Japanese YA Novel Week - 5th to 11th December 2011

Hi everyone, 

I am kicking my Japanese YA Novel week with a little intro post telling you why on earth Japanese literature is my new obsession and give you some interesting websites I keep stalking browsing.

As you can see from the gorgeous logo, I am co-hosting this week with Nina from Death Books and Tea who is a fan of Japanese young adult literature and manga. As you probably guessed from my lack of drawing skills, she is the talented person behind the creation of the logo, not me! We have chosen different books for this week so don't hesitate to go on both blogs to discover them and maybe become as obsessed as we are! I'll try to link to Nina's reviews as they get posted.

I started becoming interested in Japanese literature not a very long time ago to be honest. I knew about Haruki Murakami and Kazuo Ishiguro (though he isn't translated and writes in English) but never really had a specific motivation to read their books, or to even think about Japanese literature as something I would like to read. I love reading foreign literature and I am fascinated by the entire process of translation so I would have gotten there at some point but it never really attracted me.

Then I went to an event with Melvin Burgess organised by Spinebreakers (read Becky @ The Bookette's fantastic event summary) and he talked about the fact that when he first started writing there was hardly any young adult novels (for 15+) and that many teen novels did not talk about what actually happened to a lot of teenagers (sex, violence, drugs, etc.) or if they did, they would present things in an unrealistic way. In this talk, he mentioned Japanese young adult literature which he loved and how they presented serious subjects and had a very gritty and dark aspect to them. He named Snakes and Earrings by Hitomi Kanehara (my review here) and the novels Out, Grotesque and Real World by Natsuo Kirino and that was my revelation.

I already thought that there was a real lack in young adult literature for young adult books (as in from 15 to 18 years old and more) and when I read Snakes and Earrings I felt there was something more in the story, the same something I then found in Natsuo Kirino's books. I am not exactly sure how I could describe it, I think it probably is just one aspect of Japanese culture in general or just in these books, and I am quite simply fascinated by them. 

Japanese culture is very rich and I bet you could spend years trying to get your head wrapped around it and still learn new things everyday. I just got into Anime (Japanese animated cartoons) and realised that a story could be presented in various media: novel, manga and anime. And this is especially true for young adult novels. A Light Novel is a style of novel in Japan which is quite short and mainly targeted at teenagers/young adult. They can be serialised in magazines/journals and often come with illustrations (hence the strong link with manga and anime since the stories can be easily adapted in other medias). This genre is extremely popular in Japan and most of the young adult popular culture is centred around these stories. [Read this article on the subject: Publishing heavyweights see light in growing 'light novel' market | Asahi Japan Watch | November 2011]

Ever since I got interested in Japanese literature, it just opened new perspectives for me as a reader and as an aspiring writer. I am a fan of good stories but also love anything original and I've definitely found new stories or styles of writing I could obsess about - and I hope I can share them with you!

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Programme for the week:

Monday - Intro post (which is what you are currently reading!)

Check out Nina's Intro post over at Death Books and Tea and her review of L Change The World by M

Tuesday - Review of Real World by Natsuo Kirino

In a suburb on the outskirts of Tokyo, four teenage girls drift through a hot smoggy August and tedious summer school classes. There's dependable Toshi; brainy Terauchi; Yuzan, grief-stricken and confused; and Kirarin, whose late nights and reckless behaviour remain a secret from those around her.

Then Toshi's next-door neighbour is found brutally murdered and the girls suspect Worm, the neighbour's son and a high school misfit. But when he disappears (taking Toshi's bike and cell phone with him) the four girls become irresistibly drawn into a treacherous vortex of brutality and seduction which rises from within themselves as well as the world around them.

Read Nina's review of Chain Mail - Addicted To You by Hiroshi Ishizaki over at Death Books and Tea

Wednesday - Review of Schoolgirl by Osamu Dazai

The novella that first propelled Dazai into the literary elite of post-war Japan. Essentially the start of Dazai's career, Schoolgirl gained notoriety for its ironic and inventive use of language. Now it illuminates the prevalent social structures of a lost time, as well as the struggle of the individual against them--a theme that occupied Dazai's life both personally and professionally. This new translation preserves the playful language of the original and offers the reader a new window into the mind of one of the greatest Japanese authors of the 20th century.

