middle school, when I first saw it I knew I'm going to love it and I did. now it's one of my favorite books I've ever read. The story and the softness and Ove himself stuck with me to this day. Fredrik's other works are also great you should check the rest out! :)
Thank you Jack for spreading the word for reading non-English books! I’m from Hungary so I’m accustomed to translated books and I appreciate that you’re encouraging readers to step out of their comfort zone and venture into the world of non-English literature! I would love to see you making a series out of this and give other countries a try as well (especially something Hungarian☺️)!
As someone who's studying to become a translator, I really appreciate this video because not many people give credit to translators nowadays! Which is really sad because the amount of work that goes behind a translation is really hard, so thank you for making this video Jack!
I'm sorry if this is irrelevant, but I'm really interested in majoring in translation and I'd love to know more. what does the road look like after you graduate? :)
I'm sorry if this is irrelevant, but I'm really interested in majoring in translation and I'd love to know more. what does the road look like after you graduate? :)
“At Night All Blood is Black” is a stunning title! “Frère d’âme” is the original which translates literally as “Soul brother.” I think that type of footnote would be cool to include if you make this a series bc it’s kind of a pithy way to get at the limitations and sometimes transcendence of works in translation
“Hopefully we are far enough into the video that people have stopped watching” NOPE Ove is my favorite book, and your review definitely did it justice. I’m so glad it touched you like that!
If you want to read Finnish 🇫🇮 books PLEASE read Tove Jansson ”The Moomins” book series. They are childrens books, but are actually more mesmerizing to adults, much like harry potter is really enjoyable for adults. It’s a tale of these cute and fluffy hippo like trolls called moomins who live in moominvalley. The books are really wholesome and philosophical. They are the best books in my opinion to describe happines. I also love that in many other childrens books, different groups of people are seperated by race, profession etc but in the moomin books they are seperated by characteristics. The books are basically a Nordic countries dreamland, and they remind me so much of home. 💗 The books are also quite infuelced by WW2, and Tove Jansson was a pretty cool lesbian lady. 🏳️🌈:D
i love them, they are a huge part of my childhood!! i have a ukrainian copy that my grandmother gave me and it's been with me on my nightstand ever since :D
As a Ukrainian, I was so excited and equally terrified seeing Jack had decided to read a book of a Ukrainian author. Ukrainian culture has been belittled by russia for centuries, so we are still trying to gain the confidence that our literature is worthy. We take even slight criticism very personally. Then again it’s because of our collective “childhood trauma”, please, take that in mind. That’s why I am so glad that Jack wasn't hard on this book, even though Kurkov’s books can hardly be considered a part of Ukrainian culture. This author has been echoing russian propaganda that russia later used to “justify” the war. Edit: Note, that I didn't write that he supports russian war in Ukraine. Nevertheless, he is a controversial figure at the very least. And if someone asks me about Ukrainian literature, I won't even think of him. If anyone wants to get to know Ukrainian literature here are my recommendations: 1) “The Orphanage” by Serhiy Zhadan - 2017 - it’s the most relevant, since it brings you into the eerie atmosphere of war by showing a person inside it. Highly recommended. 2) Serhiy Zhadan’s poems are brilliant as well, sharp and modern, and so lyrical. Starting from 2014 his poems are an attempt to process the horrors of the war. Some can be found online in English. Some are just pure pain incorporated in words… 3) “The City” by Valerian Pidmohylnyi (or Pidmohylny) - published in 1928 - if you like realism in literature, you’ll probably like this novel. 4) Poems of Lina Kostenko - she is a genius, creating the most sophisticated metaphors using mostly simple language. 5) Ivan Bahrianyi - Garden of Gethsemane - written in 1948-1950 - if you want to know all the horrors of being a political prisoner in the USSR. It’s a fictional book, but based on real authors’ experience. And a content warning from me: it may haunt you quite for some time. Some important non-fiction: - Red Famine. Stalin's War on Ukraine, by Anne Applebaum - The Gates of Europe, by Serhii Plokhy - fundamental work, it’s basically a history of Ukraine There’s also a book called "Absolute Zero", by Artem Chekh, which I haven’t read but am going to. The New York Times wrote about it: “This memoir [...] is the diary of a Ukrainian novelist who fought in the Donbas region starting in 2015, and incorporates perspectives of civilians and his fellow soldiers”. To film fans I’d recommend “Winter On Fire” (to understand our love for freedom), “Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die” (war film). I can go on and on, even though I am myself discovering my people’s literature just now. Unfortunately, very few books can be found in any translation at all. That’s the consequence of being a de facto colony for several centuries. p.s. Please, please, do not use the word “crisis” when talking about the russian war in Ukraine. Words matter. Especially when the country attacking your country and killing hundreds of innocent people created its own Newspeak.
awesome recommendations. i agree with you, it's so hard sometimes to accept anything slightly negative about ukrainian literature to me. but i hope as the world learns more about ukraine and our culture, the books beloved by many will find recognition too. personally i'd also add a few classics (and school literature 😅): "Lisova pisnya" by Lesya Ukrainka, "Marusya Churai" by Lina Kostenko, and "Valse mélancolique" by Olha Kobylianska
I love your suggestions! But I would like to add one more, which isn’t a very serious or tragic but on the contrary, I had so much laughter with this book, I really wish more people knew about these awesome stories It’s called: “Two toreadors from Vasukovka Village” and I’ve loved it since my childhood and I still reread it sometimes, because it’s hilarious 🤣 it’s like reading about Fred and George Weasleys if they were muggles and born in Ukrainian village in the mid 20th century 😅
Thank you so much for this!! As a Ukrainian I was very excited to see Jack diving into our literature, but I do feel like he deserved better recommendations!!! Serhiy Zhadan is a must read, especially "The Orphanage" and "Voloshylovhrad"!!!
I’m currently learning Japanese so I think this is so cool. I don’t think I’ve read a book in a day since the Twilight series but I’m kind of excited to give this a try, starting with Heaven 😅💜
@@Angelica-pc1kk omg same 🤣 I wanted to learn Korean (as the language always fascinated me) but we have Japanese here (I mean here near by us) so why not 😂 (ik whatever I wrote don't make sense but 😂)
@@ilovestrawberry1246 I learn it my own.. There is no one near me to teach me any other language😓😓 by the help youtube videos😊😅 And watching anime and kdramas
I’m Mexican and even tho for us is normal to read translated books, i’m very glad knowing that with this video you will encourage more people to try reading more form other (non english speaking) countries. This is going to help in so many ways. Literature in latin america is not very supported, because not many people are going to read it and is very difficult to sell it internationally, so with this encouragement you are helping latin American authors to continue with their dream. I wanted to make my college degree in literature and my parents didn’t allowed me because of this situation. Thank you for this video! Pd: Fernanda Melchor is a very good author. I really recommend you Guillermo Arriaga, you might learn a lot about Mexican culture and politics by his stories.
As a translator, I support you! Remember always, you are not google translate, you take meanings and feelings and magic and share it with those who need it the most. No machine in the world can do it like us.
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The most recent translated book I read was, ‘10 minutes 38 seconds in this strange world’, albeit it was translated by the author herself, since she writes in both Turkish and English but the text was originally published in Turkish. And I completely understand what you mean by how reading translated literature really gives you an insight into the functioning and the systems that exist in different countries. Books that I read, typically, come from authors who base their stories in western countries and India (since I’m Indian) and it was such a formative and eye-opening experience to read books set in a country whose history, geopolitics and internal strifes are so different from those I’ve been exposed to. The point of this excessively lengthy paragraph is that, read translated literature!!
Brasil has SO many good fictions, like "Captains of the Sands" or "Posthumous Memoirs of Braz Cubas", I truly recomend you to read those. I love to read translated fiction too. Mostly from countries I dont know the language or because Im interested in learn theirs.
I have to read a man called Ove! I am from Norway, so I can even read the original book since I understand Swedish. I always read English books unless the original is in a language I understand. I cannot STAND translated books that are translated to Norwegian, but this video made me more open to it, but I would read a book translated to English than translated to Norwegian.
I really liked it. That author has some other books that have been translated and are popular in the US ("Anxious People" comes to mind). I want to read more by him!
I agree! I’m Norwegian as well and translations into Norwegian are often stiff and awkward, I find. It’s not surprising, since our publishing industry is willing to spend only minuscule amounts of money on translations…
Do you have some good suggestions for Norwegian books ? I find it hard to find good books in original Norwegian and mostly read originally English but translated into Norwegian books.
The happiness and passion and love that just radiates out of Jack and through the screen when he's talking about translated fiction is so contagious 🥺I love seeing people talk about their favorite things - their eyes glaze over and their voice immediately changes. Love seeing you happy Jack 💗💗
A great Polish novel is Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, it won the nobel prize for literature and is such a fascinating character voice to read - it also has great Blake references!
I am a book translator (from English into Spanish, my native language) and it gives me so much joy to see creators acknowledge and praise our community. Thank you so much!
I'm sorry if this is irrelevant, but I'm really interested in majoring in translation and I'd love to know more. how did you become a book translator? what does the road look like after you graduate? :)
@@jiminici3351 well it might be very different from one country to another. In my case I went to uni to study translation, then I got a master's degree in literary translation. Then, at least here in Spain, you have to register as a freelance worker and you will work with different publishing houses, having a specific contract for every book.
