Reading In Translation

To expand my reading repertoire and content knowledge about the world, I have been reading fiction from different countries around the world. It is a way to understand the world better and provides you with an opportunity to share some of the same thoughts and views as others who live far and different lives than you. It allows you to grow another set of eyes looking at and thinking about the human experience.

Interested in Somalia? Want to learn more? I did. I started to read- Nuruddin Farah. My sister recommended to me his trilogy. As soon as I read, Sweet and Sour Milk, I was hooked. Not only did I finish the trilogy, Variations on an African Diaspora, but went on to read, Blood in the Sun (another trilogy) and Links.

This year two novels have won quite a bit of acclaim in the English speaking world. The first is Wild Mulberries by Iman Humaydan Younes. It was the runner up of the best translated book from Arabic to English. This novel is set in Lebanon. The second is a French novel, Elegance of a Hedgehog, set in Paris.

I highly recommend looking for some books in parts of the world that you want to get to know better. Read them in translation and then pass along their titles!