Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

Arabic 1959 Children of Gebelawi by Naguib Mahfouz
Arabic 1960 The Open Door by Latifa Zayyat
Asian 16th Journey to the West
Asian 14th Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Asian 14th Water Margin or Outlaws of the Marsh
Asian 4th Tao Te Ching or Daode Jing
Asian 18th Dream of the Red Chamber or The Story of the Stone
Asian 16th Chin P'ing Mei or The Plum in the Golden Vase
Asian 4th The Analects of Confucius
Asian 1970 The 47 Ronin Story or Akō vendetta (18th Story)
Asian 1905 I am a Cat or Wagahai wa Neko de Aru
Asian 18th C Rulin waishi or Unofficial History of the Scholars
Chinese 1921 The True Story of Ah Q by Lu Xun
Czech 1969 The Joke by Milan Kundera
Czech 1962 Dita Saxova by Arnost Lustig
Danish 1940 Stolen Spring by Hans Scherfig
Danish 1964 The Good Hope by William Heinesen
French 1913 In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
French 1942 The Stranger by Albert Camus
French 1951 Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar
French 1943 The Little Prince by Antoine Saint-Expurey
French 1932 Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Celine
French 1961 How it Is by Samuel Beckett
French 1938 Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre
French 1953 The Erasers by Alain Robbe-Grillet
French 1949 The Thief’s Journal by Jean Genet
French 1954 The Mandarins by Simone de Beauvoir
French 1925 The Counterfeiters by Andre Gide
French 1948 Portrait of a Man Unknown by Nathalie Sarraute
French 1933 Man’s Fate by Andre Malraux
French 1954 Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan
French 1954 The Story of O by Pauline Réage
French 1928 Nadja by Andre Breton
French 1953 Red Lights by Georges Simenon
French 1952 The Great House by Mohammed Dib
French 1938 The Conspiracy by Paul Nizan
French 1960 God’s Bits of Wood by Sembene Ousmane  
German 1925 The Trial by Franz Kafka
German 1942 The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil
German 1924 The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
German 1945 The Death of Virgil by Hermann Broch
German 1939 Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig
German 1929 Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin
German 1927 Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse
German 1942 The Seventh Cross by Anna Seghers
German 1910 The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge by Rainer Maria Rilke
German 1969 Jacob the Liar by Jurek Becker
German 1957 Homo Faber by Max Frisch
Greek 1946 Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis
Hungarian 1937 Journey by Moonlight by Antal Szerb
Hungarian 1942 Embers by Sandor Marai
Italian 1951 The Conformistby Alberto Moravia
Italian 1923 Zeno’s Conscience by Italo Svevo
Italian 1952 All Our Yesterdays by Natalia Ginzburg
Italian 1950 The Moon and the Bonfires by Cesar Pavese
Italian 1940 The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzatti
Italian 1955 The Ragazzi by Pier Paolo Pasolini
Italian 1958 The Leopard by Guiseppi Lampedusa
Japanese 1969 Spring Snow (The Sea of Fertility Series) by Yukio Mishima
Japanese 1947 Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata
Japanese 1948 No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai
Japanese 1937  A Dark Night’s Passing by Naoya Shiga
Japanese The Tale of Genji
Japanese The Tale of Heike
Japanese The Kojiki: Records of Ancient Matters
Japanese In Praise of Shadows
Japanese Narrow Road to the Interior
Japanese The Ink Dark Moon
Japanese Miuazawa Kenji:Selections
Japanese Milky Way Railroad
Norwegian 1920 The Growth of the Soil by Knut Hamsun
Norwegian 1890 Hunger by Knut Hamsun
Persian 1937 The Blind Owl by Sadegh Hedayat
Polish 1937 Furdeydurke by Witold Gombrowicz
Polish 1961 Solaris by Stanislaw Lem
Portuguese 1956 The Devil to Pay in the Backlands by Joao Guimaraes Rosa
Portuguese 1964 The Passion According to G. H. by Clarice Lispector
Portuguese 1895 The City and the Mountains by Eça de Queirós
Russian 1966 The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Russian 1962 One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Russian 1934 Despair by Vladimir Nabokov
Spanish 1967 One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Spanish 1946 The President by Miguel Angel Asturias
Spanish 1949 The Kingdom of This World by Alejo Carpentier
Spanish 1967 Three Trapped Tigers by Guillermo Cabrera Infante
Spanish 1955 Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo
Spanish 1962 The Time of the Doves by Merce Rodoreda
Swedish 1944 The Dwarf by Par Lagerkvist
Swedish 1949 The Emigrants by Vilhelm Moberg
Turkish 1955 Memed, My Hawk by Yashar Kemal

The Passion According to G. H. was written in portuguese.