For the most of us in CZcams, Shakespeare IS translated literature. And Jane Austin. And Sally Rooney. So yeah, translated books can be pretty good, too. :)
I couldn't find a book of old times that would be translated to the modern english. I remember I found the king lear book in a book store I opened it and 1/5 of every page was a flat dictionary for the used words. It was impossible to read. It's bad old english books are not translated into modern english
I am incredibly grateful for the thing Jack said in the beginning about how amazing translators were. As a child I had an English tutor and to really hammer and polish translation in me, she had me translate the entire book of Coraline by Neil Gaiman in my native language. That experience really made me absolutely admire professional translators. Becuase I am no professional; I didn't get paid for it and it was nowhere near stellar (I required tons of assistance) but the sheer work and attention I had to put into it astounded me. How I had to get into Gaiman's mind, as if, and try to translate not just his words, but his ideas and musings into my native language and somehow making it sound cohesive. And the whole idea of translating novels is one I love as well. Enjoying a novel and translating it into different languages for the people who don't speak the language the book was originally published in, to enjoy. It feels so human to me. Which is why I have so much respect for translators who do this for a living.
I am weirdly happy that you loved “A Man Called Ove”. I did stay to the end just so I could hear you talk about it. I wish I could read it for the first time again. It was simply fantastic and I also cried at the end of reading it. I recommend most of his other books, though I found Beartown to be a tonal shift that I didn’t enjoy.
Thanks for the video! Just would like to say that reading translated books is a great form of supporting art and literature in other countries. The book markets are not as wide in the rest of the world as in English speaking countries and it's very important for the authors to gain recognition outside as well. As a Portuguese guy, I would like to recommend you to read Saramago, who won the Nobel Prize, and specifically Baltasar and Blimunda, which is a piece of art!
Thanks for posting this. I'm a huge fan of Saramago but I haven't heard of Baltasar & Bilmunda. Turns out it was published in Spanish as Memorial del Convento. I have a new book to add to my collection.
Currently reading Blindness, will check out Baltasar and Blimunda afterwards:) Question: I had the impression while reading Saramago that his style was a little like Gabriel Garcia Marquez's. I was wondering, given the proximity of languages and perhaps literary cultures, whether you agree with this or whether there is a sense of literary collective culture across the atlantic between the European and American "latin" worlds?
I love this!! I’ve been trying to read more diverse books (hopefully that makes sense), and I’ve been reaching for more translated books lately! Growing up in an English-speaking community and having a different culture, reading books from cultures similar to mine makes me realize that I’m not so quite different from others. I still read popular or trending books (like books from booktok) but I find reading translated books very eye-opening and interesting! I gotta say that I looove these reviews and recommendations that you’ve made!! ❤️
Hello! I am from Ukraine and I am really moved that you chose to read a Ukrainian book! Thank you for that! And thank you for drawing attention to the translated literature. It is especially valuable to me, since I work as a translator of children's literature into Ukrainian. If you plan on reading some other Ukrainian works, I would recommend the classics such as The Hunters and the Hunted by Ivan Bahriany, The Forest Song by Lesia Ukrainka, as well as some poetry by Vasul Stus, Ivan Franko. As for more contemporary authors there are Serhii Zhadan, Oksana Zabuzhko and many others. I hope that you can find something to your liking :)
It's rather ironic, as a Korean-native reader, I was introduced to a up and coming Korean novellist, Bora Chung, by this video. Maybe I was in too long book slump and content in reading my favorite writers occasionally, mostly in English. So, kudos to Jack. You're a so passionate and open-minded book reader, proficient in sharing of your views and experience that really helped ending my too long dormancy as a book lover.
i recently realised that since i get most of my recommendations online, i, even as a non-native english speaker, read mostly english books. so i really appreciate this video because even though reading translated fiction/books that aren't in my mother tongue is normal to me, a more diverse book community in online spaces would make my reading so much more diverse as well and i've got a feeling that i'm not the only one who has made that experience.
i love you so much (in general) but for doing this! as a translation student from argentina i feel so represented and appreciated for the work we do in your channel. sometimes our job can be overlooked and that can make us (translators) feel ignored or transparent, and you not only making a video about this but mentioning each and every translator makes my heart warm 🤍🥹
I appreciate and admire just how _passionate_ Jack is about translated books! I'm an English Studies major and one of the career options I want to take is a book translator. I think it's an incredible job to be able to give access to literature created halfway across the world to the people of your country.
This is such a lovely video! I love that you are diversifying and trying to incorporate different books! I have never read a translated fiction book so I am interested in checking them out!
I love your take in the intro of this video. Being able to expand your world view through books is priceless, it increases our sensitivity and draws us closer to humanity as a whole. I look forward to your videos so much. They have genuinely enriched my reading experience in such a fun and powerful way. 🥰
Nice to see you reading an author from my home country! My only comment is that next time when you'll speak about Russia - Ukraine war, do not call it a conflict. It lessens the guilt of the aggressor and puts the victim and the aggressor on the same level.
My dad holds that translated fiction has a higher chance of being good quality because it became well known enough for a publishing house to not just buy the distribution rights but also pay a translator to translate it. That's what encouraged me to read a lot of translated fiction. I haven't gelled with all books by any means but it's worth doing just to find good stories apart from any cultural learnings (which definitely happens too!) Totally agree that the translator/author relationship is important. When they have the same vibe it makes all the difference
Loved the video as always, Jacky. Ever since I discovered you last July, I’ve purchased so many books that you’ve recommended. Thank you for being so fantastic! ❤️
it’s very interesting (as someone whose first language isn’t English) seeing English speakers looking at translated books as a novelty haha. As a Brazilian, I usually don’t even think about the fact that a book is translated from English or Spanish or whichever language it is when I’m reading it, because it’s just such a common experience to read translations of things. Some Brazilians even gravitate towards translated books way more often than books in Portuguese, which i guess says a lot about colonialism, imperialism and eurocentrism (which are also causes of why reading translations is such a novelty to English speakers). So for some of us, the big deal in reading is striving to value our own culture and those around us rather than the mainstream ones. Also, it’s great to think about the translators! I feel like, being so used to translated books, we often forget that translating is an art and not just something automatic
as an Armenian, I can confidently say there are so many books I've read in my language, as well as in other foreign languages such as Russian, that are exceptionally great books. I love reading in english, but a book doesn't have to be written in english to be great.
Would you be able to recommend any Armenian books that have been translated into English or French? I've read Three Apples Fell From the Sky by Narine Abgaryan because I'm really interested in Armenian history and culture but I haven't read anything else. Have a nice day and wish you peace 🇦🇲❤
Thanks so much for this video!! A Man Called Ove was my first intro to translated fiction, and I cannot give it enough praise! It somehow found a way to touch my heart, break it, and then put it back together again all while making me laugh and cry in turn. So, in as least of a weird way as possible, I’m glad it made you cry too! Backman & translators have such a talent for communication and captivating heart wrenching emotion! I hope you get a chance to read some other of their stuff! (And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer is a super quick read, but incredibly enduring!) Thanks as always for your videos, and for promoting such important aspects of literature! I love being introduced to titles I may not otherwise come across, and subjects that are incredibly relevant, fascinating, and enlightening! (P.S. I’m getting a degree in English lit right now, and I love suggesting your videos to all my fellow classmates! Thanks for indirectly providing cool talking points for my socially anxious soul.)
I'm Swedish, and I was so surprised you read a Swedish book! I've never read the book myself, but I've seen the movie because they did make it into a movie here in Sweden. And it makes me so happy to hear you speak so well of the book! Because I know it's a book/movie/story that has moved many people's hearts. It made me cry the first time I saw it as well. And I also think it sounds wonderful how you encourage people to read books from other countries. Love your channel and I hope you have a great day!
i'm ukrainian, so almost all fiction i used to read as a kid was translated. but now i try to read books in the languages they were written i would like to recommend you another book by a ukrainian author - "Intermezzo" by Mykhailo Kotsiubynky. i think it has an english translation. it's short, but captivatingly beautiful and describes the life of a man who escaped the city life to reconnect with himself in isolation
As a Dutchy who is some what fluent in English, I always prefer reading the book in its original language. When I read an English book, translated to Dutch I always wonder what the author original meant/said. Sometimes I feel like I’m missing bits, because not all sentences can be translated to the right feel or tone. For me, I rather struggle with the book in English, then wonder if I’m missing bits Dutch. Great video!
This is such a great video and I love the highlight on the importance Of translation- it’s really about capturing the SPIRIT intended by the author, not word for word. I’m studying Spanish and French because I love the beauty of language and connecting with other cultures.
My native language is Spanish but I always read English books in English because I'm so afraid that I'm not gonna get the whole experience by reading the translation, but of course, if the book was originally written in any other language besides Spanish or English I read it in Spanish (so much easier than English)
And sometimes the translations are so much better in Spanish. I prefer to read Japanese and Italian translations in Spanish they are much more subtle and beautiful. Maybe translation form German are better in English
Hi Jack! I'm a fledgling translator, and my incredibly miniscule channel is all about translated literature, and it makes me so excited to see you shining a light on the importance of translation. As many of the commenters from non- English dominant countries have pointed out, reading in translation is extremely normal. In the US, though, less than three percent of books published each year are books in translation, and if you narrow that down to exclusively fiction books published in English for the first time, it's closer to 0.8% of all books published. I'm also really glad that you support translators having their names on the covers of their books; it's extremely important work that has gone unrecognized and underpaid for too long, and having our names on the covers is an important symbol of the changing attitudes in English language publishing to works in translation. Much love!
Please do more videos reading translated literature. I find your reviews and conversations about the books to be honest and intriguing. I love expanding my horizon when it comes to literature, and I get tons of recommendations from you. Please do more of these.
I adored A Man Called Ove, it's such a heartwarming read. Fredrik Backman depicts people and human nature with so much clarity and compassion! Beartown is still my favourite book of his (might even be my favourite book ever?), I would recommend that book until the day and die and probably mention it in my will too lol.
