Read Women discussion

Here is our thread for discussing our August 2026 group read of Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto, translated from Japanese by Megan Backus

Banana Yoshimoto's novels have made her a sensation in Japan and all over the world, and Kitchen, the dazzling English-language debut that is still her best-loved book, is an enchantingly original and deeply affecting book about mothers, love, tragedy, and the power of the kitchen and home in the lives of a pair of free-spirited young women in contemporary Japan.

I believe there is a novella titled "Kitchen" and an accompanying short story which juxtaposes the themes of the first, which sounds really interesting. Who's reading? Has anyone read anything by this author before? I have not

Thanks, Hannah!

My library copy came through earlier this week, so I've already started. I'm not far in (Maybe 20 pages) but already loving the story and how it's unfolding.

I'm waiting for my library copy to show up. Maybe later this week! I picked it because of how so many people are into Japanese (and Korean) pop culture these days.

I've put this on hold and, like you (Lyn), am waiting for my library to notify me. I tried to get into this one a couple of years ago and was unsuccessful, but the timing was off and I don't think I gave it more than a couple of dozen pages.

I generally keep my Japanese lit thing under wraps in this group, but I have read a fair amount of it and my failure to tackle this one has been gnawing at me for awhile. I'm delighted we join this discussion and give Kitchen its due.

the English translation

Not to start with controversy, but it's perfect that we're reading this in August where the focus of many readers is on translations and translators. There are and have been a lot of discussions of the English translation of Kitchen, the choices Megan Backus made and the implications of those choices.

This blogger takes issue with the translation's erasure of Yuiki's mother's (Eriko's) transition to being a trans woman. Kitchen, without references to the gay subculture of NYC or trans identity, becomes much less involved in the issues and characters it depicts. A Kitchen that lacks visible engagement with potentially controversial themes becomes a less articulate portrayal of its zeitgeist. Yet both of those Kitchens can, at some moments, read as much more caring in their treatment of Eriko, and at others, not.

https://readingintranslation.com/2025...

This article from Metropolis Japan is somewhat of a pan of Yoshimoto, generally, out of the gate, but I found his specific criticisms of this English translation to be worth considering. Here's an excerpt: Translator Meagan Backus also tends not to break up long Japanese sentences, which more liberal translations would dissect. In fact, cleaving to Japanese sentence structure leads to awkward constructions throughout the entire novel: “Until only recently, the light that bathed the now-empty apartment had contained the smells of our life there” is stiff and complicated; “I don’t care for the loaded sentimentality of those words or for the feeling of limitation they impose” sounds like a robot speaking, which Mikage is anything but.
A better translation of “Kitchen” would have firstly been more natural all around. Let the characters speak more naturally, sound more human and have less verbose clutter around Mikage’s voice. “Kitchen” already works in English, but I can’t help but to think what its reception would have been like with a translation that matched the vivid beauty of the original.

Would a different translation put “Kitchen” on the level of something like Murakami’s “Norwegian Wood”? Not necessarily. Alfred Birnbaum and Jay Rubin are among the most inventive Japanese translators. Their daring approach to capturing Murakami’s voice plays a large part in his success in English....
https://metropolisjapan.com/banana-yo...

This guy even did his thesis on a line-by-line comparison of the English language to Japanese language versions, for those who want to do a deep dive on this topi, or even just check specific sections of the text while reading.https://www.academia.edu/64594976/A_c...

It is absolutely the case that 30 years ago when the English language version of Kitchen hit the Western market, readers were not broadly accustomed to reading translated fiction and had been presented with precious few female Japanese authors' works. Even now, there are substantially more novels by male Japanese authors than female ones available to readers, but that gap was even worse in 1996. This reality put a lot of pressure on translators to deliver translations that match typical English-language cadence, among other choices. But here's my challenge: Megan Backus has never been engaged to translate another Yoshimoto novel or - any - Japanese novel into English, which leads me to wonder why she was engaged to translate Kitchen and whether, if Grove Press had instead engaged one of the couple of dozen experienced Japanese - English translators, they would have found that sweet spot of word-for-word vs. omitting entire sentences and changing the implications of portions of texts and none of this controversy would exist.