A day in the life of a teenage girl, on the verge of becom­ing a woman. She is deal­ing with a depressed mom, cop­ing with the recent death of her dad, school and the other prob­lems girls like her deal on a daily base. While her inner tur­moil is boil­ing, she keeps a cool façade when it comes to por­tray­ing what she feels. Some­times hyp­o­crit­i­cal, some­times sad but interesting.

Read Nina's review of Audition by Ryu Murakami over at Death Books and Tea

Thursday - Review of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time by Yasutaka Tsutsui

One of Tsutsui's best-known and most popular works in his native Japan, The Girl Who Leapt through Time is the story of fifteen-year-old schoolgirl Kazuko, who accidentally discovers that she can leap back and forth in time. In her quest to uncover the identity of the mysterious figure that she believes to be responsible for her paranormal abilities, she'll constantly have to push the boundaries of space and time, and challenge the notions of dream and reality.

Read Nina's review of Chibi Vampire Novel Volume 1 by Tohry Kai over at Death Books and Tea

Friday - Review of The Friends by Kazumi Yumoto

Kiyama and his friends Kawabe and Yamashita become fascinated and curious about death when Yamashita's grandmother dies. They wonder what a dead body looks like and if the dead person becomes a ghost. They hope to see death firsthand by spying on an old man who looks like he will die soon. But while they watch the old man, he watches them. Soon their fascination for each other turns into a friendship that will change their lives forever.

Read Nina's review of Vampire Hunter D by Hideyuki Kikuchi over at death Books and Tea

Saturday - Read Nina's review of Kamikaze Girls by Novela Takemoto

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Interesting Links:

Whenever I feel like reading anything Japanese, I go browse the blog Contemporary Japanese Literature managed by Kathryn Hemman who is a graduate student in the East Asian Language and Civilizations department at the University of Pennsylvania. She writes very thoughtful reviews on a variety of genres. Her blog is a must-read if you are interested in Japanese literature.

The author Cynthia Leitich Smith has a fantastic part of her website dedicated to "diverse reads" and in particular to books with an Asian Heritage. You can read what she writes about children's and young adult books with Japanese heritage or Japanese themes (here) but do browse the other tabs on her website as it is a truly fantastic resource.

As for most things, Wikipedia is a fantastic tool to gather information and resources. You can visit the article about Light Novels, Manga and the page with a List of Light Novels to browse those you might like. You can browse the Japanese Literature category to find articles on themes you are more interested in. 

For instance, I read a lot of LGBT / Gender and sexuality books and I found that it constitutes an actual genre in Japanese literature. The jargon used for those books is Yuri for any content in manga, anime or books involving love between women, and Bara for any content involving love between men.

UPDATE: I completely forgot to add the page for the Japanese Literature Challenge which has been hosted by Dolce Belezza for the past 4 years. You can participate in the challenge or read the review posted by other bloggers. There also is a suggested reading list if you don't know where to start!

There are probably many other websites on the subject, and I am happy to add any good links here, but those are the websites I mainly use as sources of information.

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That is all for today, stay tuned all week on this blog and on Death Books and Tea to read the reviews we will be posting and we hope we'll get some of you interested in reading Japanese Young Adult novels!

Have a lovely week,

Caroline x

In The Sea There Are Crocodiles - Fabio Geda

Hi everyone!

My translated fiction reading has been a bit slow this summer but it is coming back in force with this review of the Italian best-seller In The Sea there Are Crocodiles and my future Japanese YA novels week (21-27 November!) which will be co-hosted by the lovely Nina and Katy at Death Books and Tea!

Summary from Amazon:

One night before putting him to bed, Enaiatollah’s mother tells him three things: don’t use drugs, don’t use weapons, don’t steal. The next day he wakes up to find she isn’t there. Ten-year-old Enaiatollah is left alone in Pakistan to fend for himself.

In a book that takes a true story and shapes it into a beautiful piece of fiction, Italian novelist Fabio Geda describes Enaiatollah’s remarkable five-year journey from Afghanistan to Italy where he finally managed to claim political asylum aged fifteen. His ordeal took him through Iran, Turkey and Greece, working on building sites in order to pay people-traffickers, and enduring the physical misery of dangerous border crossings squeezed into the false bottoms of lorries or trekking across inhospitable mountains. A series of almost implausible strokes of fortune enabled him to get to Turin, find help from an Italian family and meet Fabio Geda, with whom he became friends.

