# English-language books with foreign-language titles **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 6, 2019, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-language-books-with-foreign-language-titles/843070 "2019-11-06T09:20:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2019, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-language-books-with-foreign-language-titles/843070/41 "2019-11-07T19:24:27Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > … > Jons-Karl Huysmans’ \*\*À rebours \*\* is sometimes sold that way. The translations used (“Against the Grain” or “Against Nature”) aren’t the same as the literal (and misleading “Backwards”. I’ve seen English translations of this book with the original French title, indeed. And kudos to you mentioning this lesser-known but great writer (that’s the _real_ reason why I posted :D). Anyways, he’s one of my very favourite 19th-century writers. There’s another novel (even better than \*À rebours \* IMHO) of his whose original title, _Là-Bas_, is sometimes kept in English. Literally : “Over There”, sometimes translated as _The Damned_ or _Down There_. _La Cathédrale_ is less satisfying, but still worth reading, a sort of Catholic rewriting of \*À rebours \*. And for once, the English title is easy to find. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2019, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-language-books-with-foreign-language-titles/843070/42 "2019-11-07T19:30:30Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Bonjour Tristesse (Hello–or Goodbye–sadness)… Er… “ **Good Morning** Sadness” you mean ? Definitely not “Goodbye”. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2019, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-language-books-with-foreign-language-titles/843070/43 "2019-11-11T16:58:32Z")
As an inverse to this, I watch a YouTube channel by an American woman living in Germany. Her book, in German, has an English title, _You Go Me On The Cookie_ (I don’t get it either). Her publisher has no plans to release it in English. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2019, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-language-books-with-foreign-language-titles/843070/44 "2019-11-11T17:16:09Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > As an inverse to this, I watch a YouTube channel by an American woman living in Germany. Her book, in German, has an English title, _You Go Me On The Cookie_ (I don’t get it either). Her publisher has no plans to release it in English. That must be Dana Newman, isn’t it? I really like her videos. The explanation for the title: there’s a German phrase “Du gehst mir auf den Keks”, meaning “You grate on my nerves”. “You go me on the cookie” is the very literal word for word translation of the phrase which of course doesn’t make any sense at all, but it’s funny (at least for this German). ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2019, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-language-books-with-foreign-language-titles/843070/45 "2019-11-11T18:42:59Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > That must be Dana Newman, isn’t it? I really like her videos. The explanation for the title: there’s a German phrase “Du gehst mir auf den Keks”, meaning “You grate on my nerves”. “You go me on the cookie” is the very literal word for word translation of the phrase which of course doesn’t make any sense at all, but it’s funny (at least for this German). It is indeed Dana! I had no idea what the title meant, I always figured it was her own translation of a German phrase that she’d mangled, or something. Really wish her publisher would publish it in English, FFS. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-language-books-with-foreign-language-titles/843070.md?page=2)