Translations

I have always wondered about translated reads. In fact, not only wondered but also enjoyed them a lot, I must say. Translated fiction has always beguiled me and there is something about such fiction that I cannot help but read. I don't know if it is the exotic nature of it all - reading something that was originally written and cherished by so many in another language which I will never get close to, or just the fact that it is now made available for me to savor and relish, page by page. 

Right from the classics - thank God that Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary were translated to more contemporary fiction like that of Italo Calvino or fiction by Shanta Gokhale or Cobalt Blue by Sachin Kundalkar which was so beautifully translated by Jerry Pinto from Marathi. Coming to the point of a good translation: What makes a good translation? If you do not know the language in which it was originally written, then can you even gauge if the translation is good or not? How will you make sense of it? I think it is all about connecting with the book and the language or words just follow. The plot should be strong enough for you to feel something for the characters and how the book unfolds. 

Translations open a whole new world - let's say - whole new cultures for readers to explore and that is why we need so many of them - time and time again - to make us sense that we are not living in a bubble of fiction written and read solely in the English language. While I appreciate and love fiction written in English, I strongly believe that a lot is missed out on when we do not pay attention to fiction in other languages. 

Which brings me to the purpose of this blog. 

The purpose of this blog for me is to read one translated book per week, starting next week, that is week ending 3rd of April 2016 (I have taken the week to start on a Monday and end on a Sunday) which means, I will read a total of 40 books which are translations. 

I will review each of them, talk about them at length and also giveaway some of them. 

So looking forward to this project. The first book I am going to start with will be "Ghachar Ghochar" by Vivek Shanbhag - Translated from the Kannada by Srinath Perur. You can also read with me.