If you’re a regular reader here, you know I love the Millenium books about Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist. Stieg Larsson originally wrote them in Swedish and they’ve been translated into more than 30 languages.
The good people at Knopf have sent me a hardcover copy of the latest entry, The Girl Who Played with Fire (read my review here) and a bunch of temporary dragon tattoos (referencing the first book in the trilogy, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) to give away to one of my readers. I tried the tats out on myself; all the neighborhood kids wanted them!
To enter, you just have to:
- Be a subscriber or follower on Twitter
- Leave a comment answering the following question: What’s the best book you’ve read that wasn’t originally written in English?
- Be a resident of the U.S. or Canada (apologies to Shelley P, Poncho, Julien and other international readers!)
I’ll take entrees until Sunday, 8/30/09, midnight PST. Good luck!
34 Comments
MelodyGirl
August 23, 2009 at 10:36 pmOoh, ooh, ooh, I want this! I read Dragon Tattoo like you recommended but haven’t picked this up yet because I’ve been low on funds. It would be awesome if I get picked.
To answer your question, I don’t know if this sounds silly but I loved the Tin Tin comics. They were full of great characters, adventure, humor and great artwork. I still think they’re amazing and not just for kids.
SCRIPTPIMP
August 23, 2009 at 11:17 pmI sure as hell hope Tin Tin won’t count! Love Tin Tin, but seriously?
I read The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, but I haven’t picked up Girl Who Played With Fire. So PUH-LEASE, give me, give me…
Shadow Of The Wind is the best book I’ve read that wasn’t originally written in English. Its author, Carlos Ruiz Zafon, wrote it in Spanish. Translation by Lucia Graves.
I dare you to refute me!
Shelley P
August 24, 2009 at 12:10 amAw, I understand, PCN! I’m envious though – I’d love one of those tats. Good luck everyone else, and I’ll answer the question anyway and say Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Hands down my favourite.
Poncho
August 24, 2009 at 1:03 amMmm. What can I say? Well, no point in crying, is it? So don’t worry PCN, you’ve done enough with my Imaginarium script. Loved it!
As Shelley, I’m trying to answer, but there are just a whole lot of books-not-originally-in English which I love. I have to say Cien años de soledad by García Márquez.
Eddy
August 24, 2009 at 6:50 amFirst off, I read “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” solely on your recommendation and thought it was great.
And, despite some people’s opinions, where I live is actually a part of the United States.
Coincidentally, I am currently re-reading “The Three Musketeers”, one of my top ten favorite books (probably my fifth or sixth reading of it). I’m reading the latest (2006) English translation by Richard Pevear. Pevear has restored all the “good parts” left out in more …. modest…. translations. Also, he adds a couple of hundred end notes explaining many of the references made in the text and smoothing out Dumas’s historical inaccuracies.
Eddy
August 24, 2009 at 6:54 amP.S. Just to be sure, to qualify, to I have to actually follow your Twitter with my own Twitter account? I do “follow” your Tweets because I have your Twitter page bookmarked on my desktop, but I’ve been trying hard to avoid creating my own Twitter account. But, if it is a requirement, I’ll bite the bullet and become a Twit.
Emily B.
August 24, 2009 at 8:03 amI subscribe to your RSS feed 🙂
I loved The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but my all-time favourite non-English author is Haruki Murakami. I guess I’d pick The Wind-Up Bird as my favourite by him, although really I have enjoyed everything I’ve read by Murakami.
Reader#9
August 24, 2009 at 8:17 amI read it in high school. The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh. It was fascinating.
Pop Culture Nerd
August 24, 2009 at 9:41 amThese are great answers. You all are smart!
MelodyGirl, you’re not silly at all—I LOVE the Tin Tin books! I can’t even tell you how much. I want to go to Belgium just to visit the Tin Tin museum.
SCRIPTPIMP, The Shadow of the Wind is one of my favorite books ever. I was pretty annoying around my friends at the time it came out because I wouldn’t shut up about how great it is. And don’t knock my Tin Tin!