What a great idea! I'm Italian and I'd be so happy if you read some Italian novels next - Elena Ferrante, Cesare Pavese, Dino Buzzati, Elsa Morante, Italo Calvino are some of my favourites 🥰
I love reading translated fiction. Swedish is probably the most I've read, including A Man Called Ove which is one of my favourite books. Scandi crime fiction books are great. I have read some Japanese but want to read more from there.
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Scandi crime fiction was an addiction of mine a few years ago, they're SO GOOD!!
@ Isn't it?! The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was my introduction to it and still remains one of my favourite books. More recently I have been reading the Icelandic translated Freyja and Huldar series by Yrsa Sigurdardottir. I'm sure there are plenty more to discover too.
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@@lynseypeters gonna search that one! I also started with the girl with the dragon tattoo 🤣 but Lars Kepler and Jo Nesbo where my faves, really recommend!
If you haven't' read it already I really recommend The asylum by Johan Theorin. I'm Swedish so I read it in Swedish, the translations might not be good but I remember loving the book when I read it.
I looove this video! You have most definantly inspired me to read more translated fiction. Ive read a few recently and I must say that my literary horizons have been broadened.
I read 'A man called Ove' a few years ago - I didn't know what it would be going in. But man oh man! That book did a number on me. There's also a Swedish movie of the same name. It very much captured the essence of the book.
as a ukrainian, i don't understand why “death and the penguin” has suddenly became a token ukrainian book, because honestly, i've never heard of it before people in the west started talking about it also, i love you, but calling our war a crisis was.. SO not it
I do love Jack as well and I was so excited seeing our flag on the preview… and then it’s Ukrainian crisis:( Well, I’m still thankful he went to an event like that
@@localabsurdist6661 my personal fav classics are “the city” by valerian pidmohylny (mc is a scumbag but his life path is quite interesting), “valse melancolique” by olha kobylianska (a feminist novel by a feminist author) and “the forest song” by lesya ukrainka (a fantasy novel. a tragic fairy tale with amazing atmosphere). my fav modern book is “mozart 2.0” by dorje batuu, although i don't think there's an english translation
@@localabsurdist6661 tiger trappers by ivan bahryanyi. the alternative title may be “the hunters and the hunted” also there’s ton of poetry to dig in. it essentially provides the context of ukrainian struggle in the past and present, sometimes even better than prose. kobzar by taras shevchenko (bible of ua poetry), the executed renaissance etc. intermezzo by mykhailo kotsiubynsky is a masterpiece imho
Anxious people by Fredrik Backman is also such a good book, I loved the way he wrote the multiple characters introduced because they are just SO human, you know? It can get a little hectic at times, but it’s just so great, my favorite as of right now
Hey I love the fact that you try different ways to get to know new books. I don’t know if you already tried the random book generator but i think it would be a fun thing to do and see what books you end up reading. I wish you a beautiful day/evening. ❤️
As a person form non-english speaking country I CAN'T IMAGINE not reading translated books. If I would read only Polish books I wouldn't read at all, because my favourites are originally in different languages. The concept of not reading translated books and using the argument of "there is this barrier when I read them, so I just don't" or "I prefer reading books in their original language" is so privileged and in my eyes makes our - people who don't speak english as their 1st language - experience of reading less valuable. Most of the classics are written in english, if my language level is not high I have no other choice but to read it translated. I don't have the choice "I prefer reading non-translated books" because so many important pieces of literature are not in my language and I would be missing so much references and basic knowledge about literature.
I agree, I think reading in original language is great if you can, but reading a good translation is no less valuable. And it’s weird if english natives have such mentality
I really recommend 'the melting' by lize spit. It's originally a flemish book and i thought it was amazing, I read the original, not the translation, but would love to hear your thoughts on it!
I'm a translator and I absolutely love your videos about it. It is not only about switching words, it is about recreating a story in a way that makes sense to another culture.
What happened to the book "the evening is discomfort"? I thought I could remember that you bought this book for this video! I was excited to see what you think of it since it is a Dutch book and I'm Dutch:)
hey jack !!! thank you so much for making this video :)) my situation is a weird one , i live in sea and am poc BUT im a native english speaker . many people in my country only read english books and only after my friend recommended me several works in translation did my eyes open and i had the pleasure of reconnecting with my culture. so in general thank you for emphasising the value of works in translation!
As a non native English speaker from Europe, what we're definitely missing more in European education, is not necessarily translated fiction, but books from non Western authors!! It's something I was introduced to only through booktube and internet in general and never in school, unfortunately.. I never even thought about translated fiction as a concept since I've been reading books from foreign authors my whole life. It was always divided into Croatian (native) literature and foreign literature for me during my education. Also like someone else already said, reading a book in English for the first time was a far more exciting experience haha
I couldn't agree more ! Since I was very young, I read mainly books in my native langage (French), or translated from English or other European languages (German, Italian, Russian...). A few years ago, I realized the almost total absence of non-Western books on my shelves! Since then, I try to fix it, and my readings are a bit more diversed (China, Rwanda, Senegal, Japan, Indonesia...). But I still have to make the effort to look for non-Western books. They are not the ones that are most promoted in bookstores... So I agree with you, the problem is mostly the West/rest of the world opposition, more than an English-speaking world/rest of the world opposition. At least for Europe, from what I understand from the comments and my experience
@@r.s5918 I never even thought about bookstores not having a huge selection of non western authors but that is a great point! but I love that recently you can see much more varied recommendations on booktube in regards to the country of origin, and I hope it translates to bookstores as well as the demand increases
Well, maybe but like, how many books from Nigeria, Morocco, Gana, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Costa Rica, and the indigenous groups from these countries have the European public read? I feel like it’s not only that Europe should read more eastern literature, but that it certainly should read books from Africa and Latin America, yk. It always seems like these two are forgotten, except maybe for Mexico (and that’s probably because of it’s strong connection to the US). I really don’t know for sure because I’m not European, but judging by booktube I feel like that’s an issue.
@@isabellearaujo8991 definitely!! what I think when I say western authors is USA and Europe mainly (basically political west) so I absolutely agree that we are lacking when it comes to reading south american and african authors, that group is probably even more left behind than eastern asian authors for example
this is true, almost all the books are from europe or north america with some japanese authors. It's 95% of books in every bookstore and it's 95% of people's interests
Jack : Why would you assume that the best litterature would have been written in english ? Every person watching this who doesn't have english has their fisrt language : 👁👄👁 (yeah I don't really have that assumtion lol)
I love what you said about having the translator's name on the cover! I totally agree about recognising the hard work they put into the translation process, but as I history student I've learned the importance of knowing WHO your translator is - not just their name, but their background - because even if they are acting in good faith their own experiences and biases will reflect in the words/phrases they choose. You could read the same book translated by two different people and potentially get two very different stories/character depictions. For example, Helen of Troy is depicted very differently across versions of the Illiad because of who the translators were and their experiences of the world. While translations of modern texts are easier because they aren't written in dead languages, its still really important to know who exactly your translator is and the relationship they've had with the original author to understand another layer to the story you are reading, and if it is actually an accurate one.
i just wanted to add: I've seen a quite a few comments from non-native english speakers saying that it has always been very normal for them to read a lot of translated fiction -- i just wanted to clarify that i discuss this at 27:50 and acknowledge that i am speaking more to native english speakers when i try to encourage reading more translated fiction!! i appreciate that it's quite far into the video and most people will head to the comments section before getting that far in, so i just wanted to note that i am aware that this is a native-english speaker thing, but also a vast majority of my youtube audience are based in the USA, UK, and Australia, which is why i wanted to speak about the value of translated fiction! for example, i did a whole literature degree and almost every single book was originally written in english. also, booktube and booktok tend to really disproportionately over-represent english books, which is why i wanted to specifically draw attention to these amazing books too. i also think i could've articulated myself better that i was trying to recommend books translated from a range of different languages + countries, which is why i chose 7 books from all around the world. if you want to skip the section on the value of translated books and just dive straight into book reviews, they begin at 7:45! :)
I'm one of the people who went straight to the comments to leave my opinion on reading non-english authors as a non-native english speaker and how it's not such a big deal in my country, but I want to clarify it's nothing against you or the video, it was just an interesting observation! You are actually one of the first booktubers (and emmie!!) I saw exploring translated fiction specifically, which got me into reading more asian/african/south american authors so thank you so much for broadening our horizons!!
Hi. If you're interested in translated fiction, "Blindness" by José Saramago is something you might like. It's translated from portugese. A little heavy read but an amazing experience.
I'm from SE Asia with an English literature degree and you were right about a lot of canon books being originally in English.
Native English speaker or not, diversity in reading material does need to be intentional since most readers have their go-to genre and author so thank you for this video.
i started reading translated fiction through your recommendations and i’ve found some of my favorite books through that
I actually love this idea, I would love for you to continue this series of reading books from other countries and cultures. I am from Serbia and I found myself with the opposite problem, because we are so used to reading translated books (usually from Russian American English or French authors) I automatically gravitate towards them rather than the ones from my own country and think they’re “better”, even though I read so many great books from great Serbian authors. Unfortunately the Internet plays huge part in this because most of people watch content creators speaking in English and they are usually from USA or UK, they promote books written in English. Maybe this is just me I’m not saying this as a fact, but I feel like usually when they talk about translated books is when they hop on the trend of supporting Black people or Asian trend and quickly go back. Obviously there are a lot of creators who actually do read translated books from around the world regularly like you. That’s why I actually really love this concept, even if I am someone who is used to reading translated books I still gravitate towards authors from certain countries and this really helps open my horizons. Sorry for the rent, great video and I would love to watch part 2 to this video with other 7 countries 😊
I read the title as "I translated 7 books in 7 days" and I was like that'd probably make me cry too. Gotta love that dyslexia though.
