Favourite Translated Classics

[@josuelopez1500]

This is very diverse to me. 😅 If you want translated classics written by women, I highly recommend The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende. It's just wonderful. ❤️ I would also recommend One Hundred Years of Solitude by Garcia Márquez and Epitaph of a Small Winner by Machado de Asís, great Latin-American classics.

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks! :)

[@atticustheanglophile5319]

You got me ready to get The Alienist and Monkey. The fact that he doesn’t have a name and the book is literally called Monkey just makes it funnier. Plus, I love those characters who get involved in little, comic episodic adventures. (Shout out to Pickwick Papers). Can’t wait to see what tricks he plays.

[@katiejlumsden]

I highly recommend them both :)

[@evelinmenezes9313]

I am in a permanent state of love for Les Misérables. Such an impressive novel!

[@katiejlumsden]

It's just so good!

[@HamsavahiniVajraasthra]

Namaste Katie😊Thank you so much for this video, they all sound like great translations! I'll probably pick up a few soon 😊Happy Reading😊😊😊

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks!

[@hesterdunlop7948]

Thanks for this . Good list . I've just read The Door by Magda Szabo and think you'd love it . She is a brilliant Hungarian writer and this novel explores the complex relationship between a writer and her unforgettable housekeeper / cleaner over 20 years from the 1950s . But it's about so much more too . A classic in every sense . Another 20 century short story classic is The Periodic Table by Primo Levi , reflecting on his life including WW2 and the Holocaust .

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks! Both of those definitely sound very interesting!

[@krosero]

Appreciate your love of Tolstoy, I love WP more than anything and I'm am enjoying AK currently, about two-thirds of the way through. I really, really enjoyed the Anthony Briggs translation of WP. Cheers!

[@zoezheng1908]

Calvino is the best! Definitely recommend “Baron in the trees” and “if on a winter’s night a traveler”, in my heart he is just brilliant in every possible way.

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks! I definitely want to read more by him.

There's forgotten brazilian women that you should know 😉 Júlia Lopez de Almeida Maria Firmina dos Reis Carolina Maria de Jesus Carolina Nabuco Dinah Silveira de Queiroz

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks! I'll look into them.

[@aninnymousemouskewitz9026]

Tolstoy is top of my list of authors I intend to read soon. I haven't read many translated works, and those I have read are mostly by men. I did love Kristin Lavrnsdatter by Sigrid Unset....the second time I read it. The first time I hated everyone in the story, but it left an impression that prompted a re-read, and a new appreciation.

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks! Sounds like it's worth a read :)

[@Boylit]

I’m so glad to find Ibsen and Chekhov on this list! Two of my all time favorites.

[@katiejlumsden]

They're both amazing :)

[@lisabean141]

You might like The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong: The Autobiographical Writings of a Crown Princess of Eighteenth-Century Korea, translated by JaHyun Kim Haboush. Lady Hyegyong was married to Prince Sado, who was executed by his parents after going mad and being deemed a threat to the royal family. It’s obviously not a very happy story, but Lady Hyegyong’s memoirs are a really fascinating look at Korean court life and what is was like to live as a woman in a Confucian society at that time.

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks - sounds very interesting!

[@johncrwarner]

When I did an o-level in Russian at school we had during the course some extra pieces and a lot of them were Chekhov short stories - and they were great. I have been a fan of Chekhov short stories as well as his plays for a long time. Turgenev - wrote "Отцы и дети" - often translated as Fathers and Sons - but better translated as Fathers and Children - it is an interesting read and has been turned into a play by Brian Friel for the National Theatre - I have seen the play in German at our local theatre and it lead me to read his novel as well as the play in English. Ibsen is one of my favourite playwrights from the nineteenth century - and have seen Brand (in London) as well as at our local German language theatre the Enemy of the People (which they inverted the gender roles so the doctor was a woman), Hedda Gabler (which was a stunning production - I had never seen this performed and it was a tour-de-force) and Peer Gynt (four people wearing knitted Norwegian sweaters in a very hot June and a lot of video work). I still think that "Rita" in Educating Rita has the best line on Peer Gynt where she has to answer the question "How would you overcome the problems of staging Peer Gynt?" by saying "I'd do it on the radio."

[@katiejlumsden]

Chekhov and Ibsen are both so fantastic. I really must read Peer Gynt sometime. I'd also like to read more Turgenev too!

[@mysunnyreadingcorner6777]

You made me aware that my classics reading is biased toward European and North American literature. 🤔 Thank you for your Asian and South American recommendations. 😊 If you liked Stefan Zweig, you might enjoy The Royal Game (also known as Chess Story) and Decisive Moments in History (short stories), my two favourites by him.

