My Favourite Translated Books

4 comments

The Guest Cat

OHHHHHHHH THE FEELS.

This is one of the most unlikeliest books I think I could ever read and love. IT'S ABOUT A CAT AND WE ALL KNOW DOGS RULE. But seriously, this book is brilliant, thought provoking and really really special.

It's only 130 pages long (and that's with a blank page in between each chapter). It's short. In fact I read most of it sat in the car in an Aldi car park (don't ask). And I think that's what I love about it. It's one of those books that you read and you instantly know you love - and the fact that it's been done in such a tiny amount of pages make it even more dazzlingly brilliant.

I fell in love with the characters and the writing is really quite exquisite. I mean, I might go as far as saying this is my favourite book. Full stop.

It might not seem like your type of thing and you might not even like it but please give this a go. You'll probably be surprised.


The Hen Who Dreamt She Could Fly

This book is magic. I mean, there's not a lot more to say other than READ IT. Again, it's really thin and really beautifully written and definitely worth the hour or so you'll spend reading it. It's based on a Korean folk tale and you can really tell that - that *vibe* still comes through in the translated version, so whoever did the actual translating did a brilliant job.

It's really simple, but that makes it even more brilliant. Less really is more here, and this book has a huge impact considering the fact it's only tiny.

1Q84

Murakami. WOOO. Admittedly I've been meaning to read this trilogy for AGES and I'm so glad I have done - because it's brilliant. There's ups and downs, and there's a few dry bits that made me want to give up, but in the end it's worth it.

Books play quite a big part of this, and so does writing, and it celebrates them both in the most brilliant and wonderful way. I'm not sure if that's the experience others got (maybe not, because nobody ever seems to mention it) - but personally I loved it. There's a really slow burning mystery/romance surrounding the two main characters that doesn't really become clear until the end of book 2, and I LOVE THAT.

Food + writing + weird freaky mysterious stuff + the word "cock" being used a surprising amount of times + japanese = awesome.


Which translated books do you love?

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4 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh, you've read IQ84? Kudos, oh my gosh, because I picked it up at the bookstore the other day, and it was massive! I was intimidated by it, and decided not to purchase it...but I will rethink that decision!

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    1. It's massive, but it doesn't seem like it when you're reading it! You should definitely check it out - I really enjoyed it! I LOOOVE Murakami SO much.

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  2. I'm glad you enjoyed those translated books! I have yet to read either, I'll add them to my TBR

    Rachel @ A Perfection Called Books

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    1. You definitely need to read the Guest Cat! I loooove it so much!

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