tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post3389802923040276447..comments2023-08-15T05:06:03.233-06:00Comments on The Writing Sisterhood: Never Lost in Translation: The Lure of the Foreign BestsellerThe Sisterhoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09889577041903181315noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-23164612976963089662012-03-01T09:58:25.377-07:002012-03-01T09:58:25.377-07:00Yes, that was one of my findings, the way a Wester...Yes, that was one of my findings, the way a Westerner , an American (KH is an Afghan-American)would portray foreign cultures is different from the outlook of a native. Pearl S. Buck lived among Chinese in China, but her perspective was always that of a Westerner despite her love and closeness to the Orient. I realized that when I read one of her few novels set in United States.Violantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02800111423488923625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-9027209411135734532012-03-01T09:57:41.011-07:002012-03-01T09:57:41.011-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Violantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02800111423488923625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-4453235288008011882012-03-01T09:55:50.786-07:002012-03-01T09:55:50.786-07:00Thanks Lynda, I had forgotten Susskind’s novel. Pe...Thanks Lynda, I had forgotten Susskind’s novel. Perfume was a hot bestseller in USA.Violantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02800111423488923625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-15920132520233818412012-03-01T09:50:36.362-07:002012-03-01T09:50:36.362-07:00Ooh, I'm so glad you mentioned Perfume! I read...Ooh, I'm so glad you mentioned Perfume! I read it so long ago I didn't think to mention it, but it was brilliant.Stephaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02187854108656107958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-61479173916501935742012-03-01T09:48:47.619-07:002012-03-01T09:48:47.619-07:00I loved both of Khaled Hosseini's novels: mayb...I loved both of Khaled Hosseini's novels: maybe "A Thousand Splendid Suns" even more. I do get the impression he was writing with a Western audience in mind ... maybe that's one difference? Writers of the "foreign bestseller" are writing to their own people, making cultural assumptions that an outsider simply may not get.Stephaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02187854108656107958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-55543447842210937222012-02-29T21:32:13.824-07:002012-02-29T21:32:13.824-07:00Perfume is my favourite foreign novel. It was orig...Perfume is my favourite foreign novel. It was originally written in German. Wonderful story.Lynda R Young as Elle Cardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09975442291393246148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-17276258184187862452012-02-29T18:57:38.715-07:002012-02-29T18:57:38.715-07:00Re: Plagiarism, A fascinating article about a stra...Re: Plagiarism, A fascinating article about a strange plagiarist is available at:<br /> http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/02/13/120213fa_fact_widdicombe, <br />RegisAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-80817554325577861012012-02-29T10:23:14.582-07:002012-02-29T10:23:14.582-07:00Sequels are nothing but glorified fanfiction, so y...Sequels are nothing but glorified fanfiction, so you have plenty of wites willing to try it, and (sadly) plenty of agents willing to peddle it. The reason why Ripley moved the action to Ireland, was to avoid dealing with the Reconstruction of the South a very delicate historical period and subject matter.Violantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02800111423488923625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-76203425423296332612012-02-29T09:49:22.189-07:002012-02-29T09:49:22.189-07:00Although not a big fan of Gone With the Wind, I wi...Although not a big fan of Gone With the Wind, I will say (after having reflected on what I read years ago) that yes, Scarlett was a bad sequel. Personally, I hated the fact that Ripley moved the action to Ireland. Scarlett's heart was never in Ireland and this just removed her from one of her core loves - Tara. What was the point in doing that?<br /><br />As to Rhett Butler's People, I was just finishing my first novel when I read it and all I could think was, "What crap is this?" The book felt like it was all over the place, and quite honestly, I don't think it did Rhett any favors. Learning some of his background made me cringe more than anything. Whoever runs Mitchell's estate should probably go back and read her book again before doling out any more rights to sequels. Actually, how about no more sequels from here on out. How about that?<br /><br />Sister MMMary Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09429769115085903305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-83535292295860787212012-02-28T20:26:38.439-07:002012-02-28T20:26:38.439-07:00Hi Carrie-Anne, I didn´t find Solshenitsyn in the ...Hi Carrie-Anne, I didn´t find Solshenitsyn in the bstselle lists, but he was huge all over the world. The beatniks rediscovered Hesse, and then the hippies made him an icon when the author was long dead.My brothe worshipped his writings in the 70's.