# Books in translation **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 11, 2024, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-translation/1008660 "2024-10-11T18:04:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2024, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-translation/1008660/21 "2024-10-12T19:23:03Z")
the only Russian book ive ever read is “a day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” which apparently the version I’ve read wasn’t that great and there’s better ones out there … ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2024, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-translation/1008660/22 "2024-10-12T19:43:09Z")
I tried reading an English translation of _Finnegan’s Wake_, but it failed to hold me. I find it much better to open the pdf and turn on text-to-speech, to create a weird atmosphere for doing stuff. That that book has been translated into other languages is almost terrifying to me. Chinese? Yikes. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2024, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-translation/1008660/23 "2024-10-12T19:45:33Z")
If you’ve avoided reading _Don Quixote_ because it’s translated your really missing out. One of the few classics I would highly recommend and quite possibly the most amusing book I’ve ever read ---
**Author:** ![GailForce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dfb087/32.png) [@GailForce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GailForce)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2024, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-translation/1008660/24 "2024-10-13T16:34:28Z")
Apparently I’ve read and enjoyed more translated books than I remember reading. From this thread alone, I’ve read the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Aeniad (all in college), 100 Years of Solitude (also college), One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, a bunch of Middle English including Sir Gawaine, and a few others. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2024, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-translation/1008660/25 "2024-10-13T19:24:04Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > Just started _Into the Niger Bend_, the first half of _L’Étonnante Aventure de la Mission Barsac_. 1960 translation – don’t know if there are older or newer ones. **The Barsac Mission** is actually by his son, Michel Verne. I learned this after I read the story, which was printed in two parts by ARCO in hardcover and Ace in paperback. I’ve only recently gotten hold of a copy of Jules Verne’s original story, _The Fact-Finding Mission_ ( _ **Voyage d’études** _) , which Verne himself did not finish. I suspect he didn’t finish it because it involves a French mission into the Congo, and when he found out the atrocities that Belgium was committing there he had no interest in continuing. There are no “fantastic” elements in Jules Verne;s original. When his son took the basic concepts (he re-used none of the original writing), he shifted the action to the northwest, away from the Congo, and introduced fantastic elements, including flying machines, the use of unmanned drones (called “wasps”), and a call for help using a radio transmitter (which had already happened before he wrote, but was still new). I think Michel Verne ought to get a bit more credit – he did try to use even more advanced science and technology in his stories. But he loses points for publishing his own stuff as his father’s, without proper attribution. You can read the Jules Verne original here – _ **Vice, Redemption and the Distant Colony** _ 2012 BearManor Media Albany, GA > **[Jules Verne: Book: Fact Finding Mission / Voyage d’études - ANash](https://www.julesverne.ca/vernebooks/jules-verne_fact-finding-mission.html)** > > A comprehensive Book listing of one of Jules Verne's titles. All English and French titles are provided, with images of book covers and 1st edition information -Andrew Nash Book: Vice, Redemption and the Distant Colony -containing Fact Finding... > **[VICE, REDEMPTION AND THE DISTANT COLONY by Jules Verne](https://www.bearmanormedia.com/products/vice-redemption-and-the-distant-colony-by-jules-verne?srsltid=AfmBOoqXclFeufhzTtcG_DWs29fRVDtP3LG5HNeTE2_LhgJAQI9xZEHz)** > > The Palik Series of Jules Verne, Published in conjunction with the North American Jules Verne Society, Edited by Brian Taves ---
**Author:** ![Hoops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoops/32/6408_2.png) [@Hoops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoops)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2024, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-translation/1008660/26 "2024-10-20T23:25:13Z")
I have a Chinese acquaintance (native tongue Mandarin, but he also has an excellent command of English). He is a big fan of Chinese author Liu Cixin’s sci-fi trilogy [Remembrance of Earth’s Past](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_of_Earth%27s_Past) (the first of which at least is well known in the west as _The Three-Body Problem_), and convinced my wife and me to read them. I thought to ask him his opinion of the translation, and he surprised me by answering that they are in his view actually quite clunky in Chinese and he prefers to read them in the English translation! ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2024, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-translation/1008660/27 "2024-10-20T23:47:07Z")
