Reading is one of my ways to escape the chaotic realities of life. Some books teach us something new, some books comforts are hurt soul and give us hope , some books makes us bite our nails while some books simply entertain us. In this post, I am sharing best 5 translations you should read this year. If you are an avid reader, I am sure you will love these translated books!
5 Best Translated Books You Should Read This Year
Moustache
This is an English translation of Malayalam novel Meesha by S. Hareesh. The books is translated by Jayasree Kalathil and is a work of fiction. Set in the 20th century in the kuttanad region of Kerala, moustache is an intriguing novel, talks about racism and patriarchy. The complexity of the book and the subplots that are intertwined are really interesting. Also, this books is a winner of JCB Prize for Literature 2020. It’s a must read for those who like reading books on social plots set back in the colonial era.
Another JCB Prize winner on my list, Originally a Malayalam novel, written by Benyamin Body and Blood is a dramatic fictional novel. The English one is translated by Swarup B.R. There are 4 main characters in the book. 1 of them dies and his organs are donated. After a few days, one of the remaining 3 receives a whatsapp message asking about the vehicle that had hit the deceased character and then begins the mystery of the death that unfolds many shocking truths. The narrations of the story is really good. During the book, you might feel a bit scattered but at the end, everything makes sense. All in all, a good fiction read with a very interesting plot.
Along with the sun
This is a collection of short Tamil stories that are translated by Padma Narayanan and edited by Ki. Rajanarayanan. These stories are about the people living in the black soil region of Tamil Nadu. The topics of stories vary from caste and religion beliefs, social topics and hardships of the people living there.
This life at play
Girish Karnad originally wrote his memoir in Kannada, This life at play is it’s English translation which he along with Srinath Perur have done. He is an accomplished actor. Remember Shenoy sir from Ek Tha Tiger? Yes, he is the same actor. This memoir is candid, insightful, humorous and talks about his life struggles and how he made his way to the film line. Not just an actor, but he is also a path-breaking director and an amazing playwright.
If you know about Bengali stories or have read some, you must be knowing about the interesting stories of Kakababu which made many of ours childhood awesome with his amazing adventures. This is the volume 1 of the series which is about the time when kakababu resigns from the position of director of the Archaeological Survey of India and goes back home. Kakababu often takes mysterious trips to lesser known places but as he is old now and also has an amputated leg, he takes his nephew Shontu along to a stranded island and hence begins another adventure, although Shontu still is unaware of the reason why he is on that dangerous island. If you like adventure thrillers then you must read this.
So, these were my recommendations of the 5 best English translated books you must read this year. Hope you found this article insightful and will help you decide what to read next!
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