In the end, I think we read the novel that's in front of us and judge it on its own terms, because to reject it as, "well, maybe I just don't like the translation but maybe I would have enjoyed it in Japanese if only I could read it," is kind of an all-purpose cop out, IMO. But ...

Banana Yoshimoto

Yoshimoto is the author of thirteen books, ten of which have been translated into English. She has a global and dedicated fan base. Her work has been translated and published in more than thirty countries. In Italy, she won the Scanno Literary Prize in 1993, the Fendissime Literary Prize in 1996, the Maschera d’Argento Prize in 1999, and the Capri Award in 2011. Her novella, Moon Shadow, included in many versions of Kitchen, won the 16th Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature.

These sentences from her GR bio are intriguing.

Along with having a famous father, poet Takaaki Yoshimoto, Banana's sister, Haruno Yoiko, is a well-known cartoonist in Japan. Growing up in a liberal family, she learned the value of independence from a young age.

She graduated from Nihon University's Art College, majoring in Literature. During that time, she took the pseudonym "Banana" after her love of banana flowers, a name she recognizes as both "cute" and "purposefully androgynous."

She was only 24 when Kitchen, her debut novel, was published.

Here's a transcript of a 2026 interview, in translation, conducted via email, where Yoshimoto, "talks about her principles on hope, her most selfish characters, and creating ‘a hot spring within the unconscious.’. There are no spoilers for Kitchen. It's more about Yoshimoto, her writing habits, motivations, etc.

https://www.epochliterary.com/blog/in...

For pure fun, here's another interview transcript from the bananawriters.com site:

https://www.bananawriters.com/intervi...

Thank you Carol for all that, as usual you put out so much work in getting material about the current book, it's really great!

All that about the differences with the translation, the exclusion is really unforgivable, but on the other hand I think the long sentences like that to me sound actually more poetic. I was also wondering if my edition was like that, until I remembered that...I've read it in Italian of course, so it was a completely different translator with different choices.

It's also interesting to me to read how English readers weren't used to translations, of course with there being so many anglophone writers, because almost every single book I've read in my life until I started to read in original language (thanks to e-readers) was a translation. So a completely different cultural context regarding literature and the approach to foreign titles.

Ninnisha|Roberta wrote: "Thank you Carol for all that, as usual you put out so much work in getting material about the current book, it's really great!

All that about the differences with the translation, the exclusion is..."

That first link compares the English and Italian translations and I thought of you when I saw that!

I think two things were going on in terms of the culture and how people talk about translated fiction circa the mid1990s America. We all read the French and Russians. The things people say about translations never apply to them. It's always those "other foreigners". Our general population mistrust of translations is just a smidge away from not trusting the original authors because of othering them.

But also, in terms of Japan specifically, the Japanese government was very intentional post WWII in producing and distributing English-language translations of the sort of novels they wanted Americans to read about Japan. Mishima, Natsume Sōseki, Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, Kōbō Abe, Osamu Dazai. All men. I don't know whether they are paying for translations at all post 2000, but their choices created a market that otherwise the publishers wouldn't have taken a chance on investing in. I don't know that any other country has invested in literature as soft power in this same way, at least here in the US. Maybe they have. And I also don't know if Japan took the same approach in other English-speaking countries or if it was a US-centric thing.

I can't think of much in the way of mass market popular fiction that was available in the US before maybe 2000. If the average person went into an airport bookstore, they wouldn't even have had the option of a Scandi thriller. Before The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo blows up in 2008 and shows that a translated thriller can move mega-units, you'd have to order translations from a UK publisher and pay to ship it here.

So you're right, but I think the culture couldn't change until the translated books were in the market for readers to experience for themselves, and the publishers wouldn't take a risk on translated books until there was a proven market, and readers missed out for decades on enjoying books that were easy to find in Europe if not more globally.

Carol wrote: "That first link compares the English and Italian translations and I thought of you when I saw that!.."
Oooh thank you!
I've read it now and it's really interesting. And very sad, since apparently both versions completely twisted the original, just in different ways. It makes me pretty angry, and makes me wish I could read the original, which I'm sure I'd love a lot more and which deserves more love than the translations can give it justice for. But I never plan on learning Japanese, so there's that.
Of course at the time I was young and these things weren't really talked about, so I couldn't even catch the nagtive connotations.