That would be a madness lol.
same lmao
i saw all the flags on the thumbnail and thought "omg i didn't know jack knew all these languages"
I don't have dyslexia but I read it like that too. My first thought was, 'are you trying to set yourself up for a reading slump in multiple languages? / are you trying to break your mind in seven days?'
Pin this comment! It’s also funny that we all think you are possible of translating 7 books in 7 days. No eyes blinked at that lol
That’s literally why I originally clicked on the video, curious only to realize I had read the title wrong 😭but I still loved the video regardless
Not gonna lie, this is a bit of a weird concept as a person who doesn't speak english as the native language. My books as a child were mostly translated. I never gave it a second though. So this was quite an eye opening video! :D And as always hugely entertaining!
Same. It would be a much harder challenge for me to read 7 books written in my language honestly
I was just gonna say the same thing
yeah i get so confuse when people speak of "translated fiction" as if it's a genre haha
@@franknstein5376 where are you from? I feel like in Brazil, YA fiction is just international, there’s barely anything from here :/
@@isabellearaujo8991 As a brazilian, we have some amazing fantasy authors who don’t ger enough recognition. A book I’d always recommend is Ordem Vermelha, it’s amazing.
Jack validating my degree as a translator more than my whole family in 2 mins gave me life!!
hello fellow translation student!! :)
Hey thanks for the work you do
For me as a non-native English speaker it is kinda funny to hear you talk about translated fiction as a new interesting way of experiencing literature. Since for me and I believe for many others it has always been completely normal to read translated books. But it was way more exciting to read an English novel in its original form for the first time.
Same here hahaha.
true!
Same
My thoughts exactly, I'm very proud of myself for rarely reading translated books, because I mostly read untranslated English books nowadays 😂
But I guess the main point of this video/experiment is to read more books that are not originally written in English and/or your native language... and that's definitely something I don't do very often either
i was about to comment the exact same thing JDSJD we've been reading translated books our entire lives and idk abt you all but at least here in my country (Chile) we don't even call them "translated books", they are just....... books jdjsjdsjdjsdsj
the problem here in brazil is the opposite, we read so much books of other countries that we have to make projects for people to realize that brazilian literature is amazing too
Total, especialmente com o público mais jovem :/
In my country is similar and too many people read only English and American literature, although we have quite amazing stuff as well!
@@mipaleditx which is your country??
@@kaifshaikh2178 It's Bulgaria:)
Sim, é bem triste. Tem tantos autores brasileiros incríveis, Machado de Assis, Clarice Lispector, Carlos Drummond de Andrade, etc... mas a maioria das pessoas leem livros estrangeiros. Eu mesmo só era interessado em livros estrangeiros até pouco tempo atrás, mas agora tô tentando dar mais atenção para a literatura brasileira também.
As a novel translator, it makes me so happy that you get so excited when you talk about translated fiction!! Also, A Man Called Ove shattered me in the best way possible, Fredrik Backman’s books are amazing😭
SO good, right!!!
@@jack_edwards highly recommend you to read his other works as well! I LOVE Anxious People and Beartown series!
I think a movie is gonna be made based on this book starring Tom Hanks.
@@jack_edwards High key want to know your grandma’s thoughts if she reads it 🥺
@@risha1897 ugh, why Tom Hanks.
As an Italian, I have to actively remind myself to read books by Italian authors once in a while because I mostly read translated fiction, not just from English but also from French, Russian, German, etc... it's very interesting to see the opposite
Vorrei leggere anche io piu libri in italiano ma non so davvero cosa leggere 😭😅
@@lauramolteni2431 quando ero al liceo, ho iniziato con i classici del 900 e 800 tipo il gattopardo o se questo è un uomo, Pavese, Calvino, Morante, Moravia, tipo la Ciociara o il Conformista. Io adoro la letteratura della Resistenza quindi tipo i libri di Fenoglio o L’Agnese va a morire. Di scrittori contemporanei a me piace tanto Pino Cacucci e poi vabbè c’è la Ferrante, o il collettivo Wu Ming, e poi in generale guarderei i libri candidati al premio Strega! Spero ti abbia aiutato un po’ :)
Sameee
i've always wanted to read books by Italian authors, any recommendations?
Same, especially ever since I started mostly listening to audiobooks, which are much easier to access in English. Also books from around the world are usually first translated into English rather than my native language (if at all)
“A man called Ove” feels like if that 2-minute scene in UP with Carl and Ellie (you know the one I’m talking about) was made into a book.
exactly!!!
I thought so too!
I’ve seen so many reviews of the book (which I loved), surprised that no one has mentioned how Ove is like Carl. I know the curmudgeon is a trope, but I couldn’t get Carl out of my head while reading.
YES!
I’ve read Murakami in both English and Japanese and I noticed that I felt it was much more well written in English. Interested by this, I asked one of my Japanese school teachers about this because she also has read Murakami in both English and Japanese. She said that the translators are so good at their jobs that many times, Murakami ends up attracting more international readers than Japanese readers. (As this intrigued me and it has to do with the subject of this video, just thought that I would share!) ❤️
This is super interesting to me because I have read a few of Murakami's works both translated to English and to German and I have the feeling that his writing style fits the English language quite well, while in German it sounds pretty dull (just imo, his works are still pretty popular in German speaking countries).
I've always wondered how others thought his writing style compares in different languages
So, thanks for sharing :)
I have read murakami books in Spanish and also works well, I have not read them in English so I can’t compare how much the style changues between languages. As fast as my personal option goes, Murakami In Spanish feels really (dreamy I guess) in the sense that reality and fantasy often gets confusing and it’s more about the ambience and the feelings that the actual plot that it’s happening, I often remember murakami’s books more as a landscapes that an actual story
I've heard it said that his books feel more western
I've also heard a bunch of Japanese people saying that his novels were not easy for them to read because it felt as if it's translated from a foreign language (into Japanese).
The smile on your face when you talk about your love for translated fiction is so endearing
Umm… not sure if English is your mother tongue or not but reading translated books is very normal for those who’s native language isn’t English
@@localabsurdist6661 Yes, but most of those books are translated from English. Those books aren’t a particularly good representation of world literature.
I love the confusion from everyone (me included) who is not natively english. I have been reading translated fiction from all over the world my whole life, as have most people I know. I can't imagine not reading a book just because it was originally written in another language
I honestly believe it’s a matter of the publishing industry. Like, my parents have just gone to Europe for the first time ever and I asked them to buy me a book called “Afirma Pereira” in Portugal. This book is originally written in Italian, it is by an Italian author named Antonio Tabucchi and this book, particularly, IS about a Portuguese dictatorship. He is famous for being an Italian in love with Portugal. Nevertheless, it was extremely difficult for my parents to find a translated copy of this book :(
I think he meant that comment towards native English speaking people who unfortunately don’t tend to go out of their native language when it comes to books. Most of his audience consists of native English speakers so it goes back what he was say regarding the content being created with a certain audience in mind! Hopefully that clears up some confusion
But are you reading books that weren't originally translated from English? I'm also not a native English speaker, but until I started paying attention to it, all the translated books I read were translated from English to my native language. Not from other countries
@@knowthatgirlnextdoor Here in Germany you get books translated from Swedish, French, Spanish, Japanese etc. as well as English, into German. Probably quite a lot of readers don‘t even think about it that much.
@@lindamundt4637 I'm Swedish and it's the same here, and you're right: I've never even given it a thought before I saw this video and realised that some people, for some undistinguished reason, don't read translated literature. It's very odd for someone who grew up reading translations from all over the world without ever thinking about it, unless the translation was noticeably bad.
As a non-native speaker, I get what a lot of the people in the comment section talk about when they say they’re used to reading translated fiction from an early age, but I also think (for me at least) it’s been a lot of books translated from English specifically. As an avid reader I’ve definitely had to consciously make an effort to expand my reading experiences from just being my native language’s books and english books (whether or not they’ve been translated into my native language) to including more world literature overall.
This is exactly what I wanted to comment as well. I read so many books translated either from english or from other western European languages (but even that is rare) and there the culture is always similar to what I know from Germany. Jack's videos really inspire me to make an effort to read books from all over the world, even if I'm not as drawn to them initially because I can't relate to the context as easily just by reading the cover text.
Yeah, this is what I wanted to comment as well. A lot of the translated books other commenters are talking about are translated from English specifically. The fact a lot of commenters are mentioning how all the popular and "cool" books in their respective countries are the ones translated from English, or musing over having not read a book from their own country until their teens or even adulthood, is really just another symptom of the same disease: imperialism. It's a good goal, then, I think, to be more conscious of translated fiction as a whole and seek out books that aren't originally written in English.
Exactly. There are 23 books on the upper shelf of my bookcase - and 18 of them are either in English, or translated from English (one takes place in rural Mongolia though). And when you look around in a bookshop, the majority of translated books you see is about white English-speaking people doing white English-speaking people things. Sure, we also get Murakami, Backman and loads of Scandinavian crime books here in Czech Rep., but other than that, you have to look for diversity.
i find it interesting that translated fiction is kind of underrated for native english speakers because as someone who didn't grow up speaking english most of the books i read as a child/young teen were translated from other languages without me even knowing
Doesn’t everyone read translated fiction ? Maybe it’s because I’m not from an English speaking country but it seems impossible to imagine people reading only books by authors from their country.
If you live in Canada/USA/UK, it's very easy to only read books written in English and published in an English speaking country. It would be possible to only read books from the US and not even recognize it
if you live in, let's say France
you'll have french books, and english translated books
teh translated books are the most popular ones, the ones that will have an audience
think about how many international books that's very popular that aren't english
living in an english speaking country you have all the popular books so it's rarer to read non-english books ig
English is a main language of so many countries that it's quite easy for us to not read anything translated. I don't think I read a single translated book as a child.
lol this is sooo funny cuz native english sprakers(specially the ones coming from northern countries) seem to live in such a cultural bubble in terms of entertainment while the rest of the world has their media productions shoved down our throats without even thinking about it - I only read my 1st book by a national author last year and every time I think about it it feels so weird ...
