Book Blogger Hop No. 105: Reading the Same Book in the Original and in Translation

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This Week's Question

Have you ever read a book written

in a foreign language you might

be fluent in, and then read the

same book in English?

(Submitted  by Maria @ 

A Night's Dream of Books)

My Answer

Since I'm fluent in Spanish as well as English, I can read books in either language. My native language is actually Spanish. Most of the time, I do read in English, but sometimes I'll pick up a book in Spanish. However, I always review in English, whether on this blog or on my other blog. I don't currently have a Spanish-language blog (and I don't have time for one, either).

If I know the original language a book was written in, I prefer to read it in that language, of course. However, if I LOVE a book in either of these two languages, I will read it in BOTH! 

I've only done this with two books so far, though. The first one was Twilight, which is the first book of The Twilight Saga, by Stephenie Meyer.  I have read it a total of FOUR times -- the first three, in English, and the fourth, in Spanish. That's how much I LOVE this novel! I also love the other three novels in the Saga, but the first one is definitely my favorite.

For those who are not that familiar with The Twilight Saga (and very few people aren't, but well, just in case....) it's about a young woman named Bella Swan who decides to go live with her divorced dad in the rainy town of Forks, in the state of Washington. She's really sacrificing herself for the sake of her mother and her new husband, though. She actually HATES Forks. However, ti's there that she meets the love of her life, the mysterious Edward Cullen, who turns out to be....a vampire. 

What I LOVE about this series is that Edward and his family members are strongly committed to not harming humans. Edward and Bella realize that their very unusual relationship has some challenges to overcome, but they just can't help loving each other.  

I was SO crazy about the first book in particular that I wanted to experience the story in Spanish, to see how it came across in that language. Besides, this was just another excuse  for me to get MORE of this story. Lol.

I did the same thing with a literary fiction novel I read some time ago, except in reverse. I read it in Spanish first, as this is the book's original language. The novel is titled, in Spanish, La Isla de los Amores Infinitos. The English title is The Island of Eternal Love. I LOVED this book, so, some time after reading the original, I also read it in English.  The author is Daina Chaviano, a Cuban writer renowned for her science fiction and fantasy works.

This novel is about three different families, from three different ethnic groups, and how they all become one family, in Havana, Cuba. The story begins in the late nineteenth century,in China, and then moves to Spain, Africa,  Cuba, and Miami, Florida, stretching across the years to the start of the Cuban Revolution, and moving on to the present time. One of the families is from China, the second, from Africa, and the third, from Spain. The author has stated that these three groups represent the basic ethnic mixture that makes up the Cuban people. 

This novel includes paranormal elements, as well, which is another reason I love it! There's a haunted house that moves from place to place, and other interesting events.  There's also romance, with some very special stories involving the various descendants of the three families. Besides, the whole story is seen through the eyes of its main character, Cecilia, a Cuban journalist living in Miami. I greatly enjoyed her story, as well, and it fits in seamlessly with the rest of the novel.

Chaviano's novel, which I consider to be a masterpiece, fascinated me so much that I have read it three times -- twice in Spanish, and once in English. I would love it if it were made into a movie!

I think it's very interesting to compare original works with their translated versions. Sometimes, if the reader is very familiar with both of the languages, s/he can pick up any errors made by the translators. 

The two novels I've mentioned have been superbly translated, so I have not come across any egregious errors, thankfully enough. A truly expert translator will ensure that everything in a novel is properly translated. Many times, that means that a LITERAL, word-for-word translation  will not give the true meaning of a phrase in the original language.

I might read the rest of the novels in The Twilight Saga in Spanish. As for Chaviano's other books, I'm not sure if any of them have been translated into English, but I will definitely check! I'm also thinking of reading the Harry Potter novels in Spanish. And, of course, there's La Sombra del Viento, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. The English title is The Shadow of the Wind. I own both the original, in Spanish, and the English translation. Since this novel deals with books, I KNOW I'll fall in love with it, and thus, will want to read it in both languages!  

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