What you say about the political reasons behind those Japanese author choices for US is very interesting, and of course sad.

Conversely, for Italy it's the opposite, the big translation, but even more dubbing, business is more due to fascism, which couldn't tolerate anything not being in Italian. And even nowadays, you'll only find everything dubbed and translated and caring about original language isn't really a thing.
Which also doesn't necessarily mean writers from countries like Japan and the Scandinavian ones get more spotlight than in the US. Most of the books will still be translated from English and especially from the US, especially with the 90s US craze. I frankly also don't recall anybody talking about Scandi thrillers much before The girl with the dragon tattoo opened the way. Maybe some? I remember my sister, avid thriller reader, did read some, like the Smilla one which I now checked came out in 92.

But indeed, something for example I hear a lot from americans is referring to for example watching "foreign movies" as something extremely intellectual and niche, and I'm sure it's the same for literature, while for most of the world it's just...the normal thing.

In the end translations are always a double-edge sword. They give you access to media you wouldn't otherwise have access to, which is awesome, but you always have to keep in mind how much a translation is effectively a rewriting and localization, rather than just "the same thing but in my language" so it will always be a different book. And more so for book than any other media, since words are all you have. But I feel I'm going off topic here.

Ninnisha|Roberta wrote: "Carol wrote: "That first link compares the English and Italian translations and I thought of you when I saw that!.."
Oooh thank you!
I've read it now and it's really interesting. And very sad, sinc..."

Smilla's Sense of Snow! yes!

you're certainly correct about American tolerance for subtitles. It's improved with Netflix and other streaming availability - you used to really have to seek out anything dubbed or subbed - but it's like the needle moving from 1% to 4%.

I am fully confident in the judgment of the best translators - for me and my reading - where "best" isn't word-for-word but also isn't some broad conceptual goal - but think the gap between the ones who are at the top of the game and also have good relationships with the writers whose works they translate, and the ones whose auntie runs the imprint and wants to give them a chance at this first translating gig, is cavernous. With Japanese and Korean translations into English, I know who to look for in the translator byline. I have no idea in the rest of world, although it's possible with Goodreads to do 10-15 minutes of research and find out who is hired to translate the most prominent/best known authors in a given country and look for their other translations. But all of your points are well made.

Carol wrote: "I've put this on hold and, like you (Lyn), am waiting for my library to notify me. I tried to get into this one a couple of years ago and was unsuccessful, but the timing was off and I don't think ..."

Wow, I had no idea about any of this. Thank you for your research and notes Carol. I don't understand how a translator can change a character/omit a storyline like this. Surely the publisher's have something to do with it too? I hope to come back and read the article about this later but my eyes are hurting right now.

Long sentences like this hurt my brain

I will definitely be joining!

Carol wrote: "This blogger takes issue with the translation's erasure of Yuiki's mother's (Eriko's) transition to being a trans woman."

I'm reading the Megan Backus translation and there's definitely the inclusion of Eriko and her past as Yuichi's father. It's discussed a couple of different times before page 24 (where I am now).

Is the blogger saying there was more that got cut out?

Lin wrote: "Carol wrote: "This blogger takes issue with the translation's erasure of Yuiki's mother's (Eriko's) transition to being a trans woman."

I'm reading the Megan Backus translation and there's definit..."

I don't have the impression that characters or events got cut out, but individual paragraphs and sentences are translated by Backus in a way that has the result of minimizing the process for Eriko of transitioning from male to female, maybe making it seem seamless, e.g., she used to be a man, now she's a woman, and she's fine and perky and everything's good. There aren't any spoilers in the blog, but this paragraph is the one I re-read in order to respond.

Again, the English edition seems to erase, or at least deliberately avoid, an aspect of Eriko’s identity as a trans woman: the psychosocial experience of transition. Instead, they are masked behind a more normative category and a drive to “pass” in an attempt to – as she does in this line – relate to Mikage and, more broadly, the woman reader. The Italian, conversely, directly addresses the fact that Eriko is not just a woman, but a trans woman; an individual who has undertaken significant effort to make themselves into their own image. And still, it remains widely appealing: diventare una donna [becoming a woman] is not only a description of gender transition, but could also be a general metamorphosis into womanhood. It becomes a verb of affirmation, allowing both transitioning and aging to be possible paths to this meeting point of identity, woman. It becomes the process of growing, the aftermath of change, be it genetically encoded or socially constructed. Both the English and Italian translations take on a complex interpretive potential that may communicate contradictory notions: here, affirming; there, invalidating.

