Translators And Wonderful Books They Bring Us.
Translators play an important role in society today. They help business succeed in a global market, they help visitors and new immigrants in foreign lands with everything from directions, to legal issues, to providing accurate translation in emergent medical situations.
They also bring us great books!
I love the feeling of exploring distant lands and cultures, but my travel budget wont get me past the local bookstore. That's okay though, because thanks to some very skilled literary translators, I can explore those lands and cultures just by diving into a great book!
What makes a good translator?
Any book that is good in its original language has the potential to be a good book once translated, but the quality of translation is so important - both to the writer hoping for their book's continued success, and to the reader who is looking for a book to make them feel like they have been transported to another place.
Have you ever tried to use Google translate for more than a few words? I am able to fumble through a little German on my own, but even for me, I sometimes re-write the result from Google translate. That is saying a lot....I mean my German is pretty limited - and rough at that!
It is obviously not enough to simply do a word for word translation. To do that would result in a book that feels clunky and without flow; it would lose its rhythm and prose, and in doing so its charm. That's where the art and skill of a truly good translator can really shine.
A good literary translator can maintain the beauty and prose present in the original writing and make it accessible to the reader. They can translate not only the words, but the cultural backdrop and feeling of the story as well. The reader should be able to fully immerse themselves in the story and its culture, and go on a virtual journey to the time and place the story is actually set in. In short it should feel authentic, even in its new language.
It is my belief that literary translators have to themselves be at least part writer at heart in order to understand and preserve the art of the original writing.
Some of my Favorite Translated Books:
The Murmur of Bees, written by Mexican author Sophia Segovia and Translated by Simon Bruni
The Light of The Fireflies, written by Spanish author Paul Pen, and also translated by Simon Bruni
Vita Nostra, Written by the Russian writing team of Marina and Sergey Dyachenko translated by Julia Meitov Hersey
The Travelling Cat Chronicles, written by Japanese author Hiro Arikawa, and translated by Philip Gabriel
A Man Called Ove, written by Swedish author Fredrik Backman and translated by Henning Koch
The classics translated:
Some classics have multiple translations to English. Books like Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of The Opera, or Victor Hugo's Les Miserables among many others. Some translations better received and become more popular over time than others. If you are looking to read a translated classic, it may be worth a few minutes of your time to compare the available versions so you can choose one right for you.
It is not just adult content that is translated. Many of our childhood favorites started in another language. The classic story of Pinocchio, originally written in Italian by Carlo Collodi has been translated over 300 times by some estimates! Of course not all these translations are English, but I can't imagine it would be easy to find a person who has not heard of that beloved character.
So, for all the literary translators that bring us so many wonderful stories we might otherwise miss out on, I say...
Happy Reading,
Christine
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