Thank you Rafael! Added her in!

Lesle wrote: "Thank you Rafael! Added her to the end!"

This book was listed in the first post as written in spanish.

Got it!
Deleted the other listing.
Thanks for pointing that out!

Did you check the others, are they ok?

Question: what kinds of comments / responses are you seeking from your group-members towards this list?

Lesle wrote: "Did you check the others, are they ok?"

I guess so. At least the books that I know.

Feliks
It is a resource for our Monthly Themes.

The month of December our Group Theme is 'Translations' which as a Group read you can read the suggested Theme Classic or you can read a Classic of your choice that falls under that Theme.

Hope that answers your question.

Thanks Rafael!

Classics in Translation Checklist:

This is a list you can use for suggestions for the Group Read or share a read on the list you have read and loved.

Please make additional suggestions in the comments.
Please use Country and Publication date.

The list has been placed in order of Country.

Chin Ping Mei is actually the same as The Plum in the Golden Vase. Most of these Chinese books have a bunch of different names. The one you missed is Dream of the Red Chamber.

Thanks for putting these up.

Had no idea! Thank you and I will add the one I missed.
Thanks for your list!

I Am a Cat by Sōseki Natsume is a satirical novel, a supercilious, feline narrator (Mr. Sneaze) describes the lives of an assortment of middle-class Japanese people.

Sōseki intended only to write the short story that constitutes the first chapter of I Am a Cat.

Book Nerd maybe this could be suggested. Might be a good step into reading Asian works??

Lesle wrote: "I Am a Cat by Sōseki Natsume is a satirical novel, a supercilious, feline narrator (Mr. Sneaze) describes the lives of an assortment of middle-class Japanese people.
..."

It’s not Sōseki Natsume’s best, although it sometimes appeals to readers who like a lighter novel. OTOH, the cat has made many a lover of Japanese Lit want to throw physical copies against a flat, solid surface.

I recommend Kokoro if you want an accessible, discussion-provoking on-ramp to Japanese Lit. Average rating 4.01 and only 248 pages, so even members who find it not quite their taste have no difficulty finishing it. I loved it.

The GR blurb is in error in suggesting it’s a trilogy of stories. It is a novel, told in three sections, like many others. Marita’s review is an apt and inviting description.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

In the alternative, Snow Country is considered the the masterpiece of Yasunari Kawabata (Nobel winner) and is magnificent, notwithstanding the fact that readers want to throttle either or both main characters at one time or another throughout it.

Finally, The Makioka Sisters by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki is often the first/representative Japanese novel folks read. It is very good but at 400+ pages, can drag a little in the middle for some readers. I’d recommend it for a readers 4th or 5th read in translation from Japanese rather than first.

Book Nerd suggested I am a Cat to be added to the list. I found the narrator might be amusing perspective.

FYI:
I only use Wikipedia when using descriptions of books as I feel it is unbiased. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...

We read the Makioka Sisters in July of 2018 as a Classic in Translation group read.

As a group we tend to read not only the Authors best but also their unknown works.

I haven't read I am a Cat yet but it is pretty long. Kokoro might be a good choice. I'd like to read it.

We read Snow Country in November of 2017, Carol. I came away thinking, "What was that all about? " Other than being depressed, that is. The writing was beautiful, even in translation.

Our group will be reading Kokoro this summer, Book Nerd. We have a schedule of our books to be read in the first thread of each topic. I am looking forward to reading it as well.

Rosemarie wrote: "We read Snow Country in November of 2017, Carol. I came away thinking, "What was that all about? " Other than being depressed, that is. The writing was beautiful, even in translation."

Really? I loved the snow, the class differences, my frustration with the male character’s waste of his life, time, etc. okay, maybe I didn’t love that last part lol. I did love the book as a whole though, but I can understand the pervasive sadness is so strong it could have the effect it had on you.

Lesle wrote: "Book Nerd suggested I am a Cat to be added to the list. I found the narrator might be amusing perspective.

FYI:
I only use Wikipedia when using descriptions of books as I feel it is unbiased.

We ..."

Understood. I suppose I was confused by the reference to stepping into reading Asian works. It sounds as though we are well across the border and strolling down a well-hewn path.

Well then go for it, of course, and see what you think. We tackled it in the Japanese Lit group last year so I thought you might want some alternative perspectives on how it went over but every group of readers is different of course.

In Snow Country, I think the author painted such a sad picture of the woman's life, maybe that is why I think it is such a downer. As for the male character, I didn't like him at all.

Rosemarie wrote: "In Snow Country, I think the author painted such a sad picture of the woman's life, maybe that is why I think it is such a downer. As for the male character, I didn't like him at all."

