Your favorite translated work?(preferably with a contemptful tone)

F

Firestorm

Guest
I have a project in Honors English in which I am supposed to select a translated work(Not British, Canadian, English, American, or Englishy), and I'm wondering if anyone could reccomend a book or two with a very brief explanation of what happens in it. :)
I've already read Night, Dawn, The Accident, The Count of Monte Cristo(great book), A Doll's House, and Nectar in a Sieve(like this one too--Irony in the temple :)) so suggest something other than these, please ;).
 
N

NeuroDeus

Guest
There are millions of books...

Les Miserables for example...
 
H

Hetemti

Guest
Alexandre Dumas coupé le fromage on that one.

I HATED Monte Cristo...and my overweight, overbearing English teacher's gonna make me to do a presentation on it. THE DAY WE COME BACK FROM SPRING BREAK....

FIRST PERIOD!!!


God I f'n hate my life.
 
E

ErinPuff

Guest
I just finished Nectar in a Sieve for social studies.. the project's due next Friday.. :eek then I wrote a book report on it for language arts.. bah.
 
G

Gerode

Guest
Homer's Iliad or Odyssey. I'm reading that in my English class.
*Gerode reads thread title.
I can't even pretend to be enjoying the Odyssey, however. I guess it's better than Shakespeare and Dickens.

You could read historical work, like Machiavelli, More, Dante, and such.
 
S

Sammy Dead-O

Guest
I'd say go with Kafka's Metamorphosis if it's long enough. I'm pretty sure it's translated. A guy turns into a giant bug. It's pretty easy to like.

If you like Elie Wiesel, his Trial of God is really good; the title pretty much describes it. God gets put on trial for letting horrible things happen.

Other than that, Dante's Inferno might be a nice choice. I liked the translation I read in college...I think the translator's name is Pinsky.
 
C

Cateran Emperor

Guest
The Inferno is an incredible read, but why does no one ever think of the other two books Dante wrote on much the same topic, Paradiso, and Purgatorio?

Translated, they come out (obviously) to Hell, Heaven, and Purgatory. They're all written in similar styles, but every seems to remember the Inferno more than anything else.

I'd also recommend Machiavelli's The Prince, a book that defines basic human nature remarkably well (the ends justify the means indeed!)
 
C

Chaos Turtle

Guest
My favorite translated work is a short story by Leszek Kolakowski, called "The War With Things." (translated from the Polish by Agnieszka Kolakowska)

It's easiest to find in the Third Annual Collection of The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, though it was previously published in a University of Chicago Press publication.
 
T

terzarima

Guest
Well one of my favorite poems is not really translated, but contains parts from all sorts of languages, latin, German, French, and even some hindu. Yes, its "The wasteland" by T.S Eliot.

Even though I like the music, I didn't like Les Mireables.

I would have to say that I don't read many translated works, so my all time fav would have to be "Divine Comedia" by Dante Alighieri (Which is Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradisio rooled into one, and this is the actual title) even though its hard to translate a poem and get the same effect.

I also like Don Xiote (I can't spell his name) its funny, and good at the same time. :)
 
X

xreemer

Guest
I've read a few translated books. I'd say that Count of Monte Cristo was my favorite. Don Quixote sounds really good, but I've only seen the musical Man of Lamoncha. I'd say Homer's Oddysey is a decent book, but I wouldn't recomend it - maybe I just have too many bad memories about my mythology class.
 
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