My Paper Lungs

You’ve probably heard of translation fiction. It’s that book someone at the café was reading when you were getting your morning coffee, the one with the title you couldn’t read and the author’s name you couldn’t pronounce.

But that’s the one that intrigued you, isn’t it? It caught your eye. You were fascinated by the title you couldn’t read and the author’s name you couldn’t pronounce.

The next week, you stumble across the same book at a bookstore. You flick through the pages, surprised to find yourself being drawn once more to the book. You stare at it, take it around the store with you, but ultimately put it back on the shelf. You just weren’t sure whether to take the plunge and risk actually buying it.

I’ve heard from lots of people that they would love to start reading translation fiction, but it scares them. It intimidates them. They’re unsure they’ll be able to connect with the story, they’re unsure whether they’ll feel alienated by the text and that reading it would feel like a chore.

And no-one likes chores.

I’m here to tell you that translation fiction is unlike any other fiction; it’s wild, it’s free, it’s unabashed by that thing called language.

And it’s better for it.

Everyone should be reading translation fiction. And you, you especially should be reading it.

How do I know this?

Because you’re reading this blogpost.

What’s better than taking a huge leap into the unknown and discovering some beautiful reads that if they hadn’t been translated, you would never have found?

In 2013, only 3% of books in the UK were translated pieces of fiction. In more recent years this has grown by 5% which is fantastic, but still, there are so many people out there that are oblivious or even avoiding translation fiction and dude, they’re really missing out.

They’re missing out on so many things, but ultimately, they’re missing out on one of the core aspects that makes us human: sharing our culture with others.

Translation fiction can transport us to other countries, it can transport us through different thoughts and experiences we’ve never even comprehended. Reading translation fiction is a dream-like experience; as you’re reading, you’re like, “Is this real?” “Is this possible?”

Yes, yes it is.

Translation fiction is like no other and everyone should be reading it. And I’m going to tell you why.

 What Is Translation Fiction?

Translation fiction is a piece of fiction that wasn’t originally written in your language, but with the help of a translator has been re-written to be readable by you, whilst still honouring the original text as close as possible.

It’s different from works written by authors whose native language isn’t English, yet the text has been written in English, for example. With translation fiction, there’s always two (most often more) copies of the same story: one in its original language and one in the translated.

For me, this translated language is always English, but it could be anything, of course.

What also makes translated fiction special is that there’s always a second person writing the book. The original text is by the author, but the translated piece is by the translator.

The translator often imparts tiny flecks of their own personality throughout the text, with how they rephrase the original narrative so that it makes sense in our own language, as well as still trying to honour the original text.

The majority of translation texts I’ve read have been written originally in Korean or Japanese. There are so many different original languages out there, though.

Apparently, in the U.K the largest area of translated fiction is mostly European texts, with translated French works being 17% of those translated.

Once you give translation fiction a chance, the doors truly open up to you with different reading options.

Other popular genres (is it genres?) of translation fiction are Scandinavian crime dramas, you know, like murders in the snow. Jo Nesbø is one of the most popular Norwegian authors in the U.K, with The Bookseller accounting the popularity of his work being the cause for an overall increase in people’s curiosity of translation fiction.

 I’ve actually read one or two Scandinavian crime books, my favourite being The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup. A great book. You can read what I thought about this Scandinavian crime book in a previous blog post I wrote.

I would love to read more of these books. If anyone has any suggestions of where to start, please let me know in the comments below.

Translation fiction has definitely gained in popularity during the last couple of years.

One reason why that I can think of it’s the growth of social media.

No longer are geographical boundaries determining friendships. No longer do they determine what we see of another culture. Before the likes of Instagram and Twitter, the most of what we would see of Spain would most like be a holiday resort. Of Japan, whatever anime was being shown on Cartoon Network at the time. Social media platforms have melted these boundaries so we can all come together to share the intimate details of our cultural differences.

And what better way to remove these boundaries off of our phone screen than through the stories we read?

Stories were made to be shared, were they not?

Also, I think its also helped how there’s been a bigger interest in the foreign film industry. With adaptations such as The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo being popular, and the fact that the Korean language film Parasite won an Academy Award for Best Picture, just shows how people’s attitudes towards non-English speaking art is changing for the better.

Why You Should Read Translation Fiction

Now, lets get down to why you clicked on this post. These are the main reasons why I think everyone should read translation fiction, but obviously there’s way more out there. I would love to hear your thoughts on these in the comments below

1. There’s Two Authors

You don’t just get to experience the work of one amazing mind, but of both that The Author and The Translator. The two texts, the original and the translated, can be completely different, separate, but with the same core elements. It’s truly a work of art to see how the translator moulds the original narrative into something that reflects the work in English. This can be quite difficult as some things just don’t translate well into other languages. A phrase that sounds beautiful in Japanese just won’t have the same impact in English. With two authors input on the work, you get twice the beautiful phrasing and story.

2. You Can Explore Literary Masterpieces from Other Worlds

Like I mentioned before, with translated texts you get to explore the fiction of other countries, which let’s be frank, are sometimes completely different worlds. You don’t have to spend loads of money on travelling, you don’t have to ruin the environment with more pollution. Rather, you can explore the literary masterpieces of other worlds in the comfort of your own home. Who wouldn’t love that? Especially now during Covid where travelling is a bad idea.