<br /><br />I never bought Scarlett. Took it out of the library, stayed up until 4am reading it. By the time I finished it, I was beyond shock. I couldn´t believe something so obscenely bad had been published. And yes, I remember that idiotic lovemaking after the shipwreck.Violantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02800111423488923625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-67417031763534793522012-02-28T19:38:31.196-07:002012-02-28T19:38:31.196-07:00Completely agree about how awful 'Scarlett'...Completely agree about how awful 'Scarlett' is! That was one of the few books I couldn't make myself finish reading, and I quit while she was still in the South. I've heard that the book gets even worse after she gets to Ireland. I only skipped ahead a little to read the unintentionally hilarious sex scene I'd been told about, when Scarlett and Rhett decide to get it on after surviving a ship wreck. I'm so glad no one ever decided to attempt a sequel to Forever Amber, which is very similar to GWTW.Carrie-Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05810154378449825641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-86005680892163278852012-02-28T19:36:24.241-07:002012-02-28T19:36:24.241-07:00Most of my favorite writers did not write in Engli...Most of my favorite writers did not write in English. My favorite writer is Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn, my second-favorite is Hermann Hesse, my third-favorite is Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, and my fourth-favorite is Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev. Other favorite writers include Bertolt Brecht and Giovanni Boccaccio. For whatever reason, I've always gravitated towards older books and literary fiction, and many of the classic novels, poetry, and other works were written by Russians, Germans, Italians, French, etc.<br /><br />I eventually became aware of the fact that Hermann Hesse was extraordinarily popular about a generation before I discovered him, and have heard some former hippies refer to their "Hesse phase." If I'd been alive during the Sixties and Seventies, I'd like to think I would've gotten into him for the same reasons I fell in love with him when I discovered him in 1994, because I love his ideas and the stories he created, not because his books fit in with the counterculture movement. His book were around long before the hippies discovered him, and they're still being read long after he was forgotten by people who only got into him because he was considered hip.Carrie-Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05810154378449825641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-43621817380214043632012-02-28T14:08:27.817-07:002012-02-28T14:08:27.817-07:00As my brother put it "he is just a rooster st...As my brother put it "he is just a rooster strutting about his harem"Violantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02800111423488923625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-7829683381666046092012-02-28T14:04:19.265-07:002012-02-28T14:04:19.265-07:00I should clarify that I love Marco Leonardi BECAUS...I should clarify that I love Marco Leonardi BECAUSE of Cinema Paradiso. I can't say that I liked his character in "Like water for chocolate." I never understood him or had much respect for him.Lorenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17848249911635132594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-43496461861004502992012-02-28T13:52:07.164-07:002012-02-28T13:52:07.164-07:00Uff that construction!!! "we won´t sound very...Uff that construction!!! "we won´t sound very South Ameican either" is whst I meant to say.Violantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02800111423488923625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-46891189018131803562012-02-28T13:50:01.528-07:002012-02-28T13:50:01.528-07:00Sister Lorena,
I have a hunch that perhaps we won´...Sister Lorena,<br />I have a hunch that perhaps we won´t write like Americans, but neither would we sound very South American either. I had that experience when writing "The Hamilton Murder Club." My Chilean readers would say "people in our country don´t think like that."<br />I love Solitude, it´s my favorite Gabo´s novel.<br />I love the Esquivel book, much more than I lovedthe film. I didn´t like Pedro in the film, I favored dear Mario Ivan playing Dr. John.<br />I have recently discovered that (ironic since I specialized in Iberian litsrature) that I have a problem relating to modern Spanish novels.Violantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02800111423488923625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-35117007722763714832012-02-28T13:41:08.393-07:002012-02-28T13:41:08.393-07:00Siste Mary, Mary I din´t now about B's People ...Siste Mary, Mary I din´t now about B's People being commissioned. But I remember that the reason the Mitchell Foundation requested the Ripley's sequsl (in fact it was a whole contest) was because they were terrified some outsider would write a sequel and they woud have mo grasp over book, content and copyright.Violantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02800111423488923625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-36133781483741713012012-02-28T12:48:35.865-07:002012-02-28T12:48:35.865-07:00Just a side note, both "Scarlett" and &q...Just a side note, both "Scarlett" and "Rhett Butler's People" were commissioned by the Mitchell estate. Lord only knows why because neither one was worth the paper they were written on!Mary Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09429769115085903305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-1822097774507077712012-02-28T09:32:12.094-07:002012-02-28T09:32:12.094-07:00Sister Violante, I love to hear about foreign best...Sister Violante, I love to hear about foreign bestsellers that do well in the United States. (I have my own selfish reasons :-)) For me, it's difficult to be sure of what the American public would like since I'm not from here and the first novels I read were Latin American or Spanish (except for some classics like "Heidi" and "Little Women"), but like some of you have said, there are universal themes that speak to all of us. Love, relationships, betrayal, family. The cultural details are just the icing on the cake. After studying--intensively--the craft of writing in the US, it's very refreshing to see that writers outside the US are doing things very differently and succeeding.