Shelley P & Poncho, I feel really bad. Do you have relatives in the U.S. who can receive it and then forward it to you?
Le Petit Prince is gorgeous and will remain so until the end of time. And I risk sounding ignorant, Poncho, but I haven’t read Cien Años. It’s on my BBL (Bucket Book List).
Eddy, you are a subscriber so you’re eligible. You don’t have to subscribe AND follow but thanks for having my Twitter page bookmarked.
I’m not even aware of that version of Three Musketeers. If all the juicy bits have been re-inserted, maybe I’ll have to look into it!
Emily, welcome! Gah, I’m gonna sound ignorant again but I’ve never read Murakami, either. I’ve only heard good things about his work so maybe it’s time.
Reader#9, I’ve never even heard of that but it does sound fascinating!
If I were playing, I’d include the books already mentioned by you all—the ones I’ve read—and add Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. It was required reading in school but it seared itself onto my soul. It’s just not a book you can forget. If you’ve read it, you know what I mean.
Thanks for educating me with your comments.
Judith Loue
August 24, 2009 at 11:08 amWhoa..i seriously love GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO….
best, uh, translated book..a toss between Murakami (Wind-Up Bird Chronicle)…IN BABYLON by Marcel Moring (from the Dutch)..and the latest Peaver/Volokhonsky translation of WAR & PEACE
Oh, i do not Twitter….if i can help it
Jude
Judith Loue
August 24, 2009 at 11:08 amWhoa..i seriously love GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO….
best, uh, translated book..a toss between Murakami (Wind-Up Bird Chronicle)…IN BABYLON by Marcel Moring (from the Dutch)..and the latest Peaver/Volokhonsky translation of WAR & PEACE
Oh, i do not Twitter….if i can help it
Jude
Judith Loue
August 24, 2009 at 11:08 amWhoa..i seriously love GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO….
best, uh, translated book..a toss between Murakami (Wind-Up Bird Chronicle)…IN BABYLON by Marcel Moring (from the Dutch)..and the latest Peaver/Volokhonsky translation of WAR & PEACE
Oh, i do not Twitter….if i can help it
Jude
Judith Loue
August 24, 2009 at 11:08 amWhoa..i seriously love GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO….
best, uh, translated book..a toss between Murakami (Wind-Up Bird Chronicle)…IN BABYLON by Marcel Moring (from the Dutch)..and the latest Peaver/Volokhonsky translation of WAR & PEACE
Oh, i do not Twitter….if i can help it
Jude
Judith Loue
August 24, 2009 at 11:08 amWhoa..i seriously love GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO….
best, uh, translated book..a toss between Murakami (Wind-Up Bird Chronicle)…IN BABYLON by Marcel Moring (from the Dutch)..and the latest Peaver/Volokhonsky translation of WAR & PEACE
Oh, i do not Twitter….if i can help it
Jude
Judith Loue
August 24, 2009 at 11:08 amWhoa..i seriously love GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO….
best, uh, translated book..a toss between Murakami (Wind-Up Bird Chronicle)…IN BABYLON by Marcel Moring (from the Dutch)..and the latest Peaver/Volokhonsky translation of WAR & PEACE
Oh, i do not Twitter….if i can help it
Jude
Judith Loue
August 24, 2009 at 11:08 amWhoa..i seriously love GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO….
best, uh, translated book..a toss between Murakami (Wind-Up Bird Chronicle)…IN BABYLON by Marcel Moring (from the Dutch)..and the latest Peaver/Volokhonsky translation of WAR & PEACE
Oh, i do not Twitter….if i can help it
Jude
Judith Loue
August 24, 2009 at 11:08 amWhoa..i seriously love GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO….
best, uh, translated book..a toss between Murakami (Wind-Up Bird Chronicle)…IN BABYLON by Marcel Moring (from the Dutch)..and the latest Peaver/Volokhonsky translation of WAR & PEACE
Oh, i do not Twitter….if i can help it
Jude
Judith Loue
August 24, 2009 at 11:08 amWhoa..i seriously love GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO….
