Hi all – I am Canadian, and have read reasonably widely among Canadian/UK/US/Irish writers (also Russian). I am looking to read more from authors from other countries, but I have noticed that many books that I have chosen have been quite dark or heavy. That could be the ones that I am drawn to :), or it could be the ones that are chosen by publishers for translation into English. And it could be that humour is notoriously difficult to convey cross-culturally.
Soooo, I am looking for recommendations for books that have been translated into English that are on the lighter side. I am not particularly fussed on the country of origin, since the point is to widen my horizons a bit.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
by AcceptableKick8046
2 Comments
**The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared** by Jonas Jonasson from Sweden. (There is also a sequel.)
Interesting – I think you’re right that often the books that get translated fall under the category of “serious literature” I guess due to the nature of the market.
An exception I thought of is some Japanese novels – there are a lot of Japanese detective/murder mysteries in English translation (e.g. The Tokyo Zodiac Murders, The Decagon House Mystery) and other popular novels like Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata and Mieko Kawakami’s books aren’t exactly “light” but they’re also not heavy – they’re weird and unsettling but also poppy and fun.