[@katiejlumsden]

I definitely want to read more by Zweig :)

[@jameslovell2626]

I love Anna Karenina! I have War and Peace on my shelf waiting to be read.

[@katiejlumsden]

Both are great. Enjoy!

[@rftt6y7tr]

The Tale of Genji is debatably the world’s first novel also one written by a women in medieval Japan would recommend

[@katiejlumsden]

That definitely sounds like something I need to read!

[@sehrm1652]

I would also recommend Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann. And The Leopard by Guiseppe di Lampedusa. Love your channel!

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks!

[@ankithamattam6567]

Your description of Yasushi Inoue sounds similar to Kazuo Ishiguro, about memory and thinking and interpreting the life gone by :) As always a very fun and informative video!

[@katiejlumsden]

Yes, I think they definitely have a few similar themes!

[@mgabrielbenitez]

Hi, Katie. I'd recommend these female authors: Silvina Ocampo (Argentina), Clarice Lispector (Brazil) and Elsa Morante (Italy).

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks for the recommendations!

[@gilliancooke8799]

Well that's a couple more added to the TBR list! So pleased to see Stefan Zweig on here, I read Chess Story a few years ago and was hooked and have now just about read everything he wrote. His short stories are fantastic and I also enjoyed both Beware of Pity and his memoir The World of Yesterday - enjoy exploring, it's hard to go wrong!

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks - I definitely want to read more by him :)

[@jasonsanders8091]

Eugene Onegin by Pushkin.

[@teresak2022]

Yeah you also mention Stefan Zweig ☺️ not often that I see Austrian authors mentioned on Booktube! You could also read his work Chess Story (Die Schachnovelle) - it is brilliant! Also - maybe you could host a read-along for Les Miserables? I would be in! Kisses from Austria x

[@katiejlumsden]

I really like Stefan Zweig so far. And yes, perhaps I should sometime - I love Les Miserables and do want to reread it, but it is so long!

[@martinwilliams8306]

As usual very interesting indeed. But I recommend Germinal or anything by Emile Zola. Gritty down to earth realism as a written art form

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks!

[@CharlesHeathcote]

I have read Epitaph of a Small Winner by Machado de Assis, but none of his other works. If The Alienist is anything like that one, I can understand how it is one of your favourite classics in translation. Similarly, I read Monkey earlier this year, and it suited that reader within me that loves an adventure. I've plans to return to Anna Karenina this year, I think I might prefer it now to the first time I read it.

[@katiejlumsden]

I must read Epitaph for a Small Winner - it sounds good!

[@snowyhut5205]

Being myself a Dickens lover, I truly believe that Dickens, Hugo and Dostoevsky form a Holy Trinity on 19th century European literature, with shared traits in writing style and similar diving into human condition within each of their societies. Equally fun, deep, and deliciously gothic with unforgetable characters. Also, Spanish female author Emilia Pardo Bazan's The House of Ulloa is an interesting one.

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks! I have read Crime and Punishment, but definitely need to read more Dostoevsky.

[@snowyhut5205]

@@katiejlumsden i would recommend The Brothers Karamazov in Ignat Avsey's translation; its humor is highly dickensian and i found its narration, atmosphere and psychology of the characters so surprisingly gothic (with all the associated "easy to read and for every reader" that accompanied the term back in time) for a novel people regard as "theological, philosophycal, and dense" that i can't help but recommend it over and over. It is also a paradise for fangirlism, yet that may be just me. Thanks for all the content on your channel, btw. As an obssessed reader of 19th century literature and having an English degree, i found it highly adictive. ❤🙏

[@daniellundin3076]

Dostoevsky over Tolstoy? 😯

[@snowyhut5205]

Yes. Anytime. And Hugo over Balzac. Which doesn't mean Tolstoy and Balzac are inferior writers; It is just that Dostoevsky and Hugo's works are more gothic in nature, and that appeals highly to me (gothic fiction is my always fav genre, i specialized into gothic lit in college, my dissertation was on the psychological symbolism within the gothic tropes....i am kind of obssessed, as a matter of fact. At an intelectual level, not in gothic as a urban culture) About Dovstoevsky in particular; not only does he portray mental illnesses faithfully, but, despite being considered as a "realist writer" you can find into his novels tons of "supernatural gothicism"; dreams. Curses. Blessings.Apparitions. Hauntings. Possessed girls. Sincronicities. Foreshadowings. And point by point, each and every single trait of the gothic genre. Take The brothers Karamazov for instance, the one i recommended; It is read only as philosophical because that is the traditional way to read it, but if you read it as gothic, you will find; a cursed family (Dimitri hints at it many times)in an oppresive place in which weather and nature is described parallel to characters emotions, mental illness, klikushi (an interesting concept for possessed that later on is understood as histeria, but that during centuries has been treated with prayers and exorcisms. And you have Ivan and Aliosha's mother, and Lise. Specially Lise. Lise the archetype of girl on the exorcist to the point i wish Dostoevsky wrote the second part of the novel to know how that story arc follows -among other things- ) apparitions (Zosima, the devil...) dreams (all of them, even shared dreams) sincronicities (the very moment in which Fyodor dies changes his sons lives. At that very moment in which he is dying and in a drastic way). Apart from the supernatural you have the atmosphere, the emotions over the place driving characters actions, mental illnesses, feeling of anticipation, death and illness... None of these traits takes away its deep philosophical messages. In fact, if you ask me, gothicim adds even more into them. You get the point of my case for Dostoevsky XD I dont understand Tolstoy as inferior to Dostoevsky, just different style, different approaches. I enjoyed War and Peace, it is among my favorite books. But if I have to choose between War and Peace and Brothers Karamazov... Well then, Hurrah for the Karamazov!

