Around the World in 80 Books discussion

My challenge will mostly include books translated into Croatian, my native language. As an aspiring translator, I need to read more books written in my native language or translated into it. I also actively read in English and Spanish, so I'm probably going to include books translated into those languages, too. I don't like planning my reads, so it's just going to be whatever catches my fancy in a given moment.

Do you tranlate into Croatian? Only from English or also from other languages?

Sophie wrote: "Do you tranlate into Croatian? Only from English or also from other languages?"

Hi, Sophie, from English and Spanish into Croatian.

;)

Wishing you a great reading year!

Thank you! :)

LANGUAGE OF ORIGIN: Czech
TRANSLATED INTO: Croatian (there is an English version, too. Link available in the review.)

by Michal Viewegh
Date: 4. 1. 2025.
Rating: C+
Genre: Fiction, Satire, Social Novel?
Review: A middle-aged school teacher living in the Czech Republic in the early 90s, all of a sudden receives an offer (more like a request) to work as a part time creative writing tutor to the eldest daughter of a local nouveau riche who gains his money in dubious ways. He needs extra income so he decides to accept the offer. What he doesn't realise is that his actual job is not that of a tutor, but of a therapist, as he is required to help Beata surpass severe depression. At first, Beata is completely unresponsive, even mean to him, bus slowly she starts opening up, and they start an affair.

I wasn't as thrilled with Bringing Up Girls in Bohemia as others seemed to be. It was apparently a huge hit in its homeland as well as in Croatia. I didn't like any of the characters (maybe that was the author's intention). Beata was a spoiled brat, but also a deeply troubled young woman with extremely low self-esteem. Don't get me started on the teacher. I know that middle-life crisis is a real thing, but when it includes an affair with a woman almost half your age, you'll get no sympathy from me.
The blurb and the reviews state that the novel is a satirical representation of post-communism Czech Republic trying to unsuccessfully transition from the long period of Eastern influence to new, modern and liberal Western one.

LANGUAGE OF ORIGIN: Spanish
TRANSLATED INTO: Croatian (there is an English version)

by Ernesto Sabato
Date: 12. 1. 2025.
Rating: C+
Genre: Fiction
Review: The Tunnel is a story of obsessive and toxic "love".
Jun Pablo Castel is a semi-famous Argentinian painter whose work the critics describe as solid. He is also a higly intelligent, arrogant man devoid of empathy and emotions for other people. In short he despises and looks down upon everyone around him. One day, during an exhibition of his work, he sees a woman, Maria Iribarne, looking at his painting, and noticing a detail that no one ever notices, a small window with a woman in the corner of the larger painting. He becomes obsessed with find Maria, and eventually becomes obsessed with her, making himself believe that he loves her. Although Maria is married, they start a very toxic and obsessive relationship, which eventually results in murder.

Although it may seem like I've given away the whole story, I have not. We get the ending at the beginning, and then we slowly get the story that led to the ending.

The concept of the story is interesting, but both Juan Pablo and Maria are unlikable characters (which is what the author probably wanted).

Samanta wrote: "LANGUAGE OF ORIGIN: Czech
TRANSLATED INTO: Croatian (there is an English version, too. Link available in the review.)

by [authorimage:Michal Viewegh|19..."

possibly - Lolita is also supposedly a critique of capitalist system

Really?!

I did not like Lolita, and I couldn't finish it, so I never even thought about this being a possible meaning.

Good to know, thank you! :)

LANGUAGE OF ORIGIN: English
TRANSLATED INTO: Croatian

by Jane Johnson
Date: 3. 2. 2025.
Rating: B
Genre: Historical Fiction
Review: The Pillars of Light tells a story of the Third Crusade and the infamous Siege of Acre that took place from 1189 to 1191, ending with Salah ad-Din's defeat and the murder of innocent prisoners by the Christian forces. Unlike many stories of this type, this one is written from the perspective of the civilians - both Christian and Muslim - who were caught in between this supposedly religious conflict. On the one side we meet Zohra, a young Muslim girl living in Acre, who falls in love with a young Jewish doctor Nathanael. On the other side, we have a young orphan man known as John Savage, who grew up in a monastery full of abusive monks, and his (almost) merry group of thieves and swindlers, who travel through England trying to gather people and money for the Crusade. Eventually, all of them will meet in Acre, on opposing sides, and witness first-hand the horrors of war, greed and religious zealotry.

Although I found it a bit too long, it was an interesting read because I love reading stories written from the perspective of ordinary people. Jane Johnston gave us an account of both sides equally, although I did feel that she was more inclined toward the Muslim side of the story. I know that Muslims are not the innocents in the story either, but I can't say that I don't agree with her, because I am generally disgusted with the things Christians did in the name of God.

LANGUAGE OF ORIGIN: English
TRANSLATED INTO: Croatian

by John Williams
Date: 21. 3. 2025.
Rating: B
Genre: Historical Fiction, Ancient Rome
Review: Augustus tells the story of how Octavian, the great Julius Caesar's nephew and adopted son and heir, became the first emperor of what was, up until then, a Roman Republic.

The story starts just when Julius Caesar is assassinated, and we meet various characters who are, in different ways, affected by his death. We meet members of his family, his friends, and his enemies.

The novel is written in epistolary form, with the readers finding out the story of Octavian's rule through the exchange of letters between different people around him. Only at the very end of the book, the readers get to hear Octavian story from his own perspective.

The first part of the novel was hard to get into, because it felt like reading military reports. They were more or less short, but very dry. The second part is when the things get interesting. We read more in-depth letters and we get to know all of the characters intimately, we get to like them, dislike them, feel sorry for them, or not.

Despite what for me was a slow start, I believe Williams did a great job describing Octavian through the eyes of people close to him, and at the same time, the authors of those letters.

LANGUAGE OF ORIGIN: Spanish
TRANSLATED INTO: Croatian (there is a version in English)

by Esteban Martín
Date: 12. 7. 2025.
Rating: B-
Genre: Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Review: This suspense novel explores the idea of Antonio Gaudi as an architect of not just buildings, but Christian symbolism. It was written at the time, mystical symbolism was all the rage in popular culture, and it fits well into the genre. The writing style is not the greatest, and I must admit that I did not understand all of the symbols and riddles the authors included in their world building, but nevertheless it was a fun read.