I see this issue of exactly how Eriko's trans identity is expressed in Kitchen as something to just consider, like icing on the cake of the reading experience, not to dominate or change our enjoyment of this seminal novel. But then, I'm not trans, although I'm an ally, and this character might have been one of the first times that Western readers thought about the experience of a parent transitioning, from the point of view of both parent and offspring. So it mattered and still matters.

Hannah wrote: "Carol wrote: "I've put this on hold and, like you (Lyn), am waiting for my library to notify me. I tried to get into this one a couple of years ago and was unsuccessful, but the timing was off and ..."

I hear you on the long sentences hurting your brain, Hannah : )

I'm reading The Remembered Soldier at bedtime and the long sentences remind me of Milkman, except I read that via audio which made it so much easier for me. I hope you feel better.

[Feel free to ignore if you don't want to hear any more about the translation]

The debate makes a lot more sense to me now on two fronts: below is the deleted reference to gay folk in NYC, and, in Japanese, there is actually feminine and masculine language, so a character's use of feminine language suggests how they see themselves, but - in English - all of this subtext is eliminated. Backus made a decision to eliminate the first sentence, but she didn't have any choices to make on the second.

In the English translation of Kitchen, some foreignizing strategies can be seen such as mixed usage of current English and archaic English, juxtaposition of Japanese words and American proper nouns, and deviations from linguistic forms of Standard English. These factors foreground Yoshimoto’s characteristic style and Japanese culture, and make the translation exotic. On the other hand, the number of paragraphs has been reduced by 17% in the target text to adjust to the writing style in English.[2] This mixture of foreignization and domestication makes this English translation readable but foreignizing. In fact, the success of Kitchen is due to its “middlebrow translation strategy” (Harker, 1999, p. 36). Harker regards the strategy as “a middle ground between domestication and foreignization” (1999, pp. 37-38) describing it as “carefully constructed, reminiscent of Japanese rhythms and language and yet fluently readable” (ibid.). This English translation overcomes the dilemma “adequate” (source-oriented translations) vs. “acceptable” (target-oriented translations) (Lambert, 1985, p. 40) and has found an “acceptable but adequate” ground on a micro-structural level (ibid.).[3]

Although Megan Backus’s strategy succeeds to a considerable extent, in terms of how the text is conveyed to the target audience, two aspects are worth considering. Firstly, the gay character’s use of feminine language is omitted. There is a wider variety of pronouns in Japanese, which indicate the speaker’s femininity or masculinity. Take the most common pronouns for example, watashi [“I”] is usually used by girls, and boku [“I”] is mostly for boys. The gay characters: the male-to-female transsexual mother and her friend use a girly and informal pronominal form atashi [“I”] to address themselves (Yoshimoto, 2006 [1988], pp. 25 and 114; Yoshimoto, 1993, pp. 17 and 83). However, the English pronoun “I” completely elides their use of women’s language (ibid.). Also, feminine sentence-final forms, which are a characteristic of Japanese women’s language, highlight their feminine speech style in the original, but the effect is lost in the English translation. Secondly, there is a censored description of gay people. As Aoyama points out (1996, p. 24), the description underlined below is clearly deleted in the English translation:

よくTVで観るNYのゲイたちの、あの気弱な笑顔に似てはいた。しかし、そう言ってしまうには彼女は強すぎた。あまりにも深い魅力が輝いて、彼女をここまで運んでしまった。

my italics, Yoshimoto, 2006 [1988], p. 28
[She looked like gay people in NY with a weak smile that I often saw on the TV. But her attractions were much stronger than this. The brilliance of her extraordinary charm had brought her to where she was.]

[Her power was the brilliance of her charm and it had brought her to where she was now.]

Yoshimoto, 1993, p. 19
The gay characters’ feminine use is omitted because of linguistic difference, and censorship of gay description is determined by a political and ideological value in the target culture. Lefevere considers translation as rewriting (1992, p. 9). In this case, the publishing industry may have dictated the deletion from a political motivation as Venuti argues (2008 [1995], p. 1). As a consequence some aspects of the novel have been lost. These reductions can also be considered as domestication.

