Looking for F, SF, UF, or Mysteries originally written in a language other than English

[ladymurmur]

To complete a challenge, I need to read a book originally written in a language other than English. If there is a way to search in GR specifically for translated titles, or books with a translator, I haven't had luck finding it.

Looking for Fantasy, SciFi, Urban Fantasy, or Mysteries. YA or younger reader titles in those genres would also be welcome.

Thanks much!

[Melanti]

There's no way to search, but there's a few Listopia lists like these:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

The Carpet Makers is excellent.

Stanisław Lem, perhaps? ( Solaris and The Cyberiad specifically)

Roadside Picnic

[Scott]

I really liked:

A Wind Named Amnesia / Invader Summer (2-in-1)
Ring
All You Need Is Kill

[Shanna_redwind]

172 Hours on the Moon is a YA scifi/Horror that I really enjoyed

[Anna]

The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski

[Aaron]

Official Translations:
Edge of Reality - Russian Sci-fi/Lit-RPG
The Last Wish - Poland Fantasy
All You Need Is Kill - Japan Sci-fi
The Three-Body Problem - China Sci-fi
Sword Art Online: Progressive, Vol. 1 - Japan YA Lit-RPG

There is of course a metric ton of fan translated stuff out there with varying levels of quality from better than official translations to barely better than a machine translation.

[Bargle]

Malevil by Robert Merle

[ladymurmur]

Oh! So many fantastic suggestions already! :-)

Some, even, that are already waiting to be read on my kindle - I simply hadn't realized they were translations. (The Three-Body Problem and The Last Wish).

Thank you, everyone!

[Tytti]

Finnish authors Leena Krohn and Johanna Sinisalo have both have their work translated to English. They write speculative fiction (scifi, fantasy...), "Finnish weird".

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

We is sci-fi/dystopia, originally in Russian.

The Dead Mountaineer's Inn: One More Last Rite for the Detective Genre is combo sci-fi/mystery, originally in Russian.

The Foundation Pit is Russian sci-fi/dystopia.

War With The Newts is Czech sci-fi/dystopia.

For detective/mystery/thriller series:

Henning Mankell's books were originally written in Swedish.

Karin Fossum's Inspector Sejer series was written in Norwegian.

Arnaldur Indriðason's Inspector Erlendur series was written in Icelandic.

Georges Simenon's Maigret series was written in French.

[Aleksandra]

Another vote for The Last Wish.

Then I would add Night Watch
Futu.re: utopia is interesting, but rather dark and depressive.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Dear Mr. M is a psychological thriller originally published in Dutch.

[Bargle]

The Martin Beck series of Mysteries. Originally in Swedish.
https://www.goodreads.com/series/5380...

[ladymurmur]

Another listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

[Rosa]

Can't go without Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea!
Secret Letters From 0 To 10

[Pamela]

Ethan Frome, although written by American Edith Wharton, was originally written in French. (I think she wanted to practice.) Ethan Frome

The children's classic Heidi by Swiss author Johanna Spyri was originally written in German. Heidi

[Shanna_redwind]

The Wall- An invisible wall appears and a woman has to survive alone

The Wall Was my incorrect link

**Edited to correct link

[Ingo]

Shanna_redwind wrote: "The Wall- An invisible wall appears and a woman has to survive alone"

Just searched, and I think you linked another book (Satre translated from French) with this title.
The one which matches your description might be:
The Wall (translated from German)
Which was also filmed in Germany. The film (TV-Movie?) sounded interesting, and I wanted to see it and recorded it from TV, but have yet to see it - neither have I read the book.

[Shanna_redwind]

Ingo wrote: Just searched, and I think you linked another book (Satre translated from French)..."

Oops. Yes, that's the right link. I found the book quite an enjoyable read,

[Myst]

Perhaps try Let the Right One In. Swedish story about a vampire.

[Pamela]

The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, is a fantasy classic originally written in French. The Little Prince
It's for younger readers, but many adults enjoy it.

Sorry, I didn't read the request more carefully. My previous recommendations, Ethan Frome and Heidi, don't fit your request.

[Michele]

Kalpa Imperial: The Greatest Empire That Never Was, originally in Spanish (I think) and translated by Ursula Le Guin. Very good.

Also of course anything by Jorge Luis Borges -- Collected Fictions is a good one to start with.

ladymurmur, which one did you pick for your challenge? So many!!

[ladymurmur]

Pamela wrote: "The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, is a fantasy classic originally written in French. The Little Prince
It's for younger readers, but many adults enjoy it.

Sorry, I didn..."

Oh, not a problem at all! I think the best part about the various recommendations on this thread has been realizing how much I've read or want to read wasn't originally written in English. Can still picture the cover of my well-worn copy of Heidi from years ago. And I knew, I KNEW that The Little Prince was originally written in French - but it never occurred to me as an option for the challenge that originally prompted this request. Original language is definitely something that I'll be paying more attention to in the future. The English-speaking world by no means has a monopoly on good story telling in any genre.

[ladymurmur]

Michele wrote: "ladymurmur, which one did you pick for your challenge? So many!!"

Ironically, I ended up reading (listening to, actually) The Snow Queen, by Hans Christian Andersen, because a friend and I ended up in a discussion about _Frozen_ and how much the movie was "disney-fied" away from the source material. So a revisiting of the original seemed appropriate!

But SO MANY good recommendations have found their way onto my TBR list and kindle from this discussion, and so many reminders of titles I've already read or planned to read that I hadn't realized were originally written in another language.

[Michele]

Frozen was based on The Snow Queen? Wow, totally missed that.

[Greyman]

If you haven't read Roadside Picnic already then I'd strongly recommend it. :)

[ladymurmur]

Michele wrote: "Frozen was based on The Snow Queen? Wow, totally missed that."

"Inspired by", at the very least!