Oct 16, 2013

Library Loot: The Translator by Nina Schuyler

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. 



Because I read translated books, such as Scandinavian and other international mysteries and also Japanese literary novels, I was attracted to the cover and title of this book at the library. Here is the book's description:
When renowned translator Hanne Schubert falls down a flight of stairs, she suffers from an unusual but real condition—the loss of her native language. Speaking only Japanese, a language learned later in life, she leaves for Japan. There, to Hanne’s shock, the Japanese novelist whose work she recently translated confronts her publicly for sabotaging his work. 
Reeling, Hanne seeks out the inspiration for the author’s novel—a tortured, chimerical actor, once a master in the art of Noh theater. Through their passionate, volatile relationship, Hanne is forced to reexamine how she has lived her life, including her estranged relationship with her daughter. In elegant and understated prose, Nina Schuyler offers a deeply moving and mesmerizing story about language, love, and the transcendence of family. (publisher)
I've just started the novel, The Translator: A Novel but have learned something about the translator's art, how this translator says she has to be a writer as well as a someone who turns words into those of another language. She has to interpret meaning and convey them adequately, into English in this case.

Looking forward to reading more and getting into the main plot.

What books have you gotten from the library recently, and which are you really enjoying?

5 comments:

  1. I would be attracted bec of the cover too! Hope you're enjoying this one :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. This sounds great. Sometimes I think about the issues that this novel confronts. Of course I too read translated books. I so often think how important the role of the translator and how much influence they have on the final product.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love translated fiction, especially Japanese (and Russian). This book seems to have themes with interest me as well. Seems like a good one for the Japanese Literature Challenge even though the author isn't Japanese.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have this one as well, and it sounds good. Enjoy it! I like the cover.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm about halfway through this book and it really is quite fascinating!

    ReplyDelete

I appreciate your comments and thoughts...

Three Novels: Japanese Mystery; Family Drama; Ecuadorian

  Books in the mail The Night of Baba Yaga  by Akira Otani (translated from the Japanese). July 2, 2024, Soho Crime This is an unusual novel...