Favourite books from your country (or in your language)

[Rinaldo]

I'm from the country of Kundera and Hrabal but somehow, my favourite Czech books all come from the 1920's.

Jan Weiss – Dům o tisíci patrech / The House of a Thousand Floors
A sci-fi novel written in 1929. Its main protagonist awakens on a stairway, doesn't remember anything and starts his descent through this gargantuan dome, ruled by an omnipotent despot. As the dome is continually built, its hierarchy is reversed - the lower the floor, the higher the class, with different sections representing differect aspects of society. Think Orwell on acid.

Karel Čapek – Válka s mloky / War with the Newts
You might be familiar with Čapek as the guy who invented the word 'robot' (along with his brother Josef) for his play R.U.R. and this book follows a similar concept. People discover an intelligent breed of large newts and enslave them which eventually leads to a revolt and war. Čapek was responding to the rise of national socialism and there are scenes in the book which are even more chilling now that we know how history turned out.

Eduard Bass – Klapzubova jedenáctka / The Klapzuba's Eleven
Something lighthearted to offset all the gloom. This is a witty and hilarious story about a certain Mr. Klapzuba and his eleven sons, who form a soccer team. They're simple boys from the countryside and Klapzuba trains them into an unstoppable force that conquers the whole world, sometimes by very unorthodox means (when they play Barcelona, Klapzuba puts his boys into a Michelin Man style suits to prevent injuries from illegal tackles). They end up playing for their lives on an tropical island, inhabited by cannibals.



(by coincidence, the book was illustrated by the aforementioned Josef Čapek)

[Linus]

I've read Gosta Berlings Saga (in Romanian translation) and it is one of my favorite books.

Ah, how wonderful to hear that it translates well into some languages.

It seems that much of its appeal is lost in English; I recommended Gösta Berlings saga to an Australian woman once and it was a huge mistake. The galloping of hooves in the night seems inconsequential in a language as "airy" as English. (Coincidentally, poetry is generally beautiful in e.g. English and French, but very often clumsy and pretentious (as if poetry didn't have that label attached to it already!) in Swedish.)

[Moonfish]

Ah, how wonderful to hear that it translates well into some languages.

It seems that much of its appeal is lost in English; I recommended Gösta Berlings saga to an Australian woman once and it was a huge mistake. The galloping of hooves in the night seems inconsequential in a language as "airy" as English. (Coincidentally, poetry is generally beautiful in e.g. English and French, but very often clumsy and pretentious (as if poetry didn't have that label attached to it already!) in Swedish.)

I strongly disagree. I think poetry written in Swedish has its own qualities and strength. It is just different. I agree with that French and English have qualities allowing for greater variation and expression, while Swedish is a bit stark and less flowing in structure. However, I certainly would never label it as "clumsy and pretentious" (I presume you were generalizing and not thinking about a specific poet?).  I suspect that each language has its own unique and beautiful qualities when it comes to poetry. Translation of poetry (as well as fiction) is a marshland as the translation will simply be an echo of the original regardless of the ability of the translator. It will be a qualified echo or a disastrous one. The only way to find out is to compare the two versions.

[Ken B]

I strongly disagree. I think poetry written in Swedish has its own qualities and strength. It is just different. I agree with that French and English have qualities allowing for greater variation and expression, while Swedish is a bit stark and less flowing in structure. However, I certainly would never label it as "clumsy and pretentious" (I presume you were generalizing and not thinking about a specific poet?).  I suspect that each language has its own unique and beautiful qualities when it comes to poetry. Translation of poetry (as well as fiction) is a marshland as the translation will simply be an echo of the original regardless of the ability of the translator. It will be a qualified echo or a disastrous one. The only way to find out is to compare the two versions.

No, Linus has a point. For example:

How do I love thee bork bork
Let count bork bork bork the ways
I love thee bork bork to the depth bork and breadth and height bork bork bork

It may be moving, but it's just not graceful.

[Moonfish]

No, Linus has a point. For example:

How do I love thee bork bork
Let count bork bork bork the ways
I love thee bork bork to the depth bork and breadth and height bork bork bork

It may be moving, but it's just not graceful.

No, Ken! That is just a result of your complete and utter inability to translate a Swedish poem.   

[kishnevi]

Hur jag älskar dig?
Låt mig räkna vägar.

Hmmm, the repetition of the a-dipthongs (which of course I have no idea as to correctly pronounce them) gives it more lilt than the original English.

(Translation by Babylon.com)

[North Star]

Hur jag älskar dig?
Låt mig räkna vägar.

Hmmm, the repetition of the a-dipthongs (which of course I have no idea as to correctly pronounce them) gives it more lilt than the original English.

