Multicultural Book Club
Exploring world literature through translation, culture, and the diverse voices that connect us.
World Literature Through the Lens of Translation
In a book club called Multicultural Book Club, held for five consecutive years (2015-2020) at the National Library of Ottawa, I built on the introduction to world literature with a glance at translations, aiming to connect with fellow enthusiasts and foster a sense of collective discovery and belonging.
We live in an era when a simple search can reveal summaries, reviews, and author bios for every listed book. I invite you to view these works through a new lens, sparking curiosity and openness to fresh interpretations.
How Translation Shapes the Way We Read
I focus on how translation shapes the meaning and accessibility of literature, offering a fresh perspective on the emerging field of translation studies and deepening your appreciation for this vital aspect of world literature, helping you feel more connected to diverse voices and perspectives.
I have tried, and still try, to select well-known writers from every nation, prioritizing works that show how translation shapes their reach and interpretation. For example, choosing works by Albert Camus or Isabel Allende illustrates how translation choices can alter cultural nuances, idiomatic expressions, and reader perceptions, especially given their translations into multiple languages, including Persian. This helps deepen your understanding of translation’s role in shaping cultural identity.
This introduction aims to help the reader see this list through a new lens, emphasizing how translation influences emotional resonance, tone, and narrative voice in world literature. By understanding these aspects, you are encouraged to explore translation studies further and develop a deeper appreciation for how translations evoke feelings and shape cultural understanding.
List of Selected Books
Achebe, Chinua
1958.
Things Fall Apart. UK.Heinemann.
(Nigeria).
Allende, Isabel
1982.
La casa de los espíritus,
España. Plaza & Janes S A.
Atwood, Margaret
1985.
Handmaid’s Tale.
Canada. McClelland and Stewart.
Ben Jelloun, Taher
1987.
La nuit sacrée.
Morocco – France.
Boccaccio, Giovanni
1620.
Decamerone.
Italy, Filippo and Bernardo Giuti.
Bulgakov, Mikhail
1967.
Macmep u Mapaapuma. (The Master and the Margarita).
Paris, YMCA Press.
Calvino, Italo
1979.
Se una notte d’inverno un viaggiatore (If, in a Winter’s Night, a Traveller).
Italy, Einaudi.
Camillo, José Cella
1942.
La familia de Pascual Duarte.
Spain, Ediciones Aldecoa.
Camus, Albert
1942.
L’Étranger.
France, Éditions Gallimard.
Cao Xueqin
1781.
Dream of the Red Chamber.
China.
Carlos
1985.
Gringo veijo.
México, Fondo de Cultura Económica.
Cervantes, Miguel de
1605.
El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha. (Don Quixote).
España, Francisco de Robles.
De Assis, Machado
1881.
Mémoires posthumes de Brás Cubas.
Brazil, Tipografia nacional.
Eco, Umberto
1989.
Il pendolo di Foucault.
Italy, Bompiani.
Epic of Gilgamesh
2100 -12 BC.
Mesopotamia, Sumerian, Akkadian.
Faulkner, William
1929.
The Sound and The Fury.
USA, Jonathan Cape and Harrison Smith.
Gary, Romain
1975.
La vie devant soi.
France, Mercure de France.
Gontcharov, Ivan
1859.
Oblomov.
Russia, publisher (?).
Gordmir, Nadine
1990.
My Son’s Story.
South Africa, Farrar, Strauss and Giroux.
Grass, Günter
1961.
Die Blechtrommel (The Tin Drum).
Germany, Hermann Luchterhand Verlag.
Hasek, Jaroslav
1914-5
Osudy dobreho vojaka Sveika za svetove veiky (The Good Soldier, Svejk).
Czech, Sauer and V. Cemak.
Hemingway, Ernest
1953.
The Old Man and The Sea.
USA, Charles Scribner’s Sons.
Hosseini, Khaled
2003.
Kite Runner.
USA, Riverhead Books. (Afghanistan)
Huxley, Aldous
1932.
New Brave World.
UK, Chatto & Windus.
Ibsen, Henrik
1883.
En folkefiende. (An Enemy of the People).
Norway.
Kafka, Frantz
1925.
Der Prozess (The Trial).
Berlin, Verlag Die Schmiede.
Kazantzakis, Nikos
1955.
O Telefteos Pirasmos (The Last Temptation of Christ).
USA & UK, Simon & Schuster & Bruno Cassirer.
Lagerkvist, Par
1950.
Barabas.
Sweden, Albert Bonniers Forlag.
Lahiri, Jumpa
2003.
The Namesake.
USA, Houthon Mifflin.
Lessing, Doris
1994.
Under My Skin.
UK, Harper Collins.
Llosa, Mario Vargas
1985.
La guerra del fin del mundo (The War of the End of the World).
Peru, Saix Barral.
Malreau, André
1930.
La voie royale.
France, Éditions Grasset.
Mahfuz, Nadjib
1977.
ملحمه الحرافیش Harafish.
Egypt, Maktabat Misr.
Thomas
1924.
Der Zauberberg (The Magic Mountain).
Weimar Republic, S. Fischer Verlag.
Márquez, García
1967.
Cien años de soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude).
Argentina, Editorial Sudamericana.
Merle, Robert
1972.
Malvile.
France, Éditions Gallimard.
Mistry, Rohinton
1995.
A Fine Balance.
Canada, McClelland and Stewart.
Murakami, Haruki
1994.
Dansu, Dansu, Dansu (Dance, Dance, Dance).
Japan, Kodansha International.
Pamuk, Orhan
1998.
Benim adım Kırmızı. (My Name is Red).
Turkey, İletişim Yayınları.
Pasternak, Boris
1957.
Doctor Zhivago.
Italy, Feltrinelli (first edition).
Rahimi, Atigh
2008.
Pierre de patience.
France, P O L.
Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de
1943.
Le Petit Prince.
USA, Reynal & Hitchcock.
Salinger, Jerome David
1951.
The Catcher in the Rye.
USA, Little, Brown and Company.
Saramago, Joseph
1995.
Ensaio sobre a cegueira (Blindness).
Portugal, Caminho.
Sienkiewicz, Henrik
1895-1896.
Quo Vadis. Powiesć z czasów Nerona.
Kingdom of Poland, Polish dailies.
Silone, Iniazzio
1936.
Brot und Wein.
Switzerland, publisher (?).
Swift, Johnathan
1726.
Gulliver’s Travels (Original title: Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts, by Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships).
UK, Benjamin Motte.
Tagore, Rabindranath
1916.
Home and The World.
UK, Macmillan & Co Ltd.(Bengali)
Twain, Mark
1884.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
UK & Canada, Chatto & Windus. (USA).
Vonnegut, Kurt, Jr.
1969.
Slaughterhouse-Five.
USA, Delacorte