As I always feel about Edward Rochester, too. The desire to smack these character upside the head is strong in me.

Might be a good step into reading Asian works?? ..."

Sorry Carol, I meant for Members that might be new to Asian reading.

Lesle wrote: "Book Nerd suggested I am a Cat to be added to the list. I found the narrator might be amusing perspective.

FYI:
I only use Wikipedia when using descriptions of books as I feel it is unbiased.

We ..."

Wikipedia is generally as good as the author of the article is. Often they are very good, more often they are ok and sometimes they are really bad.
I wonder if there is in the US such a thing as a librerians association. Over here they usually have the best book and objective descriptions. But I understand that might be different depending on the country.

Claire wrote: "Lesle wrote: "Book Nerd suggested I am a Cat to be added to the list. I found the narrator might be amusing perspective.

FYI:
I only use Wikipedia when using descriptions of books as I feel it is ..."
I’m sure there is, but I’m not certain what the goal is. Plot descriptions are plentiful for classics of all shapes and sizes, but personally I would consult GR, friends’ reviews and amazon over wiki, which while strong on fantasies and sci-fi has never been strong on non-western classics.

I really enjoyed reading both Snow Country and The Makioka Sisters with this group in the last 15 months. I thought they were very different, but great, reading experiences. One was a culturally revealing family saga and the other an artsier novel of sensations. I agree with the critiques of Snow Country; no love for the characters but the writing, especially the opening train ride was beautiful.

I look forward to reading Kokoro this August and continue my intro into Japanese lit.

Carol wrote: "Claire wrote: "Lesle wrote: "Book Nerd suggested I am a Cat to be added to the list. I found the narrator might be amusing perspective.

FYI:
I only use Wikipedia when using descriptions of books a..."

True, but when we start a read, we try to give a short summary or idea of the book. At least people have an idea then on the book.

I agree Claire.

Its just a plot summary of the book to get Members enticed to read with us.

Here is a description of how Wikipedia works if anyone is interested:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...

If there is not much information there, I take it as only a few contributors have imputed and look elsewhere for information of the Plot Summary or Author, as over time (years) the info begins to be a more neutral point of view. Understanding how it works helps you determine if it is good or not.

But if the description is too much the book is spoilt and I have no more interest in reading it! A short one-sentence summary is more than sufficient. I want to find out what happens for myself and not have people ruin it.

Also do you need help with being able to post the book & author links? It is very easy.

at the top of the chat window it says, add book/author
then you click on that. The little box on the bottom left of the chat window should have books and authors without icons automatically.
and you can add the link!! Wonderful stuff.

Children of Gebelawi - Naguib Mahfouz

If you want to post bookcovers or author icons, click the little dot on the bottom of the chat window to the right. (click Cover for books and Photo for author - otherwise just click 'link')

-

if you desire to post photos, you would right click on a page that hosts the photo from the internet, then COPY IMAGE ADDRESS and use this code (without spaces between the < > signs, and pasting the entire link between " and ")

< img src="https://www.pe.com/wp-content/uploads..." >

Like so

Thanks, Jazzy.

Just to let member know that you can't do this using just the app. The app is fast but has limited functionality.

Rosemarie wrote: "Thanks, Jazzy.

Just to let member know that you can't do this using just the app. The app is fast but has limited functionality."

Oh, sorry about that. My eyesight is far too poor to use apps on my phone, my mobile phone is used to shoot photos and take calls, I had never thought there would be an app or that people would use it hmm :) I just wait til I get home and use the macbook!

No worries.

I use the app a lot since I have a ipad. I also have an iphone and have occasionally read an ebook from my collection or goodreads updates on my phone.

The mobile version of goodreads is terrible. The app is better than that but not as good as the web version.

I dont really think our descriptions of a book are any more than what you would read on a book cover. Its too entice one to read the story, if you had no idea what the book is about.
But I understand your reasoning.

Lesle wrote: "I dont really think our descriptions of a book are any more than what you would read on a book cover. Its too entice one to read the story, if you had no idea what the book is about.
But I underst..."

I don't want to know too much of what a book is about. A short one sentence description is enough, like the film blurbs in a TV guide.

A lot of book covers ruin the books completely with too much of a description so i won't read those.

One thing I really don't like is if people say 'There's a twist'. Well, that is definitely supposed to be a surprise! It's not much of a twist if you're looking for it. Automatic spoiler.

Rosemarie wrote: "No worries.

I use the app a lot since I have a ipad. I also have an iphone and have occasionally read an ebook from my collection or goodreads updates on my phone.

The mobile version of goodreads..."

Very interesting. I despise the app but use the desktop version on my mobile and iPad all day long with peace and ease.