These are paragraphs 5 - 8 of "Representations are Misrepresentations..." which also discusses the use of a cover in the UK edition with a geisha on it, even though no geishas are in Kitchen.

https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/tt...

Anyway, I find it fascinating that there are a plethora of public-facing journal articles, PhD theses and the like available on this topic. Translators and their friends must have been talking about this particular book at every conference for a couple of years there.

This is all so interesting!

I did think that Eriko's character was explained somewhat quickly and sort of "passed over" in a way, but I took it to mean the author wanted us to know it was "no big deal." That she was accepted by her son and by our MC without fuss.

I sort of understand why novels can't always be translated word-for-word, but I don't get how they can take liberties in how a message is coming across. It makes me think that the art of translation is also modifying somewhat to fit the cultural audience (which I wholeheartedly disagree with, and maybe this isn't what they do - but kind of seems like some do?)

Anyway, thanks for sharing, Carol!

Lin wrote: "This is all so interesting!

I did think that Eriko's character was explained somewhat quickly and sort of "passed over" in a way, but I took it to mean the author wanted us to know it was "no big ..."

IKR?

I think it's a, sometimes yes, sometimes no. The good thing is that, in 2026, there are so many readers and thoughtful folks who care about translations that these choices get flagged and discussed. They aren't hidden any more from readers. And translators know, too, that there will be fly-specked-level attention to their choices.

Carol wrote: "I've put this on hold and, like you (Lyn), am waiting for my library to notify me. I tried to get into this one a couple of years ago and was unsuccessful, but the timing was off and I don't think ..."

Thanks for the links, Carol! Really interesting.

I read it a long time ago, I was thinking of re-reading it one day. Instead, I think I'll try one of her books translated by Asa Yoneda. I also wonder if they'll release a new translation of Kitchen in my lifetime. Maybe for its 50th anniversary in 2038?

All that being said, I'm still looking forward to lurking here and seeing what you all make of it :D

Beige wrote: "Carol wrote: "I've put this on hold and, like you (Lyn), am waiting for my library to notify me. I tried to get into this one a couple of years ago and was unsuccessful, but the timing was off and ..."

Do you remember what you thought about it, Beige? I'm actually also super interested in the other story in the book, Moonlight Shadow, if you have a take on that.

I wonder if any publisher has contemplated producing a new translation. It's been so successful in its present form, but a fresh take that doesn't replicate several of these choices might shake off this shadow and introduce BY to new fans. One search I did indicated that there are >400 users on Storygraph that have it tagged as transphobic. That take no doubt discourages readers from exploring BY's most famous novel.

Carol wrote: "Do you remember what you thought about it, Beige? I'm actually also super interested in the other story in the book, Moonlight Shadow, if you have a take on that...."

Ha! I didn't recall that it had a short story included, but I just checked my old copy and yup it's there. Okay, maybe I'll re-read just the story ;D

As for Kitchen, I just remember it made a really big impression on me. I hadn't read anything else like it and I remember wanting to find more books with the same vibe and not finding anything - even her next three releases didn't grab me in the same way.

I forgot to mention that I saw Moonlight Shadow was inspired by the Mike Oldfield song with the same name. In one of those strange coincidences, I was just talking about this song a couple of days ago. It didn't know it when it came out, but a friend from the UK introduced me to it because it was big over there - I'm not a fan, but it has been stuck in my head for the last couple of days.

Beige wrote: "I forgot to mention that I saw Moonlight Shadow was inspired by the song by the same name by Mike Oldfield. In one of those strange coincidences, I was just talking about this song ..."

earworm punishment 😂😂. such an interesting coincidence, too.

Lin wrote: "sort of understand why novels can't always be translated word-for-word, but I don't get how they can take liberties in how a message is coming across. It makes me think that the art of translation is also modifying somewhat to fit the cultural audience (which I wholeheartedly disagree with, and maybe this isn't what they do - but kind of seems like some do?).."

This is exactly how I feel. Thank you for providing my brain words for me Lin!!

Carol wrote: "One search I did indicated that there are >400 users on Storygraph that have it tagged as transphobic. That take no doubt discourages readers from exploring BY's most famous novel..."