[@daniellundin3076]

@@snowyhut5205 Okey... Yes Hugo is far superior to Balzac... I like Dostoevsky (Karamazov is one of my favourite books of all time) , but Tolstoy was far above him in my opinion... Anna Karenina being a greater novel than all of Dostoevskys put together...

[@freddylowe4900]

Ah, don’t worry about the gender of the author - this list is already very diverse! 😊 This is a fab list. Anna Karenina, War & Peace, and Les Mis are all favourites of mine too so it was lovely to hear your thoughts on them. The Three Musketeers is another favourite classic of mine, translated from the French. I’m sure you’ve come across it, but if not I would highly recommend! 😁

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks :) I'm sure I'll read Three Musketeers sometime - currently reading The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas and loving it!

[@thelifeandtimesofjames4273]

Yay. Someone else has read Monkey. It is a great fantasy. Sun Will Kong for ever! Hat doff to your 14 year old self for les mis. My 14 year old self was basically savage.

[@katiejlumsden]

Ha thanks :)

[@sausana2501]

I recommend memoirs of a dutiful daughter by Simone de Beauvoir, the stranger by Camus, the brothers Karamazov and crime and punishment by Dostoevsky

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks! The Stranger is definitely on my list. I have read Crime and Punishment, long ago when I was a teenager, and remember enjoying it.

[@carolz2630]

You should read Dom Casmurro, it’s by far machado de assis’ best book.

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks :)

[@MLLatUtube]

I went and got Botchan - sounds like a great title. I will also look for some of these others.

[@katiejlumsden]

Botchan is great!

[@lornam3637]

I love all your choices - especially Turgenev and Chekhov. I'm still to read Ibsen and now I want to start right away! Perhaps you've already read Tove Jansson but I highly recommend her adult writing. I'd start with The Summer Book which is utterly charming. After that her short story collections are wonderfully weird - perhaps something like Daphne du Maurier.

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks! I must read some Tove Jansson some time.

[@eyrecester]

I’ve just begun Les Mis. But I must say this is my 3rd or 4th attempt to finish it... 😂 this time I’m definitely doing it, as I really like it! It’s more a matter of finding the will to stick with it.

[@katiejlumsden]

It is so good!

[@johnsaxongitno4life588]

The more I watch your channel the more I love classic books please keep up your amazing work love John in Australia xxx witch books would you recommend to listen to in classic books

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks!

[@johnsaxongitno4life588]

Books and Things your welcome 🙏

[@warawaradenomimasita]

I always enjoy your literature talking. I highly recommend you following 4 Japanese novel! " Woman in the Dune" by Kobo Abe, "Kokoro" by Soseki Natsume, "No longer human" or "The setting sun "by Osamu Dazai "Confession of a Mask" by Yukio Mishima.

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks for the recommendations!

[@warawaradenomimasita]

@@katiejlumsden Your welcome! Let me add bit more information about my recommendation. "Woman in the dune" is probably one of the most famous super realistic avantgarde novel in Japan. It made movie in 1960s and won Cannes cinema festival award. "Kokoro" and "No longer human" are the top 2 best selling novel in Japan. Most of us have to read these two books as homework in summer when we are high school. Both of them are very very impressive novel, I think. "Confession of a mask" is kind of story about distress of bisexual youth. It described very sensitive youth like "Maurice" ,English movie. This is also known as masterpiece of 20 century literature in Japan. I also try to read some of your favorite book in 2020.

[@jenniferbrooks]

I've been wanting to read Monkey since watching a show about the Monkey King on Netflix, lol. It sounds like a delight. A great list, Katie. I really should get out of my comfort zones and read more translated works.

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks Jennifer :)

[@novellenovels]

I think out of all of those I’ve only read Anna karenina but I reading crime and punishment next month which I’m both nervous and excited about 😊

[@katiejlumsden]

I've read Crime and Punishment too, though I don't remember it well - hope you enjoy it!

