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24 Top-Rated Translated Books on Goodreads
Today we're shining a spotlight on some of the top-rated translated books on Goodreads. Doing so not only promotes the universal joy of reading, but also allows us to cross borders and honor different voices from around the globe.
To create this list, we focused on books that were originally published in another language before they were released in English. From there, we narrowed down our list to only include titles with a four-star rating from readers. This list is by no means exhaustive, so make sure to mention your favorite translated books in the comments. Don't forget to add what catches your eye to your Want to Read shelf.
To create this list, we focused on books that were originally published in another language before they were released in English. From there, we narrowed down our list to only include titles with a four-star rating from readers. This list is by no means exhaustive, so make sure to mention your favorite translated books in the comments. Don't forget to add what catches your eye to your Want to Read shelf.
What are some of your favorite translated books? Let us know in the comments!
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Comments Showing 1-50 of 75 (75 new)
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Apr 23, 2018 08:07AM
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Let Sleeping Dogs Lie by Miriam Pressler
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo isn't translated so much as rewritten. Some parts of the English translation are changed from the original, and some parts of the original have just been removed. It's a disgrace to Stieg Larsson.
The vegetarian by han kang
Human acts by han kang
Tale of genji by murasaki shikibu
Dream of red chamber by cao xueqin
Human acts by han kang
Tale of genji by murasaki shikibu
Dream of red chamber by cao xueqin
Interesting the very popular Inkheart is not on here. It was translated from the German.
"The Twelve Kingdoms" series by Fuyumi Ono is good.
No planet of the apes or bridge on the river Kwai.
Karl Ove KnausgaardPascal Mercier's Night Train to Lisbon
Sigrid Undset's Kristin Lavransdatter
Bright Scythe Selected Poetry of Tomas Transtromer
Lala wrote: "The Neverending Story"Yes! I absolutely loved this book, and anyone who loved the first movie should read this.
The Housekeeper and the ProfessorThe Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared
A True Novel
My Name is Red
Does this website know that people whose country is not the US, the UK or Australia use it...
Chris wrote: "Strange that The Bible, New Testament, and Koran didn't make the cut. All have versions that rate over 4 stars, and they were translated into English. Is there a reason they were passed over?"Maybe because they'd seem sort of obvious? Good question.
I don't undertand the hate that some users have against Paulo Coelho, I don't understand... :(
Emily wrote: "...Sigrid Undset's Kristin Lavransdatter..." (4.28 btw)just going to say that one myself!
other shocking omissions with 4+Stars include:
The Twelve Chairs (Ilf & Petrov) (4.42)
Dom Casmurro (Machado de Assis) (4.25)
They Were Counted (Banffy) (4.17)
The Savage Detectives (Bolano) (4.10)
Hunger (Hamsun) (4.09)
Three Body Problem is probably one of the greatest books that I've read - it's a MUST READ FOR EVERYONE!!The Three-Body Problem
Aurora wrote: "The vegetarian by han kangHuman acts by han kang
Tale of genji by murasaki shikibu
Dream of red chamber by cao xueqin"
I've just finished reading Human Acts and I agree: Deborah Smith appears to have given us a fantastic translation.
My favorites as of now:Memoirs of Hadrian - Marguerite Yourcenar
The Quest for Christa T. - Christa Wolf
Kristin Lavransdatter - Sigrid Undset
The Slynx - Tatyana Tolstaya
The Tale of Genji - Murasaki Shikibu
Epitaph of a Small Winner - Machado de Assis
The Passion According to G.H. - Clarice Lispector
The Drowned and the Saved - Primo Levi
Fatelessness - Imre Kertész
The Wretched of the Earth - Frantz Fanon
The Second Sex - Simone de Beauvoir
With many more to come.
Actually - the Bible, since the original was in Aramaic.
My Name is RedPossibly Pamuk’s most beautiful novel
I'm surprised that Jorge Luis Borges (although I don't enjoy his work) or Julio Cortázar weren't on this list. They are two of Argentina's most famous and renowned authors in our country's entire history.
^You're right! Also Bioy Casares, a genious..
Consuelo by George Sand (and anything else by George Sand).
After the CrashBlack Water Lilies
Don't Let Go
All by Michel Bussi - all excellent
The Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski. The political intrigue in those books is phenomenal!
Oh, come on!
by Cornelia Funke has a higher number of ratings than some of the listed! (I like the sequels more though, but that's just me)Edited: Dang... "we narrowed down our list to only include titles with a four-star rating from readers." Why couldn't "four-star" be written as "4-star"? I looked through the description several times, yet still MISSING that line. That explains why Inkheart wasn't listed, though I always thought it got a relatively low average rating here on GR... Sighs.
I love The Count of Monte Cristo and The Snowman. My other favorite translated books are Madame Bovary and Camille: The Lady of the Camellias.
Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann. A total classic.
Blindness is still one of my favorite books. I remembered hugging the book and crying over the story. Excellent translation and great plot/ message. It left a void in my heart after reading this and I could not pick up another book for a whole month.
Anne wrote: "Buddenbrooks (4.14) by Thomas Mann. A total classic."ooh and of course The Magic Mountain (4.14)
Winnie wrote: "Blindness is still one of my favorite books. I remembered hugging the book and crying over the story. Excellent translation and great plot/ message. It left a void in my heart after reading this an..."I do hope you picked up the sequel at least. :) Saramago is a true master, and we were lucky to have him.
The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker
Darío wrote: "Does this website know that people whose country is not the US, the UK or Australia use it..."Sometimes, I wonder... Before opening the page, I thought it would be like a list of the books most translated into different languages or something, but it looks like I was very far off.
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery and The Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cosse
Nell wrote: "I'm surprised that The Alchemist is not on this list."Rating is only 3.83, so didn't meet the criteria, for one thing. None of his books are over 4.0; I think he is one of those love/hate authors.
Silvia wrote: "Nell wrote: "I'm surprised that The Alchemist is not on this list."Rating is only 3.83, so didn't meet the criteria, for one thing. None of his books are over 4.0; I think he is one of..."
quite a few suggestions don't meet the 4+ (My Name Is Red, Inkheart, Tale Of Genji, Madame Bovary...)
Following books don't answer the criteria as they've not yet been translated into English, but they certainly should be!El Silencio de la Ciudad Blanca
Los Ritos del Agua
--> both by Eva Garcia Sáenz
Same goes for the Trilogía del Baztán by Dolores Redondo.
Both incredibly imaginative and full of suspense although very different in other aspects.
I have a few more:some obvious ones:
Bulgakov's The Master And Margarita (4.32)
Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment (4.19)
Pushkin's Eugene Onegin (4.09)
Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra (4.05)
and some more obscure personal faves:
Mariam Petrosyan's The Gray House (4.41)
Strugatsky brothers' Roadside Picnic (4.21)
Erofeev's Moscow Stations (4.06)
Walser's Jakob von Gunten (4.02)
Marias' A Heart So White (4.01)
So glad to see Lao Tzu's, "Tao Te Ching" on the list, because his philosophy inspired me to write Finding the Way: A Novel of Lao Tzu
