The Millennium Trilogy by Steig Larsson.
Unlike most of the other books in this challenge, number 20 was an easy choice and came to mind immediately. Originally written in Swedish and subsequently translated into English (the language in which I read them), this dark, psychological, crime thriller trilogy ranks amongst my most favourite ever reads.
Okay it’s three books but to me they’re very much a unit. The set consists of:
- The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2005)
- The Girl Who Played With Fire (2006)
- The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest (2007)
The translator is Reg Keeland for publisher MacLehose/Quercus
For me these novels were compulsive reading. The main characters in all three books are Lisbeth Salander – a damaged, feisty, feminist, techie fighter for justice, and Mikael Blomkvist – an investigative journalist – and they are a totally beguiling partnership. The stories are intriguing, shocking and completely gripping.
I read them all before seeing either the TV series or the film versions and, yes, the books were better.
So, what about you? Have you read any good, or maybe not so good, translated books?
A Man Called Ove, by another Swedish author Fredrik Backman – excellent book, translated by Henning Koch. Funny, heartwarming and entertaining. Highly recommended and enjoyed by my book club.
Oh yes, I remember reading very positive reviews of A Man Called Ove, though I haven’t read it myself. Thanks for visiting and commenting, Pat.
One of the worst experiences of my reading life was picking up a badly translated copy of Madame Bovary. While all the rest of my reading group were waxing lyrical about the beautiful use of language I was sitting there thinking I must have read a different books to them. Of course, in one sense, I had. That experience taught me to be very careful about works in translation and to get to know which translators can be trusted to do a good job.
That’s a very important point. A lot can be lost in translation. Thanks for visiting and commenting.
Reblogged this on My Shakespeare Journey.
Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada. Read it about a year ago, it was a strange kind of soap opera of a book but, absolutely brilliant. Can’t remember the translator, I thought some of it was a wee bit dodgy. I’ve never read the Millennium Trilogy.
I’ve not heard of that one, George. Yes a lot depends on having a good standard of translation. Thanks for responding and for the reblog.
You’re welcome Anne. Alone in Berlin has been made into a movie. Don’t think it’ll be as good as the book though.