The only non english books I’ve seen hyped up in English speaking countries (at least currently) are murakami’s. Then there’s the french and russian classics but I don’t know how many average people have read them
7:45 At Night All Blood is Black
10:45 Death and the Penguin
13:00 Heaven
16:29 My Pen is the Wing if a Bird
19:27 Paradais
22:11 Cursed Bunny
24:57 A Man called Ove
*of a bird
As a native french speaker who's second language is english, I will sometimes read the translated one first and then the original version, and I have to admit some of the translations are very good. I personnally loved the translation for Frankenstein, it kept the style and prose in an amazing way.
I’m mexican and i’ve read “Paradais” and while reading the book i remember thinking “this book must be a pain in the ass to translate” cause it’s filled with mexican slang from start to finish, now i’m curious and i cannot wait to get my hands on the english translated edition.
Mariana, same with Signs Preceding the End of the World by Yuri Herrera! It's still gritty in English but I feel for the translator because they definitely had to translate the ideas, not the words
English isn't my first language so most of the things I read are translated 😂 I had no idea it was a thing until booktube P.S if anyone wants to read Belarusian Iiterature I suggest Boys in Zinc by Svetlana Alexievich
I'll have to look into that book.
@@bookishmillennial5297 My bad author is Belarusian but she won a noble prize so still worth to check 😅she has a book about Chernonyl and mistook her ethnicity
oh my are you Belarusian?! I am too! my mum loves Belarusian literature :)
@@ANNA_SNAP No haha I'm Georgian. the writer is just popular in my country
I finished that book last week and oh boy it was such an eye opener, im also from eastern europe and Russia always had alot of influence on my country so i knew how bad the country is but i never thought the government there was THAT vile
Fredrick Backman is my favorite author. From randomly picking up his book in a bookstore in New Jersey while on a trip to see my mother, to receiving a heart bending book about family and forgiveness (My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry) to devouring everything he’s ever written. His new book comes out in September, so show him some love if you liked his work, and read all of the other things because they are all fantastic and thoughtful, and I’ve learned so much about the human experience from the feeling he provoked with his writing. It’s amazing. He’s amazing.
Considering your love of translated fiction, here's a video idea: Reading the classic literature of other countries
Example: Faust by Goethe, Dream of The Red Chamber by Cao Xueqen
I really hope he sees this, it seems really cool.
This is good!!!! There are lots of gems
There so many better German classics than Faust… also there are so many great Swiss and Austrian classics too
Das Parfum (The Perfume) by Patrick Süßkind!
I love this idea! But poor boy doesn't deserve reading Faust, Oscar Wilde did it so much better with The Picture of Dorian Gray
This concept of translated book as a thing people choose to ignore is so mind boggling to me. As a Chilean and a child of the internet, I always considered the world to be bast and full of talent, and I didn't even stop to think to keep myself only in Spanish o Chilean literature, it wasn't an option, since I have read books from all over the world since my first year in school. Although, this type on mental state does resonate a lot with the ego of England and the U.S., the classic "we are the only culture that matter".
I'm sorry for the short essay, it's just that I'm amazed with this.
Francisco, in Chile do the schools incentivize the reading of Chilean literature? Here in Brazil we do, but it feels like students mostly want to read international books because they are more current. By that I mean that they generally do not enjoy classic literature (which is what schools incentivize) as much as YA and fantasy, and these two genres are just not as prominent in Brazil :(
Fortunately we have many booktubers who try to incentivize the reading of our authors, which I love ♥️
In The Netherlands, kids are encouraged to read from a young age, however, in high school they introduce "the reading list". All books read for Dutch, have to be Dutch literature. Often, from that moment on, reading enjoyment plummets. Since the rise of booktok, reading has become more popular, but the general consensus by adults is that they should be reading Dutch literature, which often has themes that simply don't appeal to young audiences. Besides that, the average Dutch book costs €25 and the average English book costs €13. Even books translated to Dutch are often around €15.
It's quite an interesting debate to see unfolding, but mostly I'm happy (as a 22 year old) that people are finally standing up for our youth and that they are getting encouraged by people around my age to start reading whatever they want.
@@hanneke3979 Oh in Russia it’s similar. In high school we read ONLY classic Russian literature and almost everyone hates it ( coz you know russian classics are complicated and depressing as hell as well as long. So most young adults read only translated works or don’t read at all
@@isabellearaujo8991 It's quite similar in Chile, schools do try to make students read chilean literature, and hispanic literature, but they are mostly classics that younger audiences aren't interested in. So, the ones who do read end up knowing more books written in english. I'd say it is definitely weird for us to see the "translated books" label, since most of what we read is translated and we don't really think much of it
@@hanneke3979 This is interesting! Fortunately for me, I live in the US and in a very liberal state, and in a very diverse town. Our reading lists included authors from all over the world but mostly American authors. We had Mexican authors, Chicano authors, Asian authors, authors from Afghanistan, Iraq, Russian authors, the ancient authors etc etc. I guess I was fortunate in this sense. I have heard that the Netherlands isn’t really as diverse as people think it is. Idk if that might play a role
A Man Called Ove is a masterpiece. I read it in 2020 over a book prompt that was "a book about a senior." I didn't even expect to like it, I just thought "Oh, well I'll get this prompt over with I guess." Ended up being one of my favorite books of all time, and I've gone ahead and read it again earlier this year. My only regret is that I only have the book in audio format so I can't loan it out to my loved ones. Also, picture me: listening to the ending sitting in my car after a drive home, just crying, smiling, laughing all at the same time. There is so much heart and life just pouring out of those pages. Love it.
If you enjoy poetry, I highly recommend classic Ukrainian poets like Vasyl Stus, Lesya Ukrainka, Vasyl Symonenko and modern poets like Serhiy Zhadan and Kateryna Kalytko. Some of their poems are translated in English. My personal favourite is the poem "They buried their son last winter" by Serhiy Zhadan.
Thank you for the suggestions!! I’ll definitely look for them ♥️
Oh yeah, I absolutely love Ukrainian classics, especially Valerian Pidmohylniy 'City' (Місто)
🙌🙌🙌
Hope Jack sees these suggestions!
Hi! Can you recommend me Ukrainian classical novels? Last year I tried to get into them but got confused pretty quickly and gave up. So, it would be nice if someone with background knowledge gave me recommendations. Thanks, in advance.
@@chinares Hi! Sadly many Ukrainian gems are not translated in english. For example only tiny part of my favorite short story in ukranian "Intermezzo" by Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky is translated, but it is top tier. Also understand how it could be hard to read due to historical context foreigners are not familiar with. But I can recommend in English:
- "The City" by Valerian Pidmohylny, first urbanistic Ukrainian novel
- play "The Forest Song" by Lesia Ukrainka if you want to learn a bit more about Ukrainian folklore
- "The Hunters and the Hunted" by Ivan Bahryany show how Ukrainians always fight for being free
- modern classics like any translated fiction by Serhiy Zhadan, "Death and the Penguin" by Andriy Kurkov
- my childhood fave: "Two Toreadors from Vasukovka Village" by Vsevolod Nestaiko about adventures of two kids
As a translator I find it really incredible how you credit the translations, since in many venues of life translators are overlooked and not even mentioned. I've also read translated fiction all my life so it's fascinating seeing things from english speaking people's point of view.
ALSO, It is not a "crisis" in Ukraine, it's a WAR. You know that language is important.
Having Swedish as my first language, I practically grew up reading translated works. And I fully agree with you - reading books in their translated version can be just as special and enriching as reading them in their original language! Glad you enjoyed ’A Man Called Ove’ (it broke my heart as well…), if you’re interested in reading more works by Backman I would recommend ’Beartown’!
Oh man I was looking through the comments to see if anyone had recommended it yet! I love almost all of Backmans work but Beartown is easily one of my absolute favorites. I hope Jack sees your comment and decides to give it a read!
As a fellow Swede, I completely agree. A man called ove is great, but Beartown is just a masterpiece! One of my favourite books of all time. I really hope Jack decides to give it a go!
Edit: I also highly recommend the movie adaptation of A man called Ove. One of the few book-to-movie films I think is really good!
I love his books! My favorite book is A man called Ove. I read Anxious People last year and I think it's my new favorite. My native language isn't Swedish, so I read the English versions. Kinda curious about the difference if you've read the English versions as well
I was born in Sweden but have lived in the UK for over 10 years now so my Swedish is a little rusty (especially reading and writing unfortunately lol) I was wondering if any other swedes have some good recommendations of Swedish books and authors to check out. (LOVED A Man Called Ove when I read it!) Gonna check out Beartown as well.
@@crypticlish6717 I sadly haven’t read that many Swedish contemporary books (I really want to though!!), but if you’re into classics I would recommend Kallocain by Karin Boye and The Dwarf by Pär Lagerkvist! Kallocain is definitely one of the best dystopias I have ever read, and The Dwarf is a fascinating study of evil and hatred.
A man called Ove was my very first novel I bought with my own money. I read it when I was in middle school, when I first saw it I knew I'm going to love it and I did. now it's one of my favorite books I've ever read. The story and the softness and Ove himself stuck with me to this day. Fredrik's other works are also great you should check the rest out! :)
Thank you Jack for spreading the word for reading non-English books! I’m from Hungary so I’m accustomed to translated books and I appreciate that you’re encouraging readers to step out of their comfort zone and venture into the world of non-English literature! I would love to see you making a series out of this and give other countries a try as well (especially something Hungarian☺️)!
