Mysteries in translation

[pontalba]

I've read a few of the Per Wahloo entries, and enjoyed them, but they don't seem too special to me, maybe one has to read most or all of them for the total effect. I've enjoyed The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo, and have the other two mentioned by Maine Colonial up the thread, and if they are as good as the first, I'll be happy.
Henning Mankell is always good of course, and more recently the Larsson trilogy is most satisfying.

 

[beer good]

The Guardian reviews Liza Marklund:

But it's a fine line between short, pithy sentences and the "See Spot run" school of prose, and large chunks of the book read as though written with a short, stubby crayon.

Pretty much.

 

[beer good]

Good rant. Especially after the news recently that Jens Lapidus' debut novel (which, of course, is also sold as "the next Stieg Larsson") will be titled Easy Møney in translation. *headdesk* I'm all in favour of more non-English literature being translated, but surely it wouldn't hurt if they tried to do more than scrape the bottom of the barrel in an attempt to fetishize one writer?

 

[beer good]

German readers are now so desperate to read more crap Scandinavian crime fiction that they've come up with a brilliant solution:

Write the novels themselves and publish them under a fake Swedish pseudonym, complete with a fake backstory for the supposed author - who, of course, "doesn't do interviews."

It's kind of like how when the Beatles made it big, every European rock band renamed themselves The [Random vaguely English-sounding word]s.

 

[sparkchaser]

hehehe