The result of their friendship is this unique book in which Enaiatollah’s engaging, moving voice is brilliantly captured by Geda’s subtly simple storytelling. In Geda’s hands, Enaiatollah’s journey becomes a universal story of stoicism in the face of fear, and the search for a place where life is liveable.

~~~

You are not going to be surprised if I say that I adored this book, right?

I know, I know what you're going to say, I *always* love the translated books I review in my Lost in Translation feature, and I keep telling you how much you *need* to read them, so much that I'm turning into the boy who cried wolf and you don't believe me anymore.

But guess what? This one, you really do need to read it! No really!

This story is a real eye opener. Not only do you see life through the eyes of someone from a foreign culture and country, but you also see how things are like in countries who do not have the chance to be democraties and you see the theme of immigration through the point of view of the immigrant. Enaiatollah is sent out of Afghanistan by his mother who wishes him to survive and not be a casualty of the Talibans which had taken over the country. His travels bring him to Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Greece and Italy. He is just a child yet he manages to get through countries and survive very hard conditions. 

What is fascinating to see are the similarities between our culture (Western European that is) and Enaiatollah's, and I think that is why it is important to read this book. Enaiatollah is a regular little boy, he lives with his family, he plays ball with the other children in the village and he really likes to go to school (though he'd rather play outside!). People in his village are not Talibans and are on the contrary bullied by them. From his very early years, Enaiatollah witnesses his teacher getting killed. 

There are some real heart-breaking moments in the book and Enaiatollah meets many people, some of which happen to help him, others who will hurt him. Any random act of kindness is remembered and cherished by Enaiatollah but he doesn't blame the ones who hurt him. I found him to be full of love, for the people around him that he comes across, but also for the countries and the different cultures he encounters. Enaiatollah proves to have a real hunger to learn and to live.

The book is a conversation between the writer, Fabio Geda, and Enaiatollah Akbari who is now an adult and sometimes, Fabio or Enaiatollah come out of the story to clarify one point or discuss bigger themes and I found it to be really interesting because everything is put in perspective and the book becomes more than just a story.

What I loved about this book is that Enaiatollah, no matter how horrible and dangerous the things he goes through are, doesn't lose faith. He doesn't even think he is to be pitied. I mean he is just a kid when he leaves his country and moves into territories which have some of the harshest life conditions on this planet and yet he doesn't give up. This is an incredibly uplifting story, it makes me believe that anything in life is possible and anything can be achieved by pretty much anyone. 

This book is quite simply breathtaking and is a wonderful way to get to see the world through the eyes of an Afghan child in his journey to find a new place to call home.


Info: It is fine for both boys and girls. There are some violent bits in it so younger children might find this a bit hard to read if not reading with an adult who can explain some things (which would be a great way to approach the book).

Thanks to RHCB for the proof copy!

In The Sea There Are Crocodiles, by Fabio Geda | 2011 | RHCB | Proof copy from publisher

My Brother Is An Only Child - Antonio Pennacchi | Translation Month

Mostly Reading YA is organising in April a Translation Month, go check out the brilliant reviews of books from all over the world translated in English! 

I know the French writers and I've noticed a few authors I knew about but there were some really amazing books I had no idea existed! I have always been a fan of translated lit and Mostly Reading YA's initiative is really great to raise awareness on foreign authors!

~~~

I have reviewed the Italian book My Brother Is An Only Child by Antonio Pennacchi, it is the amazing story of two brother with very different political convictions who go through the incredibly thriving 1970s in Italy. Go check out my review here.

If you are interested in the political and social history of Italy (don't all raise your hands at once :D) and if you like reading books where you actually learn something from the context of the plot, My Brother Is An Only Child is a book for you! Italy in the 1970s is one of the most thriving periods of history of the country. After the Second World War and the very long reign of the Social Democrats at the head of the country, a new generation is born and wants some radical change because it doesn't feel represented in the actual ruling class. Split between the fascist (in the Italian sense of the word - as in nationalists) and the communists, and with still a very strong presence of the Catholic Church, this decade is full of restlessness, protests and general political upheaval (as anywhere in the world at the end of the 1960s, beginning of the 1970s).