As someone who's studying to become a translator, I really appreciate this video because not many people give credit to translators nowadays! Which is really sad because the amount of work that goes behind a translation is really hard, so thank you for making this video Jack!
I'm sorry if this is irrelevant, but I'm really interested in majoring in translation and I'd love to know more. what does the road look like after you graduate? :)
I'm sorry if this is irrelevant, but I'm really interested in majoring in translation and I'd love to know more. what does the road look like after you graduate? :)
“At Night All Blood is Black” is a stunning title! “Frère d’âme” is the original which translates literally as “Soul brother.” I think that type of footnote would be cool to include if you make this a series bc it’s kind of a pithy way to get at the limitations and sometimes transcendence of works in translation
“Hopefully we are far enough into the video that people have stopped watching” NOPE Ove is my favorite book, and your review definitely did it justice. I’m so glad it touched you like that!
If you want to read Finnish 🇫🇮 books PLEASE read Tove Jansson ”The Moomins” book series.
They are childrens books, but are actually more mesmerizing to adults, much like harry potter is really enjoyable for adults. It’s a tale of these cute and fluffy hippo like trolls called moomins who live in moominvalley. The books are really wholesome and philosophical. They are the best books in my opinion to describe happines. I also love that in many other childrens books, different groups of people are seperated by race, profession etc but in the moomin books they are seperated by characteristics. The books are basically a Nordic countries dreamland, and they remind me so much of home. 💗 The books are also quite infuelced by WW2, and Tove Jansson was a pretty cool lesbian lady. 🏳️🌈:D
I recently read The Summer Book by Tove Jansson for a class and there's definitely something special about her writing!
AGREE ❤️
I recently read Ihana meri by Kira Poutanen. Do you have any other Finnish book recommendations? 😊 kiitos paljon
i love them, they are a huge part of my childhood!! i have a ukrainian copy that my grandmother gave me and it's been with me on my nightstand ever since :D
So excited to watch it after jack posted on Instagram saying it’s his favourite video he’s made
As a Ukrainian, I was so excited and equally terrified seeing Jack had decided to read a book of a Ukrainian author. Ukrainian culture has been belittled by russia for centuries, so we are still trying to gain the confidence that our literature is worthy. We take even slight criticism very personally. Then again it’s because of our collective “childhood trauma”, please, take that in mind.
That’s why I am so glad that Jack wasn't hard on this book, even though Kurkov’s books can hardly be considered a part of Ukrainian culture. This author has been echoing russian propaganda that russia later used to “justify” the war.
Edit: Note, that I didn't write that he supports russian war in Ukraine. Nevertheless, he is a controversial figure at the very least. And if someone asks me about Ukrainian literature, I won't even think of him.
If anyone wants to get to know Ukrainian literature here are my recommendations:
1) “The Orphanage” by Serhiy Zhadan - 2017 - it’s the most relevant, since it brings you into the eerie atmosphere of war by showing a person inside it. Highly recommended.
2) Serhiy Zhadan’s poems are brilliant as well, sharp and modern, and so lyrical. Starting from 2014 his poems are an attempt to process the horrors of the war. Some can be found online in English. Some are just pure pain incorporated in words…
3) “The City” by Valerian Pidmohylnyi (or Pidmohylny) - published in 1928 - if you like realism in literature, you’ll probably like this novel.
4) Poems of Lina Kostenko - she is a genius, creating the most sophisticated metaphors using mostly simple language.
5) Ivan Bahrianyi - Garden of Gethsemane - written in 1948-1950 - if you want to know all the horrors of being a political prisoner in the USSR. It’s a fictional book, but based on real authors’ experience. And a content warning from me: it may haunt you quite for some time.
Some important non-fiction:
- Red Famine. Stalin's War on Ukraine, by Anne Applebaum
- The Gates of Europe, by Serhii Plokhy - fundamental work, it’s basically a history of Ukraine
There’s also a book called "Absolute Zero", by Artem Chekh, which I haven’t read but am going to. The New York Times wrote about it: “This memoir [...] is the diary of a Ukrainian novelist who fought in the Donbas region starting in 2015, and incorporates perspectives of civilians and his fellow soldiers”.
To film fans I’d recommend “Winter On Fire” (to understand our love for freedom), “Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die” (war film).
I can go on and on, even though I am myself discovering my people’s literature just now. Unfortunately, very few books can be found in any translation at all. That’s the consequence of being a de facto colony for several centuries.
p.s. Please, please, do not use the word “crisis” when talking about the russian war in Ukraine. Words matter. Especially when the country attacking your country and killing hundreds of innocent people created its own Newspeak.
Thank you immensly for the amazing recommendations
awesome recommendations. i agree with you, it's so hard sometimes to accept anything slightly negative about ukrainian literature to me. but i hope as the world learns more about ukraine and our culture, the books beloved by many will find recognition too. personally i'd also add a few classics (and school literature 😅): "Lisova pisnya" by Lesya Ukrainka, "Marusya Churai" by Lina Kostenko, and "Valse mélancolique" by Olha Kobylianska
I love your suggestions!
But I would like to add one more, which isn’t a very serious or tragic but on the contrary, I had so much laughter with this book, I really wish more people knew about these awesome stories
It’s called: “Two toreadors from Vasukovka Village” and I’ve loved it since my childhood and I still reread it sometimes, because it’s hilarious 🤣
it’s like reading about Fred and George Weasleys if they were muggles and born in Ukrainian village in the mid 20th century 😅
@@homchenkoVal i love toreadors, such a lovely book
Thank you so much for this!! As a Ukrainian I was very excited to see Jack diving into our literature, but I do feel like he deserved better recommendations!!! Serhiy Zhadan is a must read, especially "The Orphanage" and "Voloshylovhrad"!!!
I’m currently learning Japanese so I think this is so cool. I don’t think I’ve read a book in a day since the Twilight series but I’m kind of excited to give this a try, starting with Heaven 😅💜
omg same even I am learning Japanese lol 😂
Same.. I am learning japanese and korean..
Since there is nothing I can do for now.. until cbse announce our results (10th )
😌😅
@@Angelica-pc1kk omg same 🤣 I wanted to learn Korean (as the language always fascinated me) but we have Japanese here (I mean here near by us) so why not 😂 (ik whatever I wrote don't make sense but 😂)
Omgg samee😀😀
@@ilovestrawberry1246 I learn it my own.. There is no one near me to teach me any other language😓😓
by the help youtube videos😊😅 And watching anime and kdramas
I’m Mexican and even tho for us is normal to read translated books, i’m very glad knowing that with this video you will encourage more people to try reading more form other (non english speaking) countries. This is going to help in so many ways. Literature in latin america is not very supported, because not many people are going to read it and is very difficult to sell it internationally, so with this encouragement you are helping latin American authors to continue with their dream. I wanted to make my college degree in literature and my parents didn’t allowed me because of this situation. Thank you for this video!
Pd: Fernanda Melchor is a very good author. I really recommend you Guillermo Arriaga, you might learn a lot about Mexican culture and politics by his stories.
As someone who wants to be a translator, thank you for highlighting us! 😊
As a translator, I support you! Remember always, you are not google translate, you take meanings and feelings and magic and share it with those who need it the most. No machine in the world can do it like us.
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The current list of books that have made Jack cry:
-A Little Life
-A Man Called Ove
The most recent translated book I read was, ‘10 minutes 38 seconds in this strange world’, albeit it was translated by the author herself, since she writes in both Turkish and English but the text was originally published in Turkish.
And I completely understand what you mean by how reading translated literature really gives you an insight into the functioning and the systems that exist in different countries. Books that I read, typically, come from authors who base their stories in western countries and India (since I’m Indian) and it was such a formative and eye-opening experience to read books set in a country whose history, geopolitics and internal strifes are so different from those I’ve been exposed to.
The point of this excessively lengthy paragraph is that, read translated literature!!
10 minutes 38 seconds in this strange world has been recommended to me during the last meeting of my bookclub! I love to see it mentionned here :)
I really want to read that recently i finished her "Three daughters of Eve" and loved it
Brasil has SO many good fictions, like "Captains of the Sands" or "Posthumous Memoirs of Braz Cubas", I truly recomend you to read those. I love to read translated fiction too. Mostly from countries I dont know the language or because Im interested in learn theirs.
I have to read a man called Ove! I am from Norway, so I can even read the original book since I understand Swedish. I always read English books unless the original is in a language I understand. I cannot STAND translated books that are translated to Norwegian, but this video made me more open to it, but I would read a book translated to English than translated to Norwegian.
I really liked it. That author has some other books that have been translated and are popular in the US ("Anxious People" comes to mind). I want to read more by him!
I agree! I’m Norwegian as well and translations into Norwegian are often stiff and awkward, I find. It’s not surprising, since our publishing industry is willing to spend only minuscule amounts of money on translations…
@@bookishmillennial5297 try Beartown as well!
@@Magicme79 that’s so sad :(
The publishing industry can make it so difficult for us readers sometimes. (I’m not Nowergian tho)
Do you have some good suggestions for Norwegian books ? I find it hard to find good books in original Norwegian and mostly read originally English but translated into Norwegian books.
The happiness and passion and love that just radiates out of Jack and through the screen when he's talking about translated fiction is so contagious 🥺I love seeing people talk about their favorite things - their eyes glaze over and their voice immediately changes. Love seeing you happy Jack 💗💗
A great Polish novel is Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, it won the nobel prize for literature and is such a fascinating character voice to read - it also has great Blake references!
I LOVE this book, I've read it so many times!! I just got her book Flights and am soo excited to read it. Olga is a fantastic writer!
I am a book translator (from English into Spanish, my native language) and it gives me so much joy to see creators acknowledge and praise our community. Thank you so much!
