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50 Must-Read Modern Classics in Translation

"Did you know that only about 3% of books published in the U.S. each year are translations? The number varies from year to year, but regardless, it's low. And yet reading literature from countries and languages other than one's own has never been more important. Reading books in translation can offer us a different way of looking at the world. It can teach us about other cultures and their histories. It can help us understand ourselves better."
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The Complete Stories (Clarice Lispector)
The Complete Stories
1
Clarice Lispector
The Summer Book (Tove Jansson)
The Summer Book
2
Tove Jansson
The Box Man (Kobo Abe)
The Box Man
3
Kobo Abe
Fatelessness (Imre Kertesz)
Fatelessness
4
Imre Kertesz
History (Elsa Morante)
History
5
Elsa Morante
Terra Nostra
Terra Nostra
6
Too Loud a Solitude (Bohumil Hrabal)
Too Loud a Solitude
7
Bohumil Hrabal
Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (Mario Vargas Llosa)
Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter
8
Mario Vargas Llosa
If on a Winter's Night a Traveller (Italo Calvino)
If on a Winter's Night a Traveller
9
Italo Calvino
So Long a Letter (Mariama Bâ)
So Long a Letter
10
Mariama Bâ
The Name of the Rose (Umberto Eco)
The Name of the Rose
11
Umberto Eco
The House of the Spirits (Isabel Allende)
The House of the Spirits
12
Isabel Allende
The Post-Office Girl (Stefan Zweig)
The Post-Office Girl
13
Stefan Zweig
The Piano Teacher (Elfriede Jelinek)
The Piano Teacher
14
Elfriede Jelinek
The City and the House (Natalia Ginzburg)
The City and the House
15
Natalia Ginzburg
The Lover (Marguerite Duras)
The Lover
16
Marguerite Duras
The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Milan Kundera)
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
17
Milan Kundera
Fantasia: An Algerian Calvacade by Assia Djebar
Fantasia: An Algerian Calvacade by Assia Djebar
18
Love in the Time of Cholera (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
Love in the Time of Cholera
19
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Sand Child (Tahar Ben Jelloun)
The Sand Child
20
Tahar Ben Jelloun
Death in Spring (Merce Rodoreda)
Death in Spring
21
Merce Rodoreda
The Door (Magda Szabó)
The Door
22
Magda Szabó
Before (Carmen Boullosa)
Before
23
Carmen Boullosa
Like Water for Chocolate (Laura Esquivel)
Like Water for Chocolate
24
Laura Esquivel
A Quiet Life (Kenzaburo Oe)
A Quiet Life
25
Kenzaburo Oe
A Heart So White (Javier Marías)
A Heart So White
26
Javier Marías
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami
27
Blindness (Jose Saramago)
Blindness
28
Jose Saramago
The Rings of Saturn (W.G. Sebald)
The Rings of Saturn
29
W.G. Sebald
Voices From Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster (Svetlana Alexievich)
Voices From Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster
30
Svetlana Alexievich
The Savage Detectives (Roberto Bolaño)
The Savage Detectives
31
Roberto Bolaño
Delirium (Laura Restrepo)
Delirium
32
Laura Restrepo
An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter
An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter
33
The Shadow of the Wind (Carlos Ruiz Zafon)
The Shadow of the Wind
34
Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Snow (Orhan Pamuk)
Snow
35
Orhan Pamuk
A Tale of Love and Darkness (Amos Oz)
A Tale of Love and Darkness
36
Amos Oz
The Yacoubian Building (Alaa Al Aswany)
The Yacoubian Building
37
Alaa Al Aswany
The Housekeeper and the Professor - Yoko Ogawa
The Housekeeper and the Professor - Yoko Ogawa
38
The Ministry of Pain (Dubravka Ugresic)
The Ministry of Pain
39
Dubravka Ugresic
Broken Glass (Alain Mabanckou)
Broken Glass
40
Alain Mabanckou
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