For some reason I have really gotten in to reading books that were originally writen in another language by a foreign author. I just finished A Shadow of the Wind by a Spanish author and Hannah's Daughters by a Swedish author. I loved them both. The first one had a few places where the translation didn't quite work, but it was still great. Any recommendations for more authors/books?

I recently gotten into Haruki Murakami, a Japanese author, having read The Wind-up Bird Chronicle and South of the Border, West of the Sun. They both take place in Japan, and the former involves fantastical realities. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I liked them, and judging from the long WL for these two titles, some people share my opinion. I hope this helps.

Orhan Pamuk is from Turkey.  He is not a favorite of mine, but I know a lot of people who love him.

I would say Khaleid Housseni(sp?) He wrote The Kite Runner and A thousand Spendid Suns and also I would recommend Paul Cehlo. (sp?)

Jackie,

I have read all of Housseni's books and they are great. I will try Paul Cehlo.

Jennie,

I will look up Pamuk

Sophie,

I will try one of the books from your japanese author. Thanks all!

It's Paulo Coelho. He is South American and his books are what is termed "magical realism." They are very good.

Boris Akunin.  He's a Russian Mystery writer.  I love his Erast Fandorin series.  I haven't read any of the Sister Pelagio series yet. 

Isabelle Allende.  I want to say she's from Peru but I might be mistaken.  I've enjoyed several of her books.

A long time ago, an author named Ivo Andric won a Nobel Prize mostly for one book, The Bridge Over The Drina. It is probably hard to find, but is quite a book. The bridge, interestingly, was at Visegrad in Bosnia.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez is quite well-known now. He wasn't when he wrote One Hundred Years of Solitude. This book, easy to find, is a totally unique reading experience. It got him a Nobel Prize, too.

And there are two books by Italians I would recommend unequivocally to anyone who reads.

     Pane E Vino (Bread and Wine)  : can't recall the author. Loaned the book and it didn't come back. Most outstanding.

     Christ Stopped at Eboli by Carlo Levi. (not the holocaust surrvivor Primo Levi who recently committed suicide, though i would also most highly recommend The Monkey's Wrench (La Chiave a Stelle) by Primo Levi.

wildhog3

i found this info on the book

We begin with Ignazio Silone's Pano e Vino (Bread and Wine) first published in the US in 1937. Bread and Wine tells the story of a young Italian communist (Pietro Spina) in the 1930's who is forced to hideout in a small country village. Part of his disguise is to pose at the parish priest. Being a good communist he despises religion (and the rites and practices associated) as the "opiate of the masses." However, Spina (who grew up in a religious school, yet became disenchanted with faith) comes to a unique understanding of the people and the Bread and the Wine of community. Spina begins to share with these villagers the basic nourishment of Bread and Wine (that to the believer nourishes both body and soul at the communion table). Slowly, through this shared liturgy Spina's worldview evolves. He finds himself viewing the villagers whom he once made general assumptions about, in a different light. I invite you to read the book to see how it turns out and the journey Spina, Don Benedetto and Cristina take to get there.

hope this helps

teri

The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo by Stieg Larsson.  I had this on my WL and found the audio CDS cheap at a UBS. I haven't listened to it yet but the reviews I've read on his books are good. The author is Swedish. He's also dead but wrote 2 other novels.

Try The Nautical Chart or The Queen of the South, both by Arturo Perez-Reverte.  If you like these, Perez-Reverte has had a number of his books translated into English.

(Nautical Chart paperback = 9780156029827)

(Queen of the South paperback = 9780452286542)

Re Arturo Perez-Reverte-- He's been writing a series of historical swashbuccklers about a swordmaster that I really like because I'm fond of the historical swashbuckler genre.  I've read every single musketeer book by Alexandre Dumas.

If you're interested in the history of India and Pakistan, I just read a book called Cracking India by Bhapsi Sidwa about the partition of India from the perspective of a child living through the events.  It's also about her family.  The characterization is wonderful.

Shomeret

A third plug for Arturo Perez-Reverte - especially Flanders Panel and Seville Communion.  Absolutely fantastic, and similar in style to Shadow of the Wind, so you should love them too.   

Mary - I almost jumped out of my chair with excitement (to the slight surprise of my office mates) when I saw your mention of Akunin!  I had no idea that anybody in the U.S. read him!  I didn't even know that he was translated into English!  My father brings back all of his latest works whenever he goes to Russia for business, and I absolutely love him!!! 

I just finished DADDY by Loup Durand.  It's translated from French.  Couldn't put it down!

If you have not read any 19th century Russian literature, you should check it out.  There are some real treasures there.  Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Gogol.

I have a Japanese book called the River Ki on my shelf.  I enjoyed it very much.  Another one by a Japanese author is the Sound of Waves.  Both well written.  A little different style than I am used to.

This is my special interest...I even belong to a book club for International Literature in Translation.  I love the writer Anders Bodelson (Think of a Number, Freezing Down), also a super Norwegian writer named Vesaas, who wrote The Ice Palace and The Birds and The Bridges, among others (he is also a poet) and then there are soooo many popular Indian writers these days, including Anita Desai, Rohinton Mistry, & tons of others.  I also have recently discovered Mo Yan, a Chinese writer--I enjoyed his The Garlic Ballads and then went and bought a whole bunch of others by him. 

I like Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano series set in Sicily.   They are translated by Stephen Sartarelli.  This series was adapted for Italian television and translated in to 9 languages. 

They compare favorably with Donna Leon's Commissario Brunetti series set in Venice and Barbara Nadel's Inspector Ikmen series set in Istanbul. All wonderful characters in fascinating settings.

I love Boris Akunin.

1:   I've only read a few of the Erast Fandorin books.

2:  But I plan on reading the Sister Pelagio books some day. 

His books translate very well into English-that's 3:

(Ok not the best Fandorin immitation)

Swedish writer Henning Mankell wrote Faceless Killers.  This is the first title in a great series of mysteries - police procedural.   PBS member Steve M is one of the translators for this author.  He also does other foreign translations. 

Wow, some grea recommendations. Keep them coming. I have put a lot of these on my reminder list since my wish list is currently full and most of these are not available. Can't wait to start in on them.

There are a series of the best books ever written by a Russian.  They have just resently been translated into English.  The series is "ANASTADIA.  I have the set and have decided to KEEP them.  They are too good to let go.  The author of this series had never written before.  His name is Vladimir Megre'.  AWESOME BOOKS.  Hope you can find them.

Dawne