The 100 Best Novels in Translation by Boyd Tonkin

A "Books on Books" Favorite

My obsession with reading and books began early. I was 12 when I started collecting paperbacks. I remember with great pleasure the arrival of the complete Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan series from Ballantine Books. I was proud to own such a large collection of books.

I always wanted to know more about the books I read. Who was Edgar Rice Burroughs? Why did he write these books that I loved to read and collect? That question led me to a type (genre?) of book I am increasingly drawn to: Books on Books.

Boyd Tonkin's The 100 Best Novels in Translation is a book about other books. Specifically, it’s about books written in a foreign language that have been translated into English. He has gathered what he believes are the best 100 of these books. He provides a short background on each book, what it’s about, and why he thinks the translation is so good.

I think my first foreign language book was Amerika by Franz Kafka, translated by Edwin and Willa Muir in the Anchor Press paperback with a wonderful cover design by Edward Gorey. The story was unlike anything I had ever read and opened up a whole new world of reading. Then it was The Little Prince by St. Exupery, a marvelous novel written in French that still captivates me. And the list of foreign language novels goes on and on.

I am quite taken with Boyd Tonkin’s wonderful book. His introduction describes the changing views of what constitutes a “good” English translation, and he provides his reasons for choosing the 100 books in the collection.

“No list can be more than a suggestion”

Tonkin’s list ranges from Don Quixote (1605 and 1615 translated by Edith Grossman) to Feast of the Goat (2000) by the late Mario Vargas Llosa (also translated by Edith Grossman). In between, Tonkin has chosen books from authors all over the world, including Indonesia, Yugoslavia, and Turkey (among others). I discovered several I’d never heard of, like Roberto Alt (The Seven Madmen, 1929). Of course, the canonical books are included: In Search of Lost Time, War and Peace, and Madame Bovary, but I’m drawn to the smaller, lesser-known authors he includes, like Juan Rulfo (Mexico) and Intizar Hussain (India/Pakistan)

The book is published by Galileo Publishers. It is well-designed and comfortable to read. There is a list of authors and titles at the end. His writing style is non-academic and witty.

I recommend this book for any general reader, as it will be a doorway to new authors and new ways of looking at the world. It’s going on my “Books on Books” shelf, where I’m sure I’ll refer to it many times.

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