This is the climate in which the story of My Brother Is An Only Child takes place where one brother is very handsome and popular Manrico, who after leaving the seminary goes to study law and becomes politically involved in the Communist movement, and where the other brother Accio (pejorative nickname given to him since he was a child and inspiration for the title of the book) is the black sheep of the family who gets involved with the Fascist Party after leaving the seminary himself. Later in the book, Accio falls in love with Manrico's girlfriend and the hostility between the two brothers, which has existed ever since they were kids, continues even more.

The story is told from the point of view of Accio who isn't loved nor even respected by any member of his family. Since he is a child he has to put up with the decisions others take for him (as the youngest boy in the family, his two older brothers come first) and with the weight of being different and always in the way (according to his family). It is truly heart-breaking to be in his head and to feel the anger he feels constantly. He is eager to be accepted but doesn't fit in wherever he goes to. The book is a coming of age story of this boy no one really likes and who is sent to the seminary to be a priest. We go through the various stages of adolescence with him and we realise how outdated some of the traditions are. The book gives also an amazing insight into the Italian culture and its traditions. While reading, I couldn't help thinking how Italian the book was, not only because it was written by an Italian author and because it took place in this very particular context for the country, but also because it really goes inside Italian customs and ways of thinking. The book takes place in a rural area where the economic and social factors are very important for a family of seven children.

I literally couldn't stop reading this book, Accio's voice is very clear and his personality just pops out of the pages and you feel as if you are following him around his village trying to raise people behind Fascist ideas. You really feel for Accio and wonder if he would have turned out exactly the same way had people in his family made more effort towards him. The portrait of the Italian Mamma (mother) is absolutely brilliant, I can tell you that Italians are way more afraid of their mothers and that a mother can make all their kids follow a straight line even during the worse years of adolescence. Just read this book to see how much!

What I love about reading translated fiction is how much we can learn from another culture. I am part-Italian and grew up on the Mediterranean so I really related to the cultural aspects of the book and I really loved how fascinating the book is in terms of political and social history of Italy in the 1970s. The book is well translated in English and you don't lose the spirit of the book in the translation. A film was made of this book and if you don't feel like reading the book, don't hesitate to watch the film!

Many thanks to YA Reader for organising such a brilliant month and for inviting me to write this review!

Snakes and Earrings - Hitomi Kanehara | Lost in Translation

I am now experimenting with other nationalities than French and Italian for my Lost in Translation meme (which should be a feature, but I like to share!).

To be perfectly honest I have never read a book by a Japanese author before (I can feel my cultural curiosity cringe at the very thought) and I was introduced to Hitomi Kanehara at an author event with Melvin Burgess. He talked about several YA books by Japanese authors who didn't try to write about adults in teenage disguise but about real teenagers. I was very intrigued and bought the tiny book that is Snakes and Earrings. My friend Sabrina and I read it and we just couldn't stop thinking and talking about this book.

The book has extremely explicit content and I will mention that content in my review, so if you are faint-hearted, please, do not read any further. (I'm talking about tattoos, piercings, sex, alcohol, drugs, self mutilation)

I am not saying that to annoy you at all, but I wouldn't want anyone to read something he/she won't like by accident, so please bear my warning in mind. And please don't read this review only because I put this warning... Like that's not exactly what I would do :)

Summary from Amazon:

A shocking and explicit story about obsessive love and Japanese youth counter-culture that sold over a million copies in Japan. This tale of sex and darkness is narrated by Lui, an alienated young Japanese woman who becomes disastrously involved with two dangerous men. Lui first meets her boyfriend Ama in a bar after finding herself mesmerised by his forked tongue. She immediately moves in with him and begins following him down the path to body modification by having her tongue pierced and planning a beautiful tattoo for her back. Ama’s friend Shiba creates this exquisite tattoo and as he works on it Lui begins an illicit and brutal sexual relationship with him. Then, after a violent encounter on the back streets of Tokyo, Ama goes missing and Lui must face up to her choices