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Getting into foreign literature,any recommandation?

Posted by Marizn_

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Forum: BookHey Group

I always read French literature but I've been wanting to discover authors and classics from other countries.Does someone have and recommandation?


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Reply by genjo

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I've personally been very into Japanese literature recently. I recommend "Bushido, The Soul of Japan" by Inazo Nitobe, "The Book of 5 Rings" by Miyamoto Musashi, or "No Longer Human" by Osamu Dazai. Anything by Franz Kafka is also a viable option.


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Reply by Juan Games

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I could reccomend some books from my country, Spain. If you want classic litterature persé, I recommend "The Quixote" by Miguel de Cervantes or "The life of Lazarillo de Tormes" by an anonymous person.

If on the other had, you want more modern stuff, I could easily recommend "Tears of Shiva" by Cesar Mallorquí. Sadly this one doesn't have an official translation to the english language.


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Reply by soledad

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I second the Cervantes rec :)

A good Mexican book would be Pedro Paramo, by Juan Rulfo while a good Japanese one would be Snow Country, by Yasunari Kawabata. Both are short and excellent reads.


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Reply by Vammiesquid

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If you want foreign classics, read Italo Calvino! He's an Italian author, I would recommend If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, The Baron in the Trees, and Invisible Cities :)

His books are very clever and conceptual- they kind of feel like watching a wes anderson movie lmao. Like "If on a Winter's Night a Traveler" is just playing with the concept of reading, the reader, the author, the translator, etc. It makes you think about reading in a different way while also being really fun and surreal. All the characters are representations of types of readers while at the same time feeling quite real even though they're all completely absurd. When I finished it I felt kind of like I was in shock, it was magical. 

If you like poetry and history, you'll like Invisible Cities. 


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Reply by Vammiesquid

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Out of curiosity, I've never read a French novel, do you have any recommendations for authors to check out?


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Reply by messiahloveslillies

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BORGES! Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges 


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Reply by sacabamscribesis

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Japanese Lit: Convenience Store Woman (modern lit)

Chinese Lit: The Wandering Earth (modern sci-fi)

Colombian Lit: 100 Years of Solitude (magical realism classic lit)

Brazilian Lit: The Slum (classic lit)

Polish Lit: Solaris (classic sci-fi lit)


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