I have used storygraph a little and it is very good for providing trigger warnings. I think that a lot of users have tagged it as containing transphobia, to warn people who may be triggered by this and want to avoid it. I think that this is quite different from the novel itself being transphobic. Perhaps both are true, but hopefully not

Beige wrote: "As for Kitchen, I just remember it made a really big impression on me. I hadn't read anything else like it and I remember wanting to find more books with the same vibe..."

This is good to hear! Strange coincidence about Moonlight Shadow too! I find things like that fascinating!

Hannah wrote: "Carol wrote: "One search I did indicated that there are >400 users on Storygraph that have it tagged as transphobic. That take no doubt discourages readers from exploring BY's most famous novel..."..."

I framed it poorly - thanks for this, hannah. spot on.

Since I'm a few days early (& cuz the translation discussion has been so interesting!), i've started reading Yukiko Motoya's story collection The Lonesome Bodybuilder, translated by Asa Yoneda. I'm a few stories in, & they've each been quite interesting!

Joelle.P.S wrote: "Since I'm a few days early (& cuz the translation discussion has been so interesting!), i've started reading Yukiko Motoya's story collection [book:The Lonesome Bodybuilder|3864316..."

I thought that sounded familiar, in the UK it's sold under the title Picnic in the Storm - it baffles me why they do this. It's quite a strange, surreal collection isn't it?! I enjoyed it, for the most part. A couple towards the end went over my head though

Joelle.P.S wrote: "Since I'm a few days early (& cuz the translation discussion has been so interesting!), i've started reading Yukiko Motoya's story collection [book:The Lonesome Bodybuilder|3864316..."

I need to give this another run. I tried it last year and couldn't get out of the first story, but it wasn't a great time for me to have tried it. I often hear good things about it.

I didn't realize they had done the different-names-per-market thing on this one, Hannah. That is really annoying given the connection between the UK and US markets.

In a dim and distant past I did Translation Studies, so I find this discussion very interesting. Every translator faces the dilemma of respecting the source text versus making it accessible to the target audience.

It is my impression that in general, English(-language) translators are more target-oriented, whereas Dutch translators try to find a middle ground between source and target.

I remember a Dutch blogging friend much preferring English translations over Dutch ones. She said they flowed much better, whereas I found they missed nuance, were 'dumbed down' a bit (style over substance). Generally speaking, of course.

In 2016, we also discussed Kitchen in this group. I read it in Dutch then. The discussion and my review can be found here:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

lethe wrote: "In a dim and distant past I did Translation Studies, so I find this discussion very interesting. Every translator faces the dilemma of respecting the source text versus making it accessible to the ..."

thanks for your insight, Lethe. i admit to being as fascinated by the Kitchen debate as I was the one surrounding Han Kang’s The Vegetarian. it also strikes me that I cannot recall a male translator being publicly torched by all and sundry peers.

I read your comment in the 2016 thread. I love the Dutch cover.
I was surprised that transvestitism and being transgender are treated … imprecisely. I’ll look for that.

I started Kitchen last evening and was surprised at how up-beat it is. it’s quite different in tone from most of the J-Lit I have read. I will start reading again now and see what strikes me.

At the beginning of Chapter 2, Full Moon, I so didn’t anticipate (view spoiler)[ that Eriko would die, and exit the story. I feel like we readers were just beginning to get to know her.😥 (hide spoiler)]

Carol wrote: "At the beginning of Chapter 2, Full Moon, I so didn’t anticipate [spoilers removed]"

Agree, Carol! I just got to that part last night.

I'm having a hard time getting into this one for some reason. I loved the first 20 or so pages, but Ch.2 has me confused.
And I'm not sure if it's the translation or the tone, but the way the men are communicating with our MC is rubbing me the wrong way.

Lin wrote: "I'm having a hard time getting into this one for some reason. I loved the first 20 or so pages, but Ch.2 has me confused.."

