10 french books to read, part deux
because reading translated works is fun (and important)
i wish every book i read in french could be translated in every language so that everyone could read it. as someone who spends most of her free time at the local library picking up random books, i often end up reading novels that are not that popular. but popularity is not a guarantee of quality, and obscurity does not mean mediocrity.
so many authors deserve more recognition, and maybe one day their time will come. you never know what tomorrow brings. but for now, all i can do is share with you the french novels i’ve read that have been translated into english.
i do have an appreciation for the art of translating. lately, i’ve been reading a few essays on translators and their work, and i find it absolutely fascinating. so many people say that ai will replace translation, but i think they simply don’t understand what it means to translate from one language to another, especially literary works. sometimes i’ll look up a word in french because i want to use it in english and i just know google translate is wrong. language is not as logical as we’d like to pretend it is.
it’s clear i love books, i love to read, i love the art of writing, and i think translating is an art in itself. who knows, maybe someday i’ll have a publishing house dedicated to translating french novels to english. a girl can dream.
essays on translation:
The Future Will be Translated: A Manifesto in Three Lies
The Art of Reading Like a Translator