3. You Can Explore a Different Way of Thinking 

It’s not just another country you explore, but a whole different way of thinking. Like I said before, some phrases that sounds good in one language might not have the same effect once its translated into another. Sometimes though, the phrases can be translated, and this different way of thinking is just a marvel to behold. You’ll find yourself thinking, “Why has no one ever paired those words together before?” Or “That syntax is just BEAUTIFUL”. You’ll find yourself falling in like with this different way of thinking which was, before translation fiction, cultural bound. It’ll help you to broaden your own way of thinking and to grow as a person, too.

4. You Can Explore Different Sceneries and Scenarios  

This one always leaves me in awe. You’ll be reading a piece of translated fiction, and then suddenly there’s a brief throwaway reference to something that’s everyday to the author, but so unique to us, leaves us feeling like we’ve truly peaked into another life. Like, for example, when I read Japanese translated fiction, sometimes there’ll just be mention of a roadside shrine. We don’t have these in England, but in Japan I know they’re just dotted all over the place. It’s little pieces of the story like this that I really think bring translation fiction to life.

5. You Will Find New Literary Loves

This has to be my favourite reason why everyone needs to read translated fiction. It’s for the very simple fact that you’re most likely going to find a new favourite author that you weren’t expecting to find. And then suddenly BAM you’re in love. Then you have to devour all of their work. It’s a beautiful thing to experience when you find a new literary love, and one is just waiting round the corner if you with translation fiction

6. Translation Fiction is The Missing Piece of the Fiction Puzzle

Seriously, we have all sort of genres like horror and romance and thriller and crime, and they’re all amazing and great, but don’t you find once you know the pattern of that genre, like how the stories are written, sometimes the stories can be a little too predictable? You’ll never have that problem with translation fiction because each piece is so unique, even ones that do fall into a genre like crime or thriller. Translation fiction adds that third dimension to your reading list that you just can’t find from any other book

7. You’ll Have a New Appreciation of The Subtle Art of Translation

Thanks to the translators, translation fiction is a subtle art form that, once you know what to look for, is the most beautiful. Translators are like the silent artists. They can impart their own artistic signature into the text, but unless you’ve read both the original and the translated you wouldn’t be able to spot it. However, like any other artist or creator, they put their all into the work to create something to be loved and admired by all. The literary translators of this world are the unsung heroes of fiction lovers everywhere

8. You’ll Find A More Connected World

This point builds on what I mentioned earlier about the whole social media movement connecting the world, and therefore our literary geographical boundaries have shrunk substantially. By reading translation fiction you’re telling the publishers, the booksellers, the world, that you want to know the truth, you want to know more about what’s going on in other cultures, you want to try to understand, and ultimately to help, if only to pass the message along.

The Best Translation Fiction

So, I’m going to admit something to you. You ready? Okay…

I haven’t read that much translation fiction.

I just know that what I have read, I’ve loved. I’m definitely going to assign a section of my reading list to just translated fiction, and I hope you will too after this post.

Below are a few of either translated books I’ve thoroughly enjoyed, or ones that have been recommended to me over on the Instagram, by fellow translation fiction fanatics.

If you want to see more suggestions from me, most of my Instagram is basically a love-letter to Murakami, so you can check me out on there if you want a more in-depth look at what I’m currently reading.

I’ve been sure to include the translators below as they are the authors of the below books, too.

1. Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami & translated by Philip Gabriel and Ted Goossen

2. The Vegetarian by Han Kang & translated by Deborah Smith

3. The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa & translated by Stephen Snyder

4. Winter in Sokcho by Elisa Shau Dusapin & translated by Aneesa Abbas Higgins

5. One Hundred Shadows by Hwang Jungeun & translated by Jung Yewon

6. The Twenty Days of Turin by Giorgio De Maria & translated by Ramon Glazov

How Do You Read Translation Fiction?

Personally, how I would go about starting to read translation fiction (if I could start all again), would be to first analyse what I’ve been currently reading, or have enjoyed,  and then gather a sense for where my literary interests lie.

I would then google these with ‘+translated fiction’ and see what comes up. It’s a bit of a guessing game at the start if you do it this way, but it’s very much a lucky dip out of a very expansive hat and you just don’t know what treasures you’ll find.

If you’d rather find your book old school, I would pop-in to your local independent bookshop and see if booksellers are knowledgeable at all and could possibly give you some suggestions.

If you’re London-based, there’s an amazing translation fiction section in Piccadilly Waterstones I think (I know, not an independent bookshop, but it’s STILL amazing) and in Foyles. If you haven’t been to Foyles yet you need to check it out when its safe to do so, it’s AMAZING.

My main tip when reading translation fiction is to not to put too much pressure on yourself to read every single book all at once – however much you may want to. You don’t want to feel like it’s a chore. Enjoy it, relax, scatter a few throughout your reading list and enjoy!

Learn More About Translation Fiction

If you want to learn more about translated fiction, Words Without Borders is a great magazine that promotes the world’s best writing and authors for English readers to enjoy.

Also, I absolutely loved this BBC Culture article about translated fiction. It’s a really in-depth look into why we might all need a bit more translated fiction in our lives.

Why I Love Translation Fiction

I hope this post helps you to branch out in your own literary journey. I hope you have a map of books across the globe soon enough, and that you can find and enjoy new favourites to enjoy and love.

Let me know if you’re inspired to start reading translation fiction. Also, let me know if you have any more fiction recommendations as I’m really keen to start getting into other literature besides Korean and Japanese translations.

If you want to hear some more of my thoughts on some of the translated fiction pieces, I’ve written my first initial thoughts on Killing Commendatore here, and then I also talk about Murakami’s Wind-up Bird Chronicle here.

I definitely want to write more posts on the translation fiction I’ve read, so stay tuned for that.

Until tomorrow.