The Best Foreign Novels

Article provided by Andrea Pryak from Language Trainers UK. Many of the best novels of all time were not originally written in English.  In fact, less than 1/3 of the recipients for the Nobel Prize in Literature have been native English speaking writers.  Reading books from every corner of the earth helps to give us a more worldly perspective.  And don’t worry; you don’t have to go back to the original text to enjoy these foreign novels. Translations allow us to enjoy the best novels in dozens of different languages.   So what are some of the best foreign language novels that you should – or may have already – read? In no particular order, here are a few of our favourites.   Norwegian Wood  (Noruwei no Mori) by Haruki Murakami (Japanese) This contemporary novel helped Murakami gain the international attention he has today.  Set in the 1960s, this book tells the story of a young man, Watanabe as he navigates his way through two emotionally delicate relationships; one with his dead best friend’s ex-girlfriend, Naoko, and another with his confident classmate, Midori.  Named after the Beatles song with the same name, Noweigan Wood is a Japanese “coming of age” book that speaks to the international soul.     Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (French) Published more than a century and a half ago, Les Miserables has proven to be one of the best stories of all time. The philosophical story covering issues of love, religion, and morality, and has thus made its way across all mediums of art, including numerous stage performances, and more than one film adaptation.     Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (Russian) Considered to be a “flawless” story by equally famous Russian writers Dostoyevsky and Nabokov, “Anna Karenina” is one of Leo Tolstoy’s most famous works.  Though the author’s most celebrate work is probably “War and Peace”, Tolstoy did not consider it to be a novel.  Set against a rich political backdrop, “Anna Karenina” beautifully dives deeply into the human condition.     One Hundred Years of Solitude (Cien anos de Soledad) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Spanish) Arguably the most important piece of literature to come out of Colombia, “One Hundred Years of Solitude” has been translated into 37 languages.  The book covers multiple generations of a family responsible for founding the town of “Macondo”.      The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Nesnesiteina lehkost byti) by Milan Kundera (Czech) Communism is known for suppressing creative and intellectual communities, which makes “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” such an interesting read.  Set around the time of the Soviet Union’s August 1968 Invasion into Czechoslovakia, the political backdrop adds dynamism to a story of love and infidelity among the intellectual community.     This is a very limited list of some of the best foreign language novels of all time.  There are dozens and dozens more which one must read, but this list should keep you busy at least for a little while!  If you speak a foreign language, why not assess your language level and then decide if you think you can handle reading the original text.