Sanne's 2020 Translated language challenge

[Sanne]

Last year, I read translated works from 25 different languages. Let's see if I can better myself this year!

Languages read so far:

Level Language Learner
1. German - 6 books
2. Korean - 2 books
3. Polish - 2 books
4. Chinese - 2 books
5. Japanese - 11 books

Level Translator
6. Spanish - 4 books
7. Italian - 1 book
8. French - 6 books
9. Irish - 1 book
10. Czech - 1 book

Level Interpreter
11. Hungarian - 1 book
12. Swedish - 2 books
13. Tibetan - 1 book
14. Arabic - 1 book
15. Russian - 1 book

Level Linguist
16. Portuguese - 1 book
17. Indonesian - 1 book
18.
19.
20.

Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

[Sanne]

#1.1 You Should Have Left by Daniel Kehlmann
Original language: German
Language read: Dutch, translated by Josephine Rijnaarts

Lovely little creepy novella. Perfect for a misty, gloomy day like today.

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#1.2 Quasikristallen by Eva Menasse (Not yet translated into English?)
Language read: Dutch, translated by Annemarie Vlaming

Beautifully written, cleverly constructed, and overall a great book. One to reread and discover other details that I've missed in my first reading.

#1.3 The Murder Farm by Andrea Maria Schenkel
Language read: Dutch, translated by W. Hansen

A quick read, but it's a forgetable story. The twists are easy to see coming, the atmosphere wasn't as claustrophobic as it could have been, the characters are stamples for crime fiction.

#1.4 The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Language read: Dutch, translated by Willem van Toorn

I hadn't yet had the pleasure to read Kafka, so this was my first encounter with his work. I highly enjoyed this classic!

#1.5 Ze kwam uit Marioepol [She came from Marioepol] by Natascha Wodin
Language read: Dutch, translated by Anne Folkertsma

Beautiful non-fiction read in which the author takes you along on her quest to find out about her mother's life and her family history in Ukraine and the wider former Soviet Union.

#1.6 The Blue Sky by Galsan Tschinag
Language read: Dutch, translated by W. Hansen

I loved this quiet book. It really brings to life the world of a young boy growing up in a nomadic family in Mongolia.

[Sanne]

#2.1 The Red Years: Forbidden Poems from Inside North Korea by Bandi
Original language: Korean
Language read: English, translated by Heinz Insu Fenkl

I was rather excited to see a new collection by Bandi, as I loved the short story collection The Accusation. These haunting poems are a great addition to that collection.

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#2.2 Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo
Language read: English, translated by Jamie Chang

A wonderful, hardhitting novella.

[Sanne]

#3.1 Dancing Bears: True Stories of People Nostalgic for Life Under Tyranny by Witold Szabłowski
Original language: Polish
Language read: Dutch, translated by Goverdien Hauth-Grubben

The binge on Polish non-fiction continues! I really liked this exploration of the transition of the dancing bears to "normal bear life" juxtaposed with the transition of communist societies to capitalist ones.

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#3.2 Distant Lands: An Anthology of Poets Who Don’t Exist by Agnieszka Kuciak
Language read: English, translated by Karen Kovacik

Very interesting poetry collection which takes the form of an anthology of personas created by the poet, who have bios, their own styles and who refer to eachother in their poetry. Really enjoyed this one.

[Sanne]

#4.1 A Girl Like Me, and Other Stories by Xi Xi (西西)
Original language: Chinese
Language read: English, short stories translated by a team of 8 translators

I really loved the first two stories in this collection, A girl like me and The cold.

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#4.2 China in Ten Words by Yu Hua
Language read: English, translated by Allan H. Barr

A collection of essays on various aspects of Chinese society. The memoir-aspects thrown in the mix were a bit of a surprise to me, but I really liked it.

[Sanne]

#5.1 Dororo by Osamu Tezuka
Original language: Japanese
Language read: English, translator not stated (?!)

I've continued my exploration of manga, which I started in 2019. I didn't really click with this story or the characters, though I thought the dynamic between Dororo and Hyakkimaru was cute.

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#5.2 Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 1 by Kamome Shirahama
Language read: English, translated by Stephen Kohler

I had more luck with my second manga this year. This is a great start to a fun, escapist fantasy series. The artwork is beautiful! Can't wait to get my hands on the other volumes in the series.

#5.3-5; 5.8 ; 5.11
Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4, Vol. 5 and Vol. 6 by Kamome Shirahama
Language read: English, translated by Stephen Kohler

Clearly, I will be following this series. I love it! And with at least two more mangas coming out this first half of the year, there's more to come for this challenge as well....

#5.6
A Bride's Story, Vol. 1 by Kaoru Mori
Language read: English, translated by William Flanagan

Absolutely gorgeous artwork, but the story didn't really grip me.

#5.7
The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo
Language read: English, translated by Louise Heal Kawai

Fun, quirky detective story. Really liked the golden-age-detectives vibe and the evident love for the classics in the genre that is displayed in this mystery.

#5.9
The Poe Clan by Moto Hagio
Language read: English, translated by Rachel Thorn

Campy, ethereal (yes, that's apparently a combination) manga goodness

#5.10
Out by Natsuo Kirino
Language read: English, translated by Stephen Snyder

Loved loved loved the first 3/4 of the book. Wonderful thriller! The ending was not my cup of tea, though.