(Translation by Babylon.com)

My Swedish is really rusty, but this might be closer:

Hur älskar jag dig?
Låt mig räkna dessa sätten (vägar -> Let me count the roads )

[kishnevi]

My Swedish is really rusty, but this might be closer:

Hur älskar jag dig?
Låt mig räkna dessa sätten (vägar -> Let me count the roads )

Your version is even more graceful.
Interesting how many words in the computerized version are direct cognates of English words, albeit some of them obsolete.

Hur.  How
Jag. I
Dig.  Thee (think German dich, another cognate)
Lat. Let
Mig. Me (similarly think German mich)
Rakna. Reckon. (In the US at least, now a Southern idiom for guess or suppose)
Vagar.  Ways

[North Star]

Your version is even more graceful.

Thanks
Oh, and Älskar (eL-scar), rÄkna (recna), dIg ('day'), mig (rhymes with dig), dEssa, sÄttEn, almost all of the vowels are pronounced like the English long 'A' or short 'e' (bet)
And Låt is of course (loot, o's as in door)

Interesting how many words in the computerized version are direct cognates of English words, albeit some of them obsolete.

Hur.  How
Jag. I
Dig.  Thee (think German dich, another cognate)
Lat. Let
Mig. Me (similarly think German mich)
Rakna. Reckon. (In the US at least, now a Southern idiom for guess or suppose) [The day of reckoning...]
Vagar.  Ways

Yes, the connections of English and Scandinavian languages are very interesting. Much of the basic vocabulary (especially all those great four-letter words [three or five in some cases] ) in English has common roots with Swedish (and all the other Scandinavian languages [of which Finnish is not one], and German.

[Linus]

I strongly disagree. I think poetry written in Swedish has its own qualities and strength. It is just different. I agree with that French and English have qualities allowing for greater variation and expression, while Swedish is a bit stark and less flowing in structure. However, I certainly would never label it as "clumsy and pretentious" (I presume you were generalizing and not thinking about a specific poet?).  I suspect that each language has its own unique and beautiful qualities when it comes to poetry. Translation of poetry (as well as fiction) is a marshland as the translation will simply be an echo of the original regardless of the ability of the translator. It will be a qualified echo or a disastrous one. The only way to find out is to compare the two versions.

To be honest, I base this opinion on only fragmentary experience with poetry, so I may very well be wrong.

I think I've mainly found it a problem with Swedish Romantic poets. They seem to have been immediately influenced by their French brethren and tried to emulate their metre which doesn't suit Swedish rhythm at all.

My knowledge of linguistics is limited, but I suspect that one reason for the "clumsiness" of Swedish and similar languages is that you have to bog down nouns with suffixed definite articles, while English and other languages can let the noun stand alone, floating freely, and it will still sound natural. (Eng.: "the rock", Sw.: "stenen") If you try the same with Swedish (in order to find the same "free-floating" feel or rhythm), it will seem unnatural or unnecessarily bombastic.

[Linus]

No, Linus has a point. For example:

How do I love thee bork bork
Let count bork bork bork the ways
I love thee bork bork to the depth bork and breadth and height bork bork bork

It may be moving, but it's just not graceful.

The Swedish Chef may very well be our foremost cultural export, which isn't even ours. 

[Moonfish]

The Swedish Chef may very well be our foremost cultural export, which isn't even ours. 

I thought the chef was from Wisconsin...!   

[vandermolen]

Do you call him/her "Plum"?

No 

[torut]

Tanizaki, Junichiro - One of the greatest Japanese writers. Many of his works such as Diary of Mad Old Man, The Tattooer and other stories deal with desperate desire and obsession. The best kind of eroticism, but without vulgarity. The Makioka Sisters (the original title is more poetic: Sasameyuki or A Light Snowfall) is different: a story about daily life of the sisters of a wealthy family, with a central focus on one of the sisters trying to find a marriage partner, which works as traction of the story. Long, with a lot of cultural details, but never boring.

Abe, Kobo - Almost any of his works is very good. The Woman in the Dunes, The Box Man, The Ark Sakura, Secret Rendezvous, etc. Often associated with Kafka for his nightmarish and surrealistic style.

Mishima, Yukio - The Sea of Fertility (1-4) is a monumental work completed just before his (in)famous suicide (harakiri after agitating the defense forces.) The main theme is the ālaya-vijñāna of Buddhism: a story about the ultimate beauty, truth and fraud. Very elegant prose.

Natsume, Soseki - I Am a Cat, Kusamakura, Sanshiro. Intellectual, humorous, cool, lyrical. I think his works contain some restricted eroticism (except the first one.)

[Cosi bel do]

Tanizaki, Junichiro - One of the greatest Japanese writers. Many of his works such as Diary of Mad Old Man, The Tattooer and other stories deal with desperate desire and obsession. The best kind of eroticism, but without vulgarity. The Makioka Sisters (the original title is more poetic: Sasameyuki or A Light Snowfall) is different: a story about daily life of the sisters of a wealthy family, with a central focus on one of the sisters trying to find a marriage partner, which works as traction of the story. Long, with a lot of cultural details, but never boring.