> [@Hoops](#): > > he surprised me by answering t Conversely, there is an extremely popular English novel in Chinese, that is rather ordinary and unknown in the original (forgive me, I have forgotten the name). One of the things the Chinese love about the Chinese version is the beautiful / talented use of language - a credit to the translator, since the original had none of those characteristics. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-translation/1008660/28 "2024-10-21T01:34:42Z")
Gabriel Garcia Marquez has praised the English translation of _One Hundred Years of Solitude_ very highly. It’s definitely worth seeking out. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2024, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-translation/1008660/29 "2024-11-23T18:38:44Z")
Some publishers are trying out using AI for translating books: > **[Dutch publisher to use AI to translate ‘limited number of books’ into English](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/nov/04/dutch-publisher-to-use-ai-to-translate-books-into-english-veen-bosch-keuning-artificial-intelligence)** > > Veen Bosch & Keuning, the largest publisher in the Netherlands, has confirmed plans to trial the use of artificial intelligence to assist in translation of commercial fiction > **[Dutch Publisher’s AI Translation Plan Sparks Industry Concern](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/international/international-book-news/article/96527-dutch-publisher-s-ai-translation-plan-sparks-industry-concern.html)** > > The recently announced plan from Veen Bosch & Keuning, the major Dutch publisher bought by Simon & Schuster in May, to use artificial intelligence for English-language translations has prompted pushback from industry organizations. The publisher is now owned by Simon and Schuster. Personally I find it doubtful the quality would be acceptable. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2024, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-translation/1008660/30 "2024-11-23T19:42:45Z")
A friend of mine in the Gaelic publishing world has been complaining about this for a while. Large companies can, on the cheap, translate a book into “Gaelic,” and if they sell three copies, well, it’s worth it to them. Companies such as my friend’s which employ translators in the community have much higher costs for books, and the end-used doesn’t necessarily perceive the difference in quality, only in cost. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-translation/1008660/31 "2025-04-01T19:22:33Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > I came in here to post exactly that! Not only do I love Murakami, I love reading Murakami’s comments about translations of his work. > [@Hoops](#): > > I thought to ask him his opinion of the translation, and he surprised me by answering that they are in his view actually quite clunky in Chinese and he prefers to read them in the English translation! > [@Melbourne](#): > > Conversely, there is an extremely popular English novel in Chinese, that is rather ordinary and unknown in the original (forgive me, I have forgotten the name). One of the things the Chinese love about the Chinese version is the beautiful / talented use of language - a credit to the translator, since the original had none of those characteristics. Maybe translation helps focus some works. Murakami mentions this in the prologue of his first novel, _Hear the Wind Sing_. He says that when he first wrote it, he wasn’t satisfied with the results. He translated it himself into English and then back into Japanese, which he thought improved it a lot. Speaking of Murakami I’m now reading his _A Wild Sheep Chase_. One of the things mentioned in the book is a “blood cyst”. The description given sounds an awful lot like a cerebral artery aneurysm. For those who have read the book and know Japanese, does the original read as aneurysm, or did Murakami use a term that sounds just as vague in Japanese as “blood cyst” sounds in English? ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-translation/1008660/32 "2025-04-01T21:28:39Z")
A bit off topic, but you might enjoy the film of The Brothers Karamazov starring Yul Brynner as Ivan and Maria Schneider as Grushenka. ---
**Author:** ![GailForce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dfb087/32.png) [@GailForce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GailForce)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-translation/1008660/33 "2025-04-01T21:50:38Z")
> [@Jaycat.again](#): > > Maria Schneider as Grushenka. The actress from Last Tango in Paris? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-translation/1008660/34 "2025-04-01T22:05:43Z")
Maria Schell, actually. Maria Schnieder was 6 years old when that movie came out. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-translation/1008660/35 "2025-04-02T00:55:56Z")
> [@Hoops](#): > > I have a Chinese acquaintance […] Liu Cixin’s sci-fi trilogy […] prefers to read them in the English translation! By the way, as the Wikipedia article mentions, the English version is a restored “directors cut”. The earlier Chinese version was toned-down for publication. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-translation/1008660/36 "2025-04-02T01:01:31Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Maria Schell, actually. Maria Schnieder was 6 years old when that movie came out. Oops, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2025, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-translation/1008660/37 "2025-04-02T01:08:43Z")
> [@Jaycat.again](#): > > A bit off topic, but you might enjoy the film Also tangential, _“Book of Love”_ was a 2022 English/Spanish Rom-Com / Road Movie that has been described as a love letter to Mexico, activated by the conflict of Translation and Authorship. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-translation/1008660.md?page=1)