<br /><br />I could never get into Garcia Marquez' "One Hundred Years of Solitude" but I adore "Love in the Times of Cholera" and "Chronicles of a Death Foretold". So, it may not be a cultural thing, but more of a plot/character issue? The many stories in "One Hundred Years" make it really dense and hard to get into, IMO.<br /><br />I've read a few of Allende's novels, but my very favorite still remains her memoir "Paula".<br /><br />That's a great scene from "Like Water for Chocolate," but I can't say that I loved that movie/book. It was just okay for me. (I do love, however, the Italian actor who plays Pedro, Marco Leonardi, especially in "Cinema Paradiso" :-))<br /><br />"The Kite Runner" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns" are great examples of successful novels that explore foreign cultures.<br /><br />Fascinating subject!Lorenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17848249911635132594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-14635230747221395862012-02-28T07:47:54.663-07:002012-02-28T07:47:54.663-07:00Sister Stephanie, I am such an ignoramus! I didn´t...Sister Stephanie, I am such an ignoramus! I didn´t know Inkheart was a German novel (I saw the film). I had that same problem with Pamuk, and Murakami (not so with Yukio Mishima because I knew beforehand that he was weird), and I can understand your problem with Garcia Marquez. Allende, on the other hand, writes from a much more cosmopolitan perspective. In fact, on reading The House of Spirits for the first time, I hated it because it was “not Chilean enough”. But think of “The Kite Runner”, it is set on an exotic milieu and deals with a foreign culture, but the author manages to focus it from an American perspective. Moreover, it was written in English, there was nothing lost in translation.Violantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02800111423488923625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-38436199501257675302012-02-28T06:58:30.201-07:002012-02-28T06:58:30.201-07:00What an interesting topic, Violante! I don't t...What an interesting topic, Violante! I don't tend to look at where a book was originally published before I buy it, and I've finished books that I didn't realize were translations until later: "Inkheart," by Cornelia Funke, comes to mind. (Translated from German.) The point was made that the reader has to have some way of connecting to the story: this is so true. If the concepts are too foreign, reading the novel will be more like an anthropology expedition, and that may be worthwhile but it's more work than readers usually want to put into a book.<br /><br />This may be what kept me from getting into "Snow," Orhan Pamuk's 2002 novel, originally written in Turkish. The subject matter sure seemed like it would keep my interest but I just could NOT get through that book. I also have had a hard time connecting to Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude." And, now that I think about it, I had a similar struggle with Haruki Murakami's "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle." I gave up on all those books. Maybe I just fail at reading translated books! :(<br /><br />On the other hand, I love Isabel Allende -- perhaps her themes of family and womanhood have been enough to close any culture gaps? <br /><br />Hmm, much to think about here! Thought-provoking post.Stephaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02187854108656107958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-44269979426191940772012-02-28T06:36:36.268-07:002012-02-28T06:36:36.268-07:00Dear Regis,
There is a whole myriad of respectable...Dear Regis,<br />There is a whole myriad of respectable literary plagiarism. After Rowling hit gold cap with Harry Potter, the market was flooded with stories of boy wizards ad little witches learning their crafts in specialized boarding schools. That is formula. Then you have actual clonification, which means to take the story and move it to another space and time. I heard about a French novel called “The Blue Bicycle” (I think) that sets “Gone with the Wind” in WWII France. Finally there is the sequel syndrome, like A. Ripley´s “Scarlett” or the numberless follow ups of “Pride and Prejudice”. Bottom line, you don´t have to be original.Violantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02800111423488923625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-82587122406033985282012-02-28T06:16:34.665-07:002012-02-28T06:16:34.665-07:00Plagiarism is a slippery term, but for an author t...Plagiarism is a slippery term, but for an author to get in any legal trouble for it, they'd have to do more than "steal" a plotline -- if stolen plotlines were banned, we writers would be out of luck! "Nothing new under the sun" and that. Writers who get busted for plagiarism have lifted actual passages from someone else's book.Stephaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02187854108656107958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-35892306118903403052012-02-27T20:34:44.399-07:002012-02-27T20:34:44.399-07:00Whether it is true or not, Paolini has been accuse...Whether it is true or not, Paolini has been accused of plagiaristic behavior, by taking Tolkien's works and changing names and scenery—but then if you disguise things well enough is it still plagiarism? RegisAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-12584034713252537572012-02-27T14:58:10.582-07:002012-02-27T14:58:10.582-07:00Hi Regis,
Hinton wrote about a world of youngsters...Hi Regis,<br />Hinton wrote about a world of youngsters, whereas Sagan wrote about an adult lifestyle which was an uncommon occurrence. "Eragon" written by fifteen-year-old Christophe Paolini is another example of a bestseller written by a teenager.Violantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02800111423488923625noreply@blogger.com