Lost in Translation

By: Kylie Wakulat

There is a pause that happens, I’ve noticed, when someone is recommended a book or they take a book off the shelf at a bookstore and are confronted with the information that it is a translated work. Whether they are told about it or they see it displayed on a cover, there is a wariness to pick it up, even though so many of the classics people have to read in school are also translated works. Leo Tolstoy or Gustave Flaubert both wrote their books in their native languages of Russian and French respectively, but since the translation happened at a time where the translators were not given an ounce of credit, most people seem to forget that they were not originally in English. In contemporary times, we have gotten progressively better about giving translators their due, but the general population might need some more time to get on board.

Translating a novel, novella, short story collection, or a poetry collection is not an easy task. Not only do the translators have to take into account the tone of the piece like, if it's purple prose or very dry humor or serious in nature, but also the different slang or idioms that not every country has translations for. All of this has to be taken into account, because translating isn’t a 1:1 ratio, but more of a 5:1 ratio. They have to take either more words or fewer words and copy and paste a narrative that is understandable, cohesive, and keeps true to what the author’s original purpose was. And of course, this is not only for books translated from other languages into English, but from English to others as well.

Without the hard work translators put into their work, the literary world would be a much smaller, more fractured space, but having the privilege of having your work widely translated is not given to everyone. Think about all of the books in all of the languages you cannot read and how they might not ever be translated. A big reason for this is due to the costs. The cost of hiring a translator and also the cost of printing these new books is expensive and there is a risk that publishers have to take in trusting that the book will be bought. The Big Five publishers and big international houses still have to worry, but not as much as a smaller university press or indie publisher would, and so, too many books remain stuck solely in their native language, limiting their reach and impact.

When a book is green lit and able to be given the resources to be translated into another language it isn’t an overnight, spontaneous feat. Usually there is around a two year window or more between a book's original publication and when it gets into the hands of a foreign consumer. This is because again, the work these translators and publishers put into the process, trying to keep as close to the original material as possible in tone and flow. It is a pity that so much manpower is put behind these books and in making them accessible and people are still apprehensive to pick them up. Whether it is because there is a worry over quality or feeling intimidated, both of which I’ve found to be unfounded, people seem to need a little more time and nudging before translated works find a space on their bookshelves. But I believe the blood, sweat, and tears translators must put into allowing a wider populace to read a book is enough of a reason to pick one up.

Recommendations: 

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman, Translated by Neil Smith 

Swedish to English 

Published originally in Swedish in 2019 and English in 2021 

Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin, Translated by Megan McDowell 

Spanish to English 

Published originally in Spanish in 2018 and English in 2021 

Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata, Translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori 

Japanese to English 

Published originally in Japanese in 2019 and English in 2022 

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman, Translated by Ros Schwartz 

French to English 

Published originally in French in 1995 and English in 1997