translated books

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Schoenhof’s Foreign Books – Cambridge, MA

May 4, 2011 in bookstore, translation by Kim | 2 comments

Opened in 1856 as a German language bookstore, Schoenhof’s Foreign Books is the largest repository of foreign language books in North America (just a side thought, I’m assuming French bookstores in Canada don’t count as foreign language because French is one of the two Canadian languages, right?).  It’s a cozy store in the basement of a typical brick New England building.  Considering it was 35 degrees outside, the warmth and welcome were just what this Angeleno needed.

What a resource!  Each section felt like a small bookstore in the ‘home’ country of that language.  There was a variety of contemporary literature and classics, with an emphasis on the classics.  It felt like every language under the sun was represented.  Odds are, whatever foreign book you’re looking for, Schoenhof’s has it or knows how to get it.  The biggest selection was in French, German, Spanish and Italian.

There is a place for the English speaker, the back room is largely dedicated to language learning materials from dictionaries, to textbooks, recorded lessons.  Plus, there were several books translated into English in the front.  This is a good place to start exploring translated literature.

My favorite section was the alcove behind the front desk for children’s books.  It’s the largest selection of foreign books for children that I’ve come across.  Kelsey is taking Chinese and I enjoyed looking through simple kid’s books to find the one with the best story and illustrations.  Okay, I have no idea if it’s a good story, I can’t read Chinese, but it felt like it.

Want to read something in a different language other than instruction books?  Drop by Schoenhof’s or give them a call.

Schoenhof’s Foreign Books

76A Mt. Auburn St.

Cambridge, MA 02138

Tel:  617.547.8855

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Herta Muller Wins the Nobel Prize for Literature!

October 8, 2009 in award, translation by Kim | 1 comment

20994-004-D4CF17B4It’s a big week for literary awards.  On Tuesday, Wolf Hall won the Man Booker Prize and today (or yesterday depending upon your time zone), Herta Muller won the Nobel Prize for Literature.   The committee described Muller as a writer who “with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed.” Muller grew up during the Nicolae Ceausescu regime and writes from the perspective of living under a totalitarian government.  Many noted that she is an appropriate choice for the 20th Anniversary of the fall of communism.  I haven’t heard of her before, but what I learned today peaks my interest.  Rather than summarizing what is better said by others, here are some interesting links to Mueller information and this year’s Nobel Prize:

  • Three Percent, my favorite blog about translated literature, lists reviews for each of Muller’s works that are translated into English.  Let me know which one you’re interested in reading, I’m not sure which I want to start with and am in the mood to be easily influenced.
  • Michael Orthofer of the The Complete Review/Literary Saloon predicted yesterday that Herta Muller would win and today posted a Herta Muller page full of information about her and her books.
  • Book Fox, one of my top two Los Angeles literary blogs, wrote about the speculation that precedes the announcement of the awards, and then about the lessons learned from this year to remember for predicting a future winner of the literature prize. 

Awards are fun and frequently I am introduced to new authors and books, which has certainly been my experience with the Nobel Prize.  I’m looking forward to discovering Muller’s world.

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I Want to Get Lost in Translation

April 11, 2009 in book review, publishing, translation by Kim | 9 comments

Last fall, Horace Engdahl, permanent secretary to the Swedish Academy that picks the winner of the Nobel Prize for literature said “[t]he US is too isolated, too insular. They don’t translate enough and don’t really participate in the big dialogue of literature. That ignorance is restraining.”  After a moment of nationalistic irritation and a fleeting thought that Phillip Roth shouldn’t expect the Nobel anytime soon, I started to list which current books I’ve read in translation.  The list is short, less than one hand of fingers.  And I’m not alone, only three percent of the books published each year in the US are translated, so very few people are reading them.   If The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery is an example of what other countries are producing, I’m missing out on a lot. 

I fell in love with The Elegance of the Hedgehog on the first page after I looked up “eructaton” (burp or fart):  “There he stood, the most recent eructation of the ruling corporate elite–a class that reproduces itself solely by means of virtuous and proper hiccups.”  The book is told through the voice of Renee, the concierge of  a fashionable Paris apartment building (the quote is her description of a tenant), and Paloma, the 12 year old daughter of one of the tenants.  Both hide their intelligence and lead largely solitary lives, but discover one another when a new tenant, Ozu, arrives. 

Character development rather than plot moves the book forward.  Before Ozu arrives, Renee and Paloma judge their world quite harshly.  Both assume most people are dumb, Renee is bitter about the class structure that she works overtime to keep in place and Paloma finds life useless.  Ozu, as the new person in the building and a cultural outsider, sees them clearly for who they are.  Their relationship with him and each other gives them the security and space to stop hiding, both physically and figuratively.

Muriel Barbery’s only private west coast appearance will be at a National Endowment for the Arts benefit sponsored by Literary Affairs on Saturday, April 25th, the tickets are quite reasonable.  Book Soup will be donating 10% of its sales at the event to the NEA.  I’ll be there, let me know if you’re coming also.

Muriel Barbery weaves together threads of philosophy (I prefer reading about philosophy than actually reading it), the meaning of Art, literature (now I want to read Proust), music (a completely unique Mozart “Requiem” experience), film, Japanese culture, and descriptions of food that will make Read the rest of this entry »

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