[@lemonadehug]

Thank you for the interesting books you shared with us. I love Around the World in Eighty Days, read it when I was a teenager. Haven’t read Monkey but have watched a number of tv series adaptation of the same. I have just bought a copy of Dr Zhivago from the bookstore after watching your video. Looking forward to read some of the other books you mentioned. For female translated classic, you can read Half a Lifelong Romance by Eileen Chang. Have you read Dream of the Red Chamber or The Story of the Stone by Cao Xueqin? It’s a chinese classic by a male author. I haven’t read any plays before. Which plays would you recommend for a beginner? 😊

[@katiejlumsden]

I haven't read any Eileen Chang but she's definitely on my radar! For plays for beginners, Ibsen is a good place to start of Oscar Wilde :)

[@aishaa9384]

Love your channel! I would definitely recommend one of my fav writers ever, & that's the great Colette. Read her "Break of Day" & "The Pure & the Impure" for starters. You can also read "Cheri" & "Gigi". Love that you had some of my other fav writers such as Tolstoy & Chekhov. You may also want to read the great Alexander Pushkin, the father of Russian literature. The Russians regard Pushkin as we do Shakespeare or Dickens. Read his brilliant " Eugene Onegin" translated by James Fallen for starters. Enjoy!

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks very much! I've read some Pushkin short stories and very much enjoyed them.

[@eugeniarodriguez9953]

I think you will love: Fortunata y Jacinta, two stories of nadrid woven by Perez Galdos, and The Regent's wilde by Leopoldo Alas. Thanks.🥰

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks!

[@amritasarkar7893]

You should give Sarat Chandra Chattopadyay a try. You would love his characters.

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks!

[@ritaireneguzmanaldeco6110]

Hi! Have you read Dostoievsky? If you haven't I really recommend you do it. I liked him more than Tolstoi or Chéjov. I think that Crime and Punishment is my favorite book ever, you really should read it

[@katiejlumsden]

I've read Crime and Punishment, yes, though more than a decade ago now, I don't remember it that well!

[@teanlit2949]

i have les miserables on my bookshelf but i'm so intimidated to read it. it's sooooo long.

[@katiejlumsden]

It is so long, but it's so good too!

[@teanlit2949]

@@katiejlumsden CarolynMarie Reads and CrescentPages are doing a readalong this month so I guess there's no time like the present hahaha

[@LiteraryKnitterary]

Would you be interested in The Tale of Genji? I haven’t read it myself so I don’t know what it’s like, but it’s an 11th century Japanese novel written by a woman, and some consider it the first or oldest novel in the world.

[@katiejlumsden]

That sounds like a book I'd like!

[@pagesandscreens4321]

I adore Jules Verne! He is probably my favourite classic author- Around the World in 80 days is my favourite and the first I read from him but Journey to the Centre of the Earth and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea are also great!

[@katiejlumsden]

Yeah I really want to read more by Jules Verne - he's great.

[@karencamer7723]

I think you would enjoy Balzac and Zola

[@katiejlumsden]

Both are definitely on my list to read sometime!

[@joaoalmeida9993]

I think someone already said it, but I think you would really like Isabel Allende, and maybe the Neopolitan novels by Elena Ferrante.

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks!

[@iagozabibha]

If you want a female classic writer in translation you could try Colette (1873-1954). Katherine Anne Porter wrote in the New York Times that Colette "is the greatest living French writer of fiction; and that she was while Gide and Proust still lived." Alternatively, there are some anthologies of French women writers translated into English.

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks, I definitely need to read some of her work!

[@jamesfarkas6443]

Any Dostoevsky? If you want a writer that dives completely into the themes of what it means to be human, I don’t know if you can get any better than Fyodor Dostoevsky. Notes from the Underground is a short novella that is a great start to his works.

[@katiejlumsden]

I have read Crime and Punishment, yes, and enjoyed it; I did consider including in it this list but to be honest I read it when I was 14 and I don't remember much about it!

[@Abhishek-fe3zs]

I learnt French just so I could read Celine lol, next is German for Kafka

[@katiejlumsden]

That is impressive!

[@neusvillegasalba8419]

As you miss women writers, I want to recommend you an amazing catalan writer, Caterina Albert, especially her novel Solitude (1905). She was a self-taught writer who struggled to make her voice heard in difficult times for women. She published her works under a male penname (Víctor Català). I think you will like her writing style, as well as the characters and the poignant narration in Solitude. Above all, you will appreciate her remarkable feminist point of view. www.goodreads.com/book/show/1646870.Solitude

[@katiejlumsden]

Thanks! She sounds interesting.

[@felixarquer7732]

En aquest vídeo es demanen recomanacions per Women in Translation Month: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r4DZnXuKo9p9mrM