best, uh, translated book..a toss between Murakami (Wind-Up Bird Chronicle)…IN BABYLON by Marcel Moring (from the Dutch)..and the latest Peaver/Volokhonsky translation of WAR & PEACE
Oh, i do not Twitter….if i can help it
Jude
Judith Loue
August 24, 2009 at 11:08 amWhoa..i seriously love GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO….
best, uh, translated book..a toss between Murakami (Wind-Up Bird Chronicle)…IN BABYLON by Marcel Moring (from the Dutch)..and the latest Peaver/Volokhonsky translation of WAR & PEACE
Oh, i do not Twitter….if i can help it
Jude
Judith Loue
August 24, 2009 at 11:08 amWhoa..i seriously love GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO….
best, uh, translated book..a toss between Murakami (Wind-Up Bird Chronicle)…IN BABYLON by Marcel Moring (from the Dutch)..and the latest Peaver/Volokhonsky translation of WAR & PEACE
Oh, i do not Twitter….if i can help it
Jude
Judith Loue
August 24, 2009 at 11:08 amWhoa..i seriously love GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO….
best, uh, translated book..a toss between Murakami (Wind-Up Bird Chronicle)…IN BABYLON by Marcel Moring (from the Dutch)..and the latest Peaver/Volokhonsky translation of WAR & PEACE
Oh, i do not Twitter….if i can help it
Jude
Pop Culture Nerd
August 24, 2009 at 12:19 pmHey Jude (sorry, couldn’t resist),
Welcome! You’re putting me to shame with War & Peace. Show-off :-). I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to get through that.
You don’t have to follow on Twitter but you do have to subscribe to be eligible. (See bottom of post or in my sidebar to the right under PCNews Headlines.) I do it this way to reward regular readers or those who might stick around a while. Otherwise, I might get fly-by-nights who drop in just to win stuff then leave. Thanks for understanding!
EIREGO
August 24, 2009 at 11:36 pmI’ve always been a fan of The Post Office Girl by Stefan Zweig (translated from German).
Lisa A.
August 25, 2009 at 6:56 amHmm, well I love all things Henning Mankell, so I’d have to say my favorite non-English book would have to be “Faceless Killers” (“Mördare utan ansikte”). I think that book really started the whole Swedish crime craze! I’m a Twitter follower!
Pop Culture Nerd
August 25, 2009 at 12:19 pmEIREGO, I’d never heard of Post-Office Girl so I looked it up and it sounds GOOD. Thanks for that.
Lisa A., welcome and thanks for following! I’ve heard of Mankell but have never read him. Did you know his translator is the same as Stieg Larsson’s?
norma
August 25, 2009 at 7:34 pmHi, PCN I just want to say that is a pitty that people from other countries can´t participate on this. I´m from Argentina and I tell you I´ve read books that were good and were not originally written in english. In spanish, e.g. I asure you there are good books. So I don´t understand why we cannot participate. Bye.
Pop Culture Nerd
August 25, 2009 at 9:02 pmHi Norma,
It is a pity, but the truth is I can’t afford the international shipping (I make no money on this blog) and do feel very bad about excluding international participants, some of whom are my most supportive readers. I have family overseas and know only too well how expensive international rates are. You are certainly welcome to participate by sharing your favorite Spanish titles; you just wouldn’t be eligible to win the prizes.
This isn’t just my policy. Even when I host a giveaway for publishers and they ship out prizes directly to the winner(s), they will only ship to U.S. and Canada residents. I’ve written to some publishers asking them to allow international entrants but so far, this is usually the way it is. I can only say I’m very sorry and this policy absolutely does not imply that I think books written in Spanish aren’t good. (The opposite is true; see my remarks above about Zafon’s La Sombra del Viento). I hope I’ll be able to change this soon.
I do have occasional giveaways where I give out movie scripts. Anyone anywhere can participate in those because e-mailing scripts is free!
