Easy to Read Novels

[ga8our]

Hi all,
I have recently started reading in Slovak which for long has been my first foreign language but have never really become fully proficient in it. I am reading Murakami's Norwegian Wood that I have heard of positively from several people. Interestingly, the person I borrowed the book from was actually not as excited about it, bc according to her the language in it was "childishly simple."

Well, NW is certainly written in a simple language, but I still enjoy it. And it turns out, it's really convenient that I do not have to look up every second word in the dictionary. I have always liked novels with eloquent styles, lots of details and so forth, but obviously when you read in a foreign language you learn to be grateful to writers for their simplicity too.

So my question is if you have come across any other novels written in a simple language that you have enjoyed. I know Hemingway, Marquez and Orwell are some of the big guns who are praised for their simplicity of style, but I'd like to learn about some recent ones too. Any recommendations?

Cheers,
ga8our

 

[Ell]

I wonder if picking a book merely based on simplicity of language is the best way to learn a language. The authors you mentioned aren't what I would call simple reads. While the words may be simple, the ideas and meaning are not. As a beginner, you will miss a lot of the nuances in the writing that are not apparent by just understanding the words. Perhaps plot-driven, straightforward storylines would be more useful.

 

[Meadow337]

I think it would also be helpful to know what kind of books you like reading as in - historical? mystery? romance? that kind of thing.

 

[ga8our]

Sorry, I probably should have made it clear that I am not a beginner speaker in Slovak. I can pretty much say anything I want, it's just that I do not always say it gramatically correctly ( it's about noun conjugation). So my shortages are mostly about endings and other gramatical nuances in the language. I guess you would classify that in the English speaking community something like "advanced" or "working proficiency."

I have never thought about fiction generes, as I mostly just went for the classics, but I guess it's romance that I enjoy the most.

 

[Meadow337]

I think there is some confusion about what you are looking for. Are you looking for English books suitable for a second language reader?

 

[ga8our]

No. I am looking for writers who write simply. Eg. they don't give lengthy descriptions of the nature with dozens of adjective before getting to the story.