[Sanne]

#6.1 The Inhabited Woman by Giaconda Belli
Original language: Spanish
Language read: Dutch, translated by Dick Bloemraad

It took me a while to get into the book, as I expected a more action-packed story based on the blurb. However, after a while I really started to enjoy the reflections and meandering discussions on political awakening and feminism in dictatorial Nicaragua.

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#6.2 The Taiga Syndrome by Cristina Rivera Garza
Language read: English, translated by Suzanne Levine and Aviva Kana

Interesting book, but probably went a bit over my head

#6.3 The Adventures of China Iron by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara
Language read: English, translated by Fiona Mackintosh and Iona Macintyre

Loved this one. Beautiful descriptions of the landscape and queer lit is always great

#6.4 The Silence of the White City by Eva García Sáenz de Urturi
Language read: Dutch, translated by Elvira Veenings

Well written and fun detective story. A great one for everyone who wants to puzzle alongside the detective and figure out the clues.

[Sanne]

#7. Adua by Igiaba Scego
Original language: Italian
Language read: English, translated by Jamie Richards

I was really interested in the background of this story: the colonial history of Italy in Eastern Africa. But somehow this story kept me at armslength. I didn't feel very connected to the characters.

[Sanne]

#8.1 In het hart van het hart van de schrijn by Anne Kawala
Original language: French
Language read: Dutch, translated by Kim Andringa

Really great poetry, and the topic of medieval history from a female perspective, is right up my alley. I'll have to find more work by this poet.

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#8.2 Days in the Caucasus by Banine
Language read: English, translated by Anne Thompson-Ahmadova

I love this memoir! A chaotic family full of big personalities, their everyday life are caught up in Big History, and all told by a master storyteller...

#8.3 So Long a Letter by Mariama Bâ
Language read: Dutch, translated by Sonja Pos

Really enjoyed this feminist novella, though the translation left much to be desired. I will try to find the French original and give that one a go.

#8.4 Chienne de Guerre: A Woman Reporter Behind the Lines of the War in Chechnya by Anne Nivat
Language read: Dutch, translated by Henne van der Kooy

Great non-fiction and memoir of a war correspondent in what is for me an unknown part of the world

#8.5 Puisque Mon Coeur Est Mort [Because my heart is dead] by Maïssa Bey
Language read: Dutch, translated by Tineke van Roozendaal

This is one of the most beautiful books I read this year. A couple of pages in, I knew it would make me cry like a baby - and it did, several times. Poetic, sad, angry and deeply human account of a woman whose son is killed in the Dirty War in Algeria.

#8.6 No Place to Lay One's Head by Françoise Frenkel
Language read: Dutch, translated by Marianne Kaas

Beautiful memoir. A very gripping first-hand account of how one woman fled the Nazi regime.

[Sanne]

#9. Graveyard Clay: Cré na Cille by Máirtín Ó Cadhain
Original language: Irish
Language read: Dutch, translated by Alex Hijmans

[Sanne]

#10. De naam [The Name] by Eda Kriseová
Original language: Czech
Language read: Dutch, translated by Hank Geerts (does not seem to be translated into English yet)

[Sanne]

#11. They Were Counted by Miklós Bánffy
Original language: Hungarian
Language read: Dutch, translated by Rebekka Hermán Mostert

Wonderful historical fiction. If you need an immersive story that transports you to 1900's Transylvania, this is the one you're looking for!

[Sanne]

#12.1 Still Waters by Viveca Sten
Original language: Swedish
Language read: Dutch, translated by Tineke Jorissen-Wedzinga

Decent mystery, but I found writing so-so

#12.2 I Call My Brothers by Jonas Hassen Khemiri
Language read: Dutch, translated by Janny Middelbeek-Oortgiesen

wonderful short read!

[Sanne]

#13. Old Demons, New Deities: Twenty-One Short Stories from Tibet by Tenzin Dickie
Original language: About half of the stories were originally written in Tibetan, the others in English and Chinese. I've read the Dutch translation from the English by Anneke Bok

Translator from Tibetan into English is not mentioned in my copy, but I think it is the editor, Tenzin Dickie, herself, as she's also a translator.

Really wonderful collection of short stories. It's a real mix of styles and subjects, so it was a real treat to discover all kinds of authors. I especially like the stories by Tsering Woeser and Pema Tseden, so I'll be on the lookout for more of their work.

[Sanne]

#14. Voices of the Lost: A Novel by Hoda Barakat
Original language: Arabic
Language read: Dutch, translated by Djûke Poppinga

Not sure about this one. While I'm usually okay with more bleak themes, I found this novel to be very depressing. It took me quite a while to get through.

[Sanne]

#15. De dag veinst de nacht te zijn [Selected poems] by Anna Akhmatova
Original language: Russian
Language read: Dutch, translated by Margriet Berg and Marja Wiebes

Beautiful collection and introduction to Akhmatova's poetry. She wrote very powerful poems about love and life in the Soviet Union and during the Russian revolution. Beautiful and at times heart breaking.

[Sanne]

#16. The Book of Chameleons by José Eduardo Agualusa
Original language: Portuguese
Language read: English, translated by Daniel Hahn

Quirky, funny book narrated by a gecko with literary opinions... Definitely need to read more by this author!

[Sanne]

#17. The Wandering by Intan Paramaditha
Original language: Indonesian
Language read: English, translated by Stephen J. Epstein

Really mind-warping read. Giving the story multiple endings somehow gives all the different themes more room to breathe, as you can reflect on each theme after you've finished one strand of the stories, before going back and following a different path.