Mome_Rath's Translated Travels 2023

[Mome_Rath]

New year, but I'll continue just recording the different languages in translation I encounter through reading in 2023.

[Mome_Rath]

Languages Encountered in 2023

Afro-Asiatic Languages

— Semitic Languages

Arabic ☑ ☑ ☑

Austronesian Languages

— Malayo-Polynesian Languages

Indonesian ☑

Indo-European Languages

— Germanic Languages

Afrikaans ☑
Norwegian ☑
German ☑ ☑ ☑
Danish ☑ ☑
Dutch ☑

— Indo-Iranian Languages

Farsi ☑
Bengali ☑

— Italic (including Romance) Languages

Italian ☑
French ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑ ☑
Spanish ☑ ☑ ☑
Portuguese ☑

Japonic Languages

Japanese ☑ ☑

Koreanic Languages

Korean ☑ ☑

Kra-Dai Languages

Thai ☑

Uralic Languages

Finnish ☑
Hungarian ☑

[Mome_Rath]

1. Language: Afrikaans (Afrikaans)

Islands by Dan Sleigh

Translator: André Brink
Country: South Africa

[Mome_Rath]

2. Language: Italian (italiano)

Excursion to Tindari by Andrea Camilleri

Translator: Stephen Sartarelli
Country: Italy

[Mome_Rath]

3. Language: French (français)

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

Translator: Ina Rilke
Country: China

[Mome_Rath]

4. Language: Japanese (日本語)

Murakami T: The T-Shirts I Love by Haruki Murakami

Translator: Philip Gabriel
Country: Japan

[Mome_Rath]

5. Language: Norwegian (norsk)

The World's Most Prestigious Prize: The Inside Story of the Nobel Peace Prize by Geir Lundestad

Translator: Siân Mackie
Country: Norway

[Mome_Rath]

6. Language: Arabic (العَرَبِيَّة‎)

Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi

Translator: Marilyn Booth
Country: Oman

[Mome_Rath]

7. Language: German (Deutsch)

Man's Search for Meaning: A Young Adult Edition by Viktor E. Frankl

Translator: Ilse Lasch
Country: Austria

[Mome_Rath]

BONUS: Language: German (Deutsch)

The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Translator: R. H. Fuller
Country: Germany

[Mome_Rath]

BONUS: Language: French (français)

Pina by Titaua Peu

Translator: Jeffrey Zuckerman
Country: French Polynesia

[Mome_Rath]

8. Language: Spanish (español)

Mort Cinder by Héctor Germán Oesterheld and Alberto Breccia

Translator: Erica Mena
Country: Argentina

[Mome_Rath]

BONUS: Language: Arabic (العَرَبِيَّة‎)

Black Foam: A Novel by Haji Jabir

Translators: Sawad Hussein and Marcia Lynx Qualey
Country: Eritrea

[Mome_Rath]

9. Language: Portuguese (português)

The Words That Remain by Stênio Gardel

Translator: Bruna Dantas Lobato
Country: Brazil

[Mome_Rath]

BONUS: Language: Spanish (español)

Portrait of an Unknown Lady by María Gainza

Translator: Thomas Bunstead
Country: Argentina

[Mome_Rath]

10. Language: Korean (한국어)

The Waiting by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim

Translator: Janet Hong
Country: North Korea

[Mome_Rath]

11. Language: Finnish (suomi)

The Rabbit Factor by Antti Tuomainen

Translator: David Hackston
Country: Finland

[Mome_Rath]

BONUS: Language: Korean (한국어)

The Plotters by Kim Un-su

Translator: Sora Kim-Russell
Country: South Korea

[George P.]

I think that makes 11 different languages for you? If so congratulations on reaching "Translator" status!
I'm working on my 9th.

[Mome_Rath]

Yup — it’s 11 so far this year; thanks! For the past couple of years I haven’t had a goal for the number of languages I read each year, but I like to keep a record to look back on. It sometimes surprises me which languages end up as the front-runner at the end of each year.

[Mome_Rath]

12. Language: Indonesian (bahasa Indonesia)

Beauty Is a Wound by Eka Kurniawan

Translator: Annie Tucker
Country: Indonesia

[Mome_Rath]

13. Language: Thai (ภาษาไทย)

Bright by Duanwad Pimwana

Translator: Mui Poopoksakul
Country: Thailand

[Mome_Rath]

14. Language: Farsi (فارسی)

Gold by Rumi

Translator: Haleh Liza Gafori
Country: Iran

[Mome_Rath]

BONUS: Language: French (français)

The Prospector by J.M.G. Le Clézio

Translator: Carol Marks
Country: Mauritius

[Mome_Rath]

BONUS: Language: Japanese (日本語)

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Translator: Geoffrey Trousselot
Country: Japan

[Mome_Rath]

15. Language: Danish (dansk)

Peer Gynt : A Dramatic Poem by Henrik Ibsen

Translator: Peter Watts
Country: Norway

[Mome_Rath]

BONUS: Language: German (Deutsch)

Rilke: Poems by Rainer Maria Rilke

Translator: J.B. Leishman
Country: Austria

[Mome_Rath]

BONUS: Language: Arabic (العَرَبِيَّة‎)

The Italian by Shukri al-Mabkhout

Translators: Karen McNeil and Miled Faiza
Country: Tunisia

[Mome_Rath]

BONUS: Language: Spanish (español)

Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez

Translator: Gregory Rabassa
Country: Colombia

[Mome_Rath]

BONUS: Language: French (français)

The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe: A novel by Romain Puértolas

Translator: Sam Taylor
Country: France

[Mome_Rath]

16. Language: Hungarian (magyar nyelv)

Satantango by László Krasznahorkai

Translator: George Szirtes
Country: Hungary

[Mome_Rath]

17. Language: Dutch (Nederlands)

Raptors by Toon Tellegen

Translator: Judith Wilkinson
Country: Netherlands

[Mome_Rath]

BONUS: Language: French (français)

Gigi and The Cat by Colette

Translators: Roger Senhouse and Antonia White
Country: France

[Mome_Rath]

18. Language: Bengali (বাংলা)

Anandamath, or The Sacred Brotherhood by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay

Translator: Julius J. Lipner
Country: India

[Mome_Rath]

BONUS: Language: Danish (dansk)

We, the Drowned by Carsten Jensen

Translators: Charlotte Barslund and Emma Ryder
Country: Denmark

[George P.]

Congratulations, looks like you read books translated from 18 languages! I read books translated from 13 languages- my goal was 11. 2023 was the first time I read a book translated from Korean and Farsi.
I put a few of your 2023 books on my to-read list: Bright, Pina and Satantango. I already had We, the Drowned on my list.
I happen to be finishing up another novel by Krasznahorkai now: Melancholy of Resistance. I haven't read any of these books but read a couple others by Colette and a few by Garcia Marquez. I have Man Tiger by Kurniawan fairly high in my to-read list. Any others that you highly recommend?

[Mome_Rath]

Thanks, and Happy New Year! I haven’t read anything else by Krasznakhorkai, but I’ll have to look up Melancholy of Resistance. Similarly, I read my first book by Kurniawan this year, so I may also have to keep an eye out for Man Tiger.

As for books in translation from 2023, beyond what you highlighted, I very much enjoyed Le Clezio’s The Prospector [French]. From previous years, I enjoyed books like Waking Lions by Ayelat Gundar-Goshen [Hebrew] and Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann [German]. Hope you enjoy your reading this year!