Abe, Kobo - Almost any of his works is very good. The Woman in the Dunes, The Box Man, The Ark Sakura, Secret Rendezvous, etc. Often associated with Kafka for his nightmarish and surrealistic style.

Mishima, Yukio - The Sea of Fertility (1-4) is a monumental work completed just before his (in)famous suicide (harakiri after agitating the defense forces.) The main theme is the ālaya-vijñāna of Buddhism: a story about the ultimate beauty, truth and fraud. Very elegant prose.

Natsume, Soseki - I Am a Cat, Kusamakura, Sanshiro. Intellectual, humorous, cool, lyrical. I think his works contain some restricted eroticism (except the first one.)

These are 4 authors I deeply admire.
- Tanizaki : among his shorter novels I particularly like Naomi (this is the English title, the French title translates as An Insane Love). I still have to read The Makioka Sisters and anticipate a great pleasure
- Kobo Abe is more difficult but a great read.
- Mishima is a giant, I liked a few shorter novels (The Temple of the Golden Pavilion in particular) and still have to read The Sea of the Fertility.
- Soseki is the one I prefer among these 4 I think. I Am a Cat is a wonderfoul book funny and with a sensitive prose, even in French translation. I also liked Botchan a great deal.

Japanese literature is one of the richest and of the most coherent and subtle around the world. I'm usually quite sorry people only know Murakami's best-sellers, that I mostly find poor and simplistic when compared to other authors, also including Yasunari Kawabata (not all his novels are great, but The Sound of the Mountain leaves an enduring impression), Osamu Dazai, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Akira Yoshimura, and of course older tales (shorter or longer...) and poetry.

[torut]

These are 4 authors I deeply admire.
- Tanizaki : among his shorter novels I particularly like Naomi (this is the English title, the French title translates as An Insane Love). I still have to read The Makioka Sisters and anticipate a great pleasure
- Kobo Abe is more difficult but a great read.
- Mishima is a giant, I liked a few shorter novels (The Temple of the Golden Pavilion in particular) and still have to read The Sea of the Fertility.
- Soseki is the one I prefer among these 4 I think. I Am a Cat is a wonderfoul book funny and with a sensitive prose, even in French translation. I also liked Botchan a great deal.

Japanese literature is one of the richest and of the most coherent and subtle around the world. I'm usually quite sorry people only know Murakami's best-sellers, that I mostly find poor and simplistic when compared to other authors, also including Yasunari Kawabata (not all his novels are great, but The Sound of the Mountain leaves an enduring impression), Osamu Dazai, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Akira Yoshimura, and of course older tales (shorter or longer...) and poetry.

Kobo's earlier works are very pedantic and difficult, but the later works are more entertaining without losing the quality. Dazai is also great. Probably No Longer Human is the most famous, but I prefer the short stories that are succinct and very well crafted. I read only a few books of Kawabata and Akutagawa, and have not read Yoshimura's books yet. I want to check them out.
I tried some of Murakami's books and I was deeply disappointed. His earlier works have a certain atmosphere of detachment which may have appeal, but his novels are mostly of poor quality, IMO. However, he is influential to writers of the younger generation, and some of them are fairly nice.

[Artem]

I am a big fan of Mishima. He's been translated into Russian several years ago by a famous Russian detective stories writer. Haven't read the tetralogy yet, because I haven't purchased all the books in the set yet, but they're on my list to read.

I couldn't get into Kobo Abe. I tried reading Woman in the dunes, but I just wasn't getting into it. I will try to read it again sometime.

And since Haruki Murakami has been mentioned, I should say that I like his early novels, especially the sheep trilogy. He's getting back to his earlier style of writing in his new book, by the way, and mentions Liszt in it a lot.

[torut]

I am a big fan of Mishima. He's been translated into Russian several years ago by a famous Russian detective stories writer. Haven't read the tetralogy yet, because I haven't purchased all the books in the set yet, but they're on my list to read.

I couldn't get into Kobo Abe. I tried reading Woman in the dunes, but I just wasn't getting into it. I will try to read it again sometime.

And since Haruki Murakami has been mentioned, I should say that I like his early novels, especially the sheep trilogy. He's getting back to his earlier style of writing in his new book, by the way, and mentions Liszt in it a lot.

I saw the news that the Listz album became a best seller in Japan, thanks to the book. The early books (Hear The Wind Sings, Pinball, Sheep Chase, Hard-Boiled Wonderland) are memorable, though I was not so enthusiastic. I gave up The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, then tried 1Q84, which I found very disappointing. However, 1Q84 used Janáček's Sinfonietta impressively, that made me re-listen to that wonderful music. He is a close friend of Ozawa and wrote/translated a few books about Classical music and Jazz.

I think Philip Glass composed a soundtrack of a movie about Mishima. I want to listen to that sometime. I have not watched the movie.

[Artem]

I also thought that 1Q84 was bad. However, his new book is much better.