Around the World in 80 Books discussion

My native language is English, so all books will be originally in another language.

Genres (Pick any 16)

Biography

Children's/Fairytales The Moomins and the Great Flood by Tove Jansson ( Swedish)

Classic Fiction (>50 years old) The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Russian) and The Sunny Night by Nodar Dumbadze (Georgian) and The Trial by Franz Kafka (German)

Contemporary fiction My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (Italian) and Tomorrow I'll Be Twenty by Alain Mabanckou (French)

Fantasy

Folklore/Mythology

Graphic Novels/Manga/Comics Blue Is the Warmest Color by Julie Maroh (French)

History (Non-fiction) Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster by Svetlana Alexievich (Russian)

Horror Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin (Spanish)

Humor A Horse Walks into a Bar by David Grossman (Hebrew)

Literary Fiction/Historical Fiction The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende (Spanish)

Memoir/Autobiography My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past by Jennifer Teege (German)

Mystery (Crime, Detective. Cozy, Noir, etc.) All Yours by Claudia Piñeiro (Spanish)

Non-fiction (Essays, Cookbooks, Self-help, True crime, etc.) The Little Virtues by Natalia Ginzburg (Essays) (German)

Poetry/Epics

Romance Half a Lifelong Romance by Eileen Chang (Mandarin)

Science Fiction/Dystopia

Short Stories Revenge by Yōko Ogawa (Japanese)

Thrillers/Suspense/Espionage The Hole: A Novel by Hye-Young Pyun (Korean)

Travel Writing The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey by Ernesto Che Guevara (Spanish)

Wildcard (Feminism) Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El-Saadawi( Arabic)

Young Adult/New Adult

1/16 read

Classic fiction - The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Russian)
Translated by Constance Garnett

2/16 read

Historical Fiction - The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende (Spanish)
Translated by Nick Caistor and Amanda Hopkinson

3/16 read

Romance - Half a Lifelong Romance by Eileen Chang (Mandarin)
Translated by Karen S. Kingsbury (not the writer of Christian fiction)

Another classic fiction - The Sunny Night by Nodar Dumbadze (Georgian)
Translated by Prince George Nakashidse

4/16 read

Contemporary fiction - My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante ( Italian)
Translated by Ann Goldstein

5/16 read

Thriller The Hole: A Novel by Hye-Young Pyun (Korean)
Translated by Sora Kim-Russell

I picked this because people have classified it as horror, and the description did not sound like typical horror (i.e. Stephen King, Peter Straub). I did not ultimately agree that is horror. Although the situation the main character is in, paralyzed and unable to speak, is horrifying, I decided it falls in the psychological thriller genre.

6/16 read

Wildcard (Feminism) Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El-Saadawi (Arabic)
Translated by Sherif Hetata

I didn't realize that feminism is a genre on GR until I looked at the list for this novel. It is listed in Wikipedia as creative nonfiction which would also work as a wildcard.

7/16 read

Mystery All Yours by Claudia Piñeiro (Spanish)
Translated by Miranda France

My review is here.

7/16 read

Added another classic The Trial by Franz Kafka (German)
Translated by David Wyllie

I read that a person can't truly understand the term "Kafkaesque" unless you read this book. I think that might be a true statement now that I've finished what might be one of the oddest novels I've ever read in which the main character is caught in a web of a bureaucratic nightmare.

I just finished reading The Trial as well. I have read other books by Kafka, but this is certainly the oddest.

Rosemarie wrote: "I just finished reading The Trial as well. I have read other books by Kafka, but this is certainly the oddest."

It's only the second book by Kafka I've read and I don't know how many more I would read if I thought they were like this one.

I read The Trial for the first time this year as well, and I'm of the same opinion as you both. I expected a bit more from the book, considering the influence the book has had.

8/16 read

History (non-fiction) Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster by Svetlana Alexievich (Russian)
Original title: Чернобыльская молитва: Хроника будущего
Translated by Keith Gessen

5 stars - My review

9/16 read

Graphic novel - Blue Is the Warmest Color by Julie Maroh (French)
Original title: Le Bleu est une Couleur Chaude
Translated by Ivanka Hahnenberger

10/16 read

Memoir/Autobiography - My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past by Jennifer Teege (German)
Translated by Carolin Sommer

11/16 read

Non-fiction (Essays) - The Little Virtues by Natalia Ginzburg (Italian)
Translated by Dick Davis

12/16 read

Children's/Fairytales - The Moomins and the Great Flood by Tove Jansson (Swedish)
Translated by David McDuff

13/16 read

Travel Writing - The Motorcycle Diaries: Notes on a Latin American Journey by Ernesto Che Guevara (Spanish)
Translated by Aleida Guevara March

13/16 read

Another Contemporary Fiction - Tomorrow I'll Be Twenty by Alain Mabanckou (French)
Translated by Helen Stevenson

14/16 read

Humor - A Horse Walks into a Bar by David Grossman (Hebrew)
Translated by Jessica Cohen
3 stars - My review

15/16 read

Short stories - Revenge by Yōko Ogawa (Japanese)
Translated by Stephen Snyder
Revenge by Yōko Ogawa


3.5 stars - I'm not sure that I can say I liked these short stories. They are fascinating with an intricacy that I was compelled to pursue. Each successive story is related to one or more of the previous stories in some way. I felt like I was encountering a puzzle or mystery that challenged me to determine if I could spot the impending connection before it became obvious. They are not hopeful stories as one can infer from the title of the book. But neither do they seem to be about revenge typically. I think a more appropriate title would be defeat or despair.

16/16 Challenge complete

Horror - Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin (Spanish)
Translated by Megan McDowell
3.5 stars - This short novel is an unusual horror story. It is not Stephen King kind of scary, but the horror is real and almost subtle. Quite a creepy ending.

Congratulations on completing your challenge Laurie! Do you have a favourite translated book from this year?

Voices from Chernobyl was hard to read due to the sad reality of the suffering, but it was very good.

It looks very interesting. I've added it to my TBR.