This is what happened upon my first attempt at reading this too

Wow all really interesting!! There definitely are different translation traditions- I was at an event last year with two heads of small Danish publishing houses, both publishing prize winners in Danish. Speaking of translation both these lovely and normally very polite ladies almost simultaneously hissed "Nooo, they MAKE THINGS UP!!" when asked about English translations. Apparently there's a tradition of trying to make it easier for the poor English speakers to understand the big scary foreign world.
Whereas the Danish translation tradition (much like the Dutch, it sound like above) is about recreating the work in another language as faithfully as possible, while maintaining the style, tone and content as much as possible. In comparison it sounds like the English translations has been a little more about re-making it for a local audience?!
As someone who reads a lot of the world and a lot of things not translated into much else than English, it has made me now actively check for Danish translations and get a hold of those if at all possible (which is new for me).
But maybe this other role of the translator also explains something that has seemed a bit mindboggling to me - that the Intl Booker splits the prize money equally between the author of the work and the translator. I've been wondering if it was a bit of leftover colonial looking down on the rest of the world (Like: "Oh, yeah, that's sweet Dear, you wrote the best book of the year, but THIS proper English speaker turned it into a REAL book") - but maybe it's the different views of what translations are supposed to be: In English there seems to be a whole interpretation, whereas in other places if the translator has done their job perfectly, they should be invisible!
Disclaimers: Not trying to offend anyone here! And I really do appreciate someone like the Intl Booker actually rewarding the work of those hardworking and mostly underpaid translators. But the equality between author and translator seems to erase the actual creative work of the author, to a large extent IMO.
Thank you for always proving great resources, and discussions Carol.

I just finished reading "Kitchen." I found it a very interesting read. It felt as delicate as a Japanese brush painting. The delicacy with which the author depicts the characters' feelings about the reactions of the people important in their lives was very refreshing. Both stories had such a dreamlike quality.

This is all fascinating! Thank you for your added insights Lethe and Anetq. I certainly like the sound of the Danish and Dutch approaches more.

I was also surprised when I first found out the the International Booker awards author and translator equally, but I think it's better than overlooking the translator completely. Maybe they're just trying to reset the balance :)

Lisa wrote: "I just finished reading "Kitchen." I found it a very interesting read. It felt as delicate as a Japanese brush painting. The delicacy with which the author depicts the characters' feelings about th..."

I'm glad you enjoyed it Lisa. These are some of my favourite qualities of Japanese writing :)

Anetq wrote: " Apparently there's a tradition of trying to make it easier for the poor English speakers to understand the big scary foreign world."

You know, this makes me think of how for Doraemon they had changed the onigiri to hamburger, straight up graphically, for the US market I think it was. Which is realy some other level.

Ninnisha|Roberta wrote: "You know, this makes me think of how for Doraemon they had changed the onigiri to hamburger, straight up graphically, for the US market I think it was. Which is realy some other level."

I, personally, really dislike when changes like that are made (hamburger in place of onigiri). Not only does it change things culturally, but we as readers don't have a chance to learn anything or get the proper setting.

It seems very akin to "whitewashing" in a way. Like the goal is to make the (likely) American or Westerner reader more comfortable, rather than show us an accurate portrayal.

Lin wrote: "I, personally, really dislike when changes like that are made (hamburger in place of onigiri). Not only does it change things culturally, but we as readers don't have a chance to learn anything or get the proper setting.

It seems very akin to "whitewashing" in a way. Like the goal is to make the (likely) American or Westerner reader more comfortable, rather than show us an accurate portrayal."

I absolutely agree with everything you said!

And it also feels a bit of "things have to be our way" but also "readers/viewers couldn't possibly accept or understand something that's not part of their culture", which is a bit insulting.
Reminds me also how historical shows won't do costuming properly cause "people wouldn't understand/relate to that". But I really digress now, I just feel it's all part of the same package where everything has to be how you're used to at the expense of accuracy and immersion.

Not sure if you've seen this before, but Anton Hur wrote about his experiences and the 'mythical english reader' that publisher's refer to. He has an essay on LitHub here: https://lithub.com/translator-beware-...

I think it's also in the recent release, Violent Phenomena: Essays Toward the Future of Literary Translation

Anetq wrote: "Speaking of translation both these lovely and normally very polite ladies almost simultaneously hissed "Nooo, they MAKE THINGS UP!!" when asked about English translations. Apparently there's a tradition of trying to make it easier for the poor English speakers to understand the big scary foreign world."

Hahaha! Yes, exactly!

@Beige, thank you for linking to that great essay!