Julien
August 25, 2009 at 7:55 pmOk PCN, that’s fair enough although I would have liked the dragon tatoos! 😉
I already have the French edition of this tome anyway, waiting patiently in my pending book pile!
Your question is a great but hard one!
I’d maybe choose Anna Gavalda’s [i]”Je l’aimais”[/i], originally written in French, cos’ it’s the only book I read twice. Short in length, yet long in substance, it’s a beautiful story about love and hurt, regret and courage, choices in life… The English translation is called [i]”Someone I love”[/i].
I don’t have much time right now (I’m leaving for a week in Bretagne in a few hours and I’m still packing!), but I will definitely come back to you soon to tell you about:
a) [i]”The time traveler’s wife”[/i] that I finished reading last night (excellent!), and
b) the movie based on [i]Millenium[/i] first tome that I finally had a chance to go and see a few weeks ago!
Hasta la vista, baby! 😉
Julien
August 25, 2009 at 7:58 pmI failed my italic writing again, argh!!!
🙁 😉
Pop Culture Nerd
August 25, 2009 at 9:32 pmJulien,
I’ve never heard of Galvada and had to look her up. Her books sound juicy and I’ll have to check them out! Thanks for telling me about her.
Have a wonderful week in Bretagne (you don’t have to send me a postcard saying it; I already wish I were there). I can’t wait to hear your thoughts about TTTW and the Millenium movie when you get back!
Julien
October 8, 2009 at 4:21 pmHey PCN!
Yes I’m back! 😉
Sorry for having been so silent over the last few weeks, I’ve been busy like hell with my work, argh!
(Wow, is “argh” a French or an English onomatopoeia? I use it so often that I can’t tell anymore!)
Well, promises are made to be kept, right?!
So, even if I’m quite late, I did care about telling you my opinion concerning the movie adaptation of Millenium’s first tome!
Maybe you had a chance to watch it by now, although I don’t think it has been released in the US yet, has it?
Anyway, what I can tell you about it is that it’s really true to the book. Of course, some minor elements have been changed (for example, Mickaël Blomqvist’s relationship with journalist Erika is barely suggested and his short romance with Cecilia Wanger has been deleted, the life and characters in Millenium’s offices too), but mostly you watch exactly what you’ve been reading, which is both nice and a little frustrating (for the surprise effect kinda disappears).
The violent and somewhat disturbing scenes have also been kept, which is a good thing since they are part of the story and make it what it is.
And it’s quite amazing to discover that some landscapes you’ve just imagined from the book really match the ones they show in the movie!
Nevertheless I remember that some things were maybe a bit too obvious in the movie compared with the book (the friend I saw it with had not read the book and yet guessed what had happened to Harriet in the end).
The casting is great, especially the two main parts, Mickaël played by Michael Nyqvist and Lisbeth played by Noomi Rapace. The latter really delivers a great performance!
The fact that the movie has been made with a Scandinavian team surely contributes to make it an interesting one, very true to the original universe. I’m sure it would have been much more classic, dull and middle of the road if the project had been carried out in the US.
Well, that’s all for now!
Have I deserved my tatoos?! 😉
novelwhore
August 26, 2009 at 5:10 amHi Elyse! If I win (please please!) I promise to not only link back to your site but to send you a picture of me with my dragon tattoos in public!
I have three favorite books not originally published in English:
1. THE LITTLE PRINCE (French) by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry; also listed by Shelley P, above
2. THE INFORMERS (Spanish) – the newly published title from Juan Gabriel Vasquez
3. BLINDNESS (Portugese) by Jose Saramago.
Thanks!
Lisette
August 28, 2009 at 4:18 pmI follow you on Twitter now
The best one I read (so far) was Battle Royale by Koushun Takami. It’s insane! It’s going to be re-released this November! 😀
SCRIPTPIMP
August 31, 2009 at 8:28 amHey, PCN!
Who won? It was me, right?