I'm sorry if this is irrelevant, but I'm really interested in majoring in translation and I'd love to know more. how did you become a book translator? what does the road look like after you graduate? :)
@@jiminici3351 well it might be very different from one country to another. In my case I went to uni to study translation, then I got a master's degree in literary translation. Then, at least here in Spain, you have to register as a freelance worker and you will work with different publishing houses, having a specific contract for every book.
Love to see you reading a book by a Mexican author!
For the most of us in CZcams, Shakespeare IS translated literature. And Jane Austin. And Sally Rooney. So yeah, translated books can be pretty good, too. :)
I couldn't find a book of old times that would be translated to the modern english. I remember I found the king lear book in a book store I opened it and 1/5 of every page was a flat dictionary for the used words. It was impossible to read. It's bad old english books are not translated into modern english
I am incredibly grateful for the thing Jack said in the beginning about how amazing translators were. As a child I had an English tutor and to really hammer and polish translation in me, she had me translate the entire book of Coraline by Neil Gaiman in my native language. That experience really made me absolutely admire professional translators. Becuase I am no professional; I didn't get paid for it and it was nowhere near stellar (I required tons of assistance) but the sheer work and attention I had to put into it astounded me. How I had to get into Gaiman's mind, as if, and try to translate not just his words, but his ideas and musings into my native language and somehow making it sound cohesive. And the whole idea of translating novels is one I love as well. Enjoying a novel and translating it into different languages for the people who don't speak the language the book was originally published in, to enjoy. It feels so human to me. Which is why I have so much respect for translators who do this for a living.
I am weirdly happy that you loved “A Man Called Ove”. I did stay to the end just so I could hear you talk about it. I wish I could read it for the first time again. It was simply fantastic and I also cried at the end of reading it. I recommend most of his other books, though I found Beartown to be a tonal shift that I didn’t enjoy.
Thanks for the video! Just would like to say that reading translated books is a great form of supporting art and literature in other countries. The book markets are not as wide in the rest of the world as in English speaking countries and it's very important for the authors to gain recognition outside as well. As a Portuguese guy, I would like to recommend you to read Saramago, who won the Nobel Prize, and specifically Baltasar and Blimunda, which is a piece of art!
Thanks for posting this. I'm a huge fan of Saramago but I haven't heard of Baltasar & Bilmunda. Turns out it was published in Spanish as Memorial del Convento. I have a new book to add to my collection.
Currently reading Blindness, will check out Baltasar and Blimunda afterwards:) Question: I had the impression while reading Saramago that his style was a little like Gabriel Garcia Marquez's. I was wondering, given the proximity of languages and perhaps literary cultures, whether you agree with this or whether there is a sense of literary collective culture across the atlantic between the European and American "latin" worlds?
I'd personally recommend Fernando Pessoa's 'The book of disquiet' more, but Baltasar and Blimunda is great
I love this!! I’ve been trying to read more diverse books (hopefully that makes sense), and I’ve been reaching for more translated books lately! Growing up in an English-speaking community and having a different culture, reading books from cultures similar to mine makes me realize that I’m not so quite different from others. I still read popular or trending books (like books from booktok) but I find reading translated books very eye-opening and interesting!
I gotta say that I looove these reviews and recommendations that you’ve made!! ❤️
Hello! I am from Ukraine and I am really moved that you chose to read a Ukrainian book! Thank you for that! And thank you for drawing attention to the translated literature. It is especially valuable to me, since I work as a translator of children's literature into Ukrainian.
If you plan on reading some other Ukrainian works, I would recommend the classics such as The Hunters and the Hunted by Ivan Bahriany, The Forest Song by Lesia Ukrainka, as well as some poetry by Vasul Stus, Ivan Franko. As for more contemporary authors there are Serhii Zhadan, Oksana Zabuzhko and many others. I hope that you can find something to your liking :)
thank you for all these Ukrainian recommendations, cannot wait to look into all of these!!!
Дякую за рекомендації, я як раз теж хотіла читати побільш української літератури, тому цей коментар прям в нагоду!
@@1ursoftgothgf1 Рада, що надихнула! А потім можна зазирнути кудись іще, окрім класики, бо багато гарних творів залишилися в тіні
It's rather ironic, as a Korean-native reader, I was introduced to a up and coming Korean novellist, Bora Chung, by this video. Maybe I was in too long book slump and content in reading my favorite writers occasionally, mostly in English. So, kudos to Jack. You're a so passionate and open-minded book reader, proficient in sharing of your views and experience that really helped ending my too long dormancy as a book lover.
i recently realised that since i get most of my recommendations online, i, even as a non-native english speaker, read mostly english books. so i really appreciate this video because even though reading translated fiction/books that aren't in my mother tongue is normal to me, a more diverse book community in online spaces would make my reading so much more diverse as well and i've got a feeling that i'm not the only one who has made that experience.
Yes!!!!
i love you so much (in general) but for doing this! as a translation student from argentina i feel so represented and appreciated for the work we do in your channel. sometimes our job can be overlooked and that can make us (translators) feel ignored or transparent, and you not only making a video about this but mentioning each and every translator makes my heart warm 🤍🥹
I appreciate and admire just how _passionate_ Jack is about translated books! I'm an English Studies major and one of the career options I want to take is a book translator. I think it's an incredible job to be able to give access to literature created halfway across the world to the people of your country.
A Man Called Ove is one of my absolute favorites! I highly recommend Anxious People by Fredrik Backman as well! It's a wonderful read 🙂
Are you me? I left exactly the same comment in another thread lol. Did you read those books in Swedish or other languages?
This is such a lovely video! I love that you are diversifying and trying to incorporate different books! I have never read a translated fiction book so I am interested in checking them out!
Dig it. I’m looking to read more translated works these days. Thanks for the video!
"This is not a lesson, it's a piece of art" needs to be on a t-shirt 💘💘💘
Hope you continue this series , Jack! ☺️Try Spanish and Korean translated books, I think you’ll love it.
I love your take in the intro of this video. Being able to expand your world view through books is priceless, it increases our sensitivity and draws us closer to humanity as a whole. I look forward to your videos so much. They have genuinely enriched my reading experience in such a fun and powerful way. 🥰
Ive been reading more translated books because of your love for them! I have so many to get through now its amazing 👌🏻
Nice to see you reading an author from my home country!
My only comment is that next time when you'll speak about Russia - Ukraine war, do not call it a conflict. It lessens the guilt of the aggressor and puts the victim and the aggressor on the same level.
Absolutely agree!
My dad holds that translated fiction has a higher chance of being good quality because it became well known enough for a publishing house to not just buy the distribution rights but also pay a translator to translate it. That's what encouraged me to read a lot of translated fiction. I haven't gelled with all books by any means but it's worth doing just to find good stories apart from any cultural learnings (which definitely happens too!)
Totally agree that the translator/author relationship is important. When they have the same vibe it makes all the difference
Loved the video as always, Jacky. Ever since I discovered you last July, I’ve purchased so many books that you’ve recommended. Thank you for being so fantastic! ❤️
Love these longer videos. Will definately pick up some of those books.
it’s very interesting (as someone whose first language isn’t English) seeing English speakers looking at translated books as a novelty haha. As a Brazilian, I usually don’t even think about the fact that a book is translated from English or Spanish or whichever language it is when I’m reading it, because it’s just such a common experience to read translations of things. Some Brazilians even gravitate towards translated books way more often than books in Portuguese, which i guess says a lot about colonialism, imperialism and eurocentrism (which are also causes of why reading translations is such a novelty to English speakers). So for some of us, the big deal in reading is striving to value our own culture and those around us rather than the mainstream ones. Also, it’s great to think about the translators! I feel like, being so used to translated books, we often forget that translating is an art and not just something automatic
as an Armenian, I can confidently say there are so many books I've read in my language, as well as in other foreign languages such as Russian, that are exceptionally great books. I love reading in english, but a book doesn't have to be written in english to be great.
Would you be able to recommend any Armenian books that have been translated into English or French? I've read Three Apples Fell From the Sky by Narine Abgaryan because I'm really interested in Armenian history and culture but I haven't read anything else. Have a nice day and wish you peace 🇦🇲❤
Thanks so much for this video!! A Man Called Ove was my first intro to translated fiction, and I cannot give it enough praise! It somehow found a way to touch my heart, break it, and then put it back together again all while making me laugh and cry in turn. So, in as least of a weird way as possible, I’m glad it made you cry too! Backman & translators have such a talent for communication and captivating heart wrenching emotion! I hope you get a chance to read some other of their stuff! (And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer is a super quick read, but incredibly enduring!)
Thanks as always for your videos, and for promoting such important aspects of literature! I love being introduced to titles I may not otherwise come across, and subjects that are incredibly relevant, fascinating, and enlightening! (P.S. I’m getting a degree in English lit right now, and I love suggesting your videos to all my fellow classmates! Thanks for indirectly providing cool talking points for my socially anxious soul.)
I'm Swedish, and I was so surprised you read a Swedish book! I've never read the book myself, but I've seen the movie because they did make it into a movie here in Sweden. And it makes me so happy to hear you speak so well of the book! Because I know it's a book/movie/story that has moved many people's hearts. It made me cry the first time I saw it as well. And I also think it sounds wonderful how you encourage people to read books from other countries. Love your channel and I hope you have a great day!
i'm ukrainian, so almost all fiction i used to read as a kid was translated. but now i try to read books in the languages they were written
i would like to recommend you another book by a ukrainian author - "Intermezzo" by Mykhailo Kotsiubynky. i think it has an english translation. it's short, but captivatingly beautiful and describes the life of a man who escaped the city life to reconnect with himself in isolation
i highly recommend that book too! one of my favorites
intermezzos is amazing
As a Dutchy who is some what fluent in English, I always prefer reading the book in its original language. When I read an English book, translated to Dutch I always wonder what the author original meant/said. Sometimes I feel like I’m missing bits, because not all sentences can be translated to the right feel or tone. For me, I rather struggle with the book in English, then wonder if I’m missing bits Dutch.
Great video!
true
Same for me (mother tongue German)
This is such a great video and I love the highlight on the importance Of translation- it’s really about capturing the SPIRIT intended by the author, not word for word. I’m studying Spanish and French because I love the beauty of language and connecting with other cultures.
Also the start of this video is so wholesome I love how you talk about foreign cultures and try to get people to read more books from other countries
My native language is Spanish but I always read English books in English because I'm so afraid that I'm not gonna get the whole experience by reading the translation, but of course, if the book was originally written in any other language besides Spanish or English I read it in Spanish (so much easier than English)
And sometimes the translations are so much better in Spanish. I prefer to read Japanese and Italian translations in Spanish they are much more subtle and beautiful. Maybe translation form German are better in English
Hi Jack! I'm a fledgling translator, and my incredibly miniscule channel is all about translated literature, and it makes me so excited to see you shining a light on the importance of translation. As many of the commenters from non- English dominant countries have pointed out, reading in translation is extremely normal. In the US, though, less than three percent of books published each year are books in translation, and if you narrow that down to exclusively fiction books published in English for the first time, it's closer to 0.8% of all books published. I'm also really glad that you support translators having their names on the covers of their books; it's extremely important work that has gone unrecognized and underpaid for too long, and having our names on the covers is an important symbol of the changing attitudes in English language publishing to works in translation.
Much love!
Please do more videos reading translated literature. I find your reviews and conversations about the books to be honest and intriguing. I love expanding my horizon when it comes to literature, and I get tons of recommendations from you. Please do more of these.
I adored A Man Called Ove, it's such a heartwarming read. Fredrik Backman depicts people and human nature with so much clarity and compassion!
Beartown is still my favourite book of his (might even be my favourite book ever?), I would recommend that book until the day and die and probably mention it in my will too lol.
What a great idea! I'm Italian and I'd be so happy if you read some Italian novels next - Elena Ferrante, Cesare Pavese, Dino Buzzati, Elsa Morante, Italo Calvino are some of my favourites 🥰
I love reading translated fiction. Swedish is probably the most I've read, including A Man Called Ove which is one of my favourite books. Scandi crime fiction books are great. I have read some Japanese but want to read more from there.
Scandi crime fiction was an addiction of mine a few years ago, they're SO GOOD!!
@ Isn't it?! The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was my introduction to it and still remains one of my favourite books. More recently I have been reading the Icelandic translated Freyja and Huldar series by Yrsa Sigurdardottir. I'm sure there are plenty more to discover too.
@@lynseypeters gonna search that one! I also started with the girl with the dragon tattoo 🤣 but Lars Kepler and Jo Nesbo where my faves, really recommend!
If you haven't' read it already I really recommend The asylum by Johan Theorin. I'm Swedish so I read it in Swedish, the translations might not be good but I remember loving the book when I read it.
@ I need to read some LK. I did read one JN book but haven't got around to any others just yet. Thank you!
I looove this video! You have most definantly inspired me to read more translated fiction. Ive read a few recently and I must say that my literary horizons have been broadened.
Definitely adding some of these to my TBR. Glad You enjoyed Ove - I loved that book and I love him as a character.
I read 'A man called Ove' a few years ago - I didn't know what it would be going in. But man oh man! That book did a number on me. There's also a Swedish movie of the same name. It very much captured the essence of the book.
as a ukrainian, i don't understand why “death and the penguin” has suddenly became a token ukrainian book, because honestly, i've never heard of it before people in the west started talking about it
also, i love you, but calling our war a crisis was.. SO not it
I do love Jack as well and I was so excited seeing our flag on the preview… and then it’s Ukrainian crisis:(
Well, I’m still thankful he went to an event like that
Same, read a lot and I've never heard of Kurkov before. Had to google to check his stance on the war (why is this my life now)
Do you have any other Ukrainian classic or contemporary book you would recommend?
@@localabsurdist6661 my personal fav classics are “the city” by valerian pidmohylny (mc is a scumbag but his life path is quite interesting), “valse melancolique” by olha kobylianska (a feminist novel by a feminist author) and “the forest song” by lesya ukrainka (a fantasy novel. a tragic fairy tale with amazing atmosphere). my fav modern book is “mozart 2.0” by dorje batuu, although i don't think there's an english translation
@@localabsurdist6661 tiger trappers by ivan bahryanyi. the alternative title may be “the hunters and the hunted” also there’s ton of poetry to dig in. it essentially provides the context of ukrainian struggle in the past and present, sometimes even better than prose. kobzar by taras shevchenko (bible of ua poetry), the executed renaissance etc. intermezzo by mykhailo kotsiubynsky is a masterpiece imho
Anxious people by Fredrik Backman is also such a good book, I loved the way he wrote the multiple characters introduced because they are just SO human, you know? It can get a little hectic at times, but it’s just so great, my favorite as of right now
Hey I love the fact that you try different ways to get to know new books. I don’t know if you already tried the random book generator but i think it would be a fun thing to do and see what books you end up reading. I wish you a beautiful day/evening. ❤️
As a person form non-english speaking country I CAN'T IMAGINE not reading translated books. If I would read only Polish books I wouldn't read at all, because my favourites are originally in different languages.
The concept of not reading translated books and using the argument of "there is this barrier when I read them, so I just don't" or "I prefer reading books in their original language" is so privileged and in my eyes makes our - people who don't speak english as their 1st language - experience of reading less valuable. Most of the classics are written in english, if my language level is not high I have no other choice but to read it translated. I don't have the choice "I prefer reading non-translated books" because so many important pieces of literature are not in my language and I would be missing so much references and basic knowledge about literature.
I agree, I think reading in original language is great if you can, but reading a good translation is no less valuable. And it’s weird if english natives have such mentality
I really recommend 'the melting' by lize spit. It's originally a flemish book and i thought it was amazing, I read the original, not the translation, but would love to hear your thoughts on it!
This was sooooo good! We need more of these videos.
I'm a translator and I absolutely love your videos about it. It is not only about switching words, it is about recreating a story in a way that makes sense to another culture.
I love a man called Ove but my favourite Backman novel is Bear town. That one is amazing 😊
What happened to the book "the evening is discomfort"? I thought I could remember that you bought this book for this video! I was excited to see what you think of it since it is a Dutch book and I'm Dutch:)
please make this a series cause this video was AMAZING
hey jack !!! thank you so much for making this video :)) my situation is a weird one , i live in sea and am poc BUT im a native english speaker . many people in my country only read english books and only after my friend recommended me several works in translation did my eyes open and i had the pleasure of reconnecting with my culture. so in general thank you for emphasising the value of works in translation!
As a non native English speaker from Europe, what we're definitely missing more in European education, is not necessarily translated fiction, but books from non Western authors!! It's something I was introduced to only through booktube and internet in general and never in school, unfortunately..
I never even thought about translated fiction as a concept since I've been reading books from foreign authors my whole life. It was always divided into Croatian (native) literature and foreign literature for me during my education. Also like someone else already said, reading a book in English for the first time was a far more exciting experience haha
I couldn't agree more !
Since I was very young, I read mainly books in my native langage (French), or translated from English or other European languages (German, Italian, Russian...). A few years ago, I realized the almost total absence of non-Western books on my shelves!
Since then, I try to fix it, and my readings are a bit more diversed (China, Rwanda, Senegal, Japan, Indonesia...). But I still have to make the effort to look for non-Western books. They are not the ones that are most promoted in bookstores...
So I agree with you, the problem is mostly the West/rest of the world opposition, more than an English-speaking world/rest of the world opposition. At least for Europe, from what I understand from the comments and my experience
@@r.s5918 I never even thought about bookstores not having a huge selection of non western authors but that is a great point! but I love that recently you can see much more varied recommendations on booktube in regards to the country of origin, and I hope it translates to bookstores as well as the demand increases
Well, maybe but like, how many books from Nigeria, Morocco, Gana, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Costa Rica, and the indigenous groups from these countries have the European public read? I feel like it’s not only that Europe should read more eastern literature, but that it certainly should read books from Africa and Latin America, yk. It always seems like these two are forgotten, except maybe for Mexico (and that’s probably because of it’s strong connection to the US). I really don’t know for sure because I’m not European, but judging by booktube I feel like that’s an issue.
@@isabellearaujo8991 definitely!! what I think when I say western authors is USA and Europe mainly (basically political west) so I absolutely agree that we are lacking when it comes to reading south american and african authors, that group is probably even more left behind than eastern asian authors for example
this is true, almost all the books are from europe or north america with some japanese authors. It's 95% of books in every bookstore and it's 95% of people's interests
Jack : Why would you assume that the best litterature would have been written in english ?
Every person watching this who doesn't have english has their fisrt language : 👁👄👁
(yeah I don't really have that assumtion lol)
i love how passionate you are about literature!!
I’m so excited you finally got to experience Backman !
I love what you said about having the translator's name on the cover! I totally agree about recognising the hard work they put into the translation process, but as I history student I've learned the importance of knowing WHO your translator is - not just their name, but their background - because even if they are acting in good faith their own experiences and biases will reflect in the words/phrases they choose. You could read the same book translated by two different people and potentially get two very different stories/character depictions.
For example, Helen of Troy is depicted very differently across versions of the Illiad because of who the translators were and their experiences of the world. While translations of modern texts are easier because they aren't written in dead languages, its still really important to know who exactly your translator is and the relationship they've had with the original author to understand another layer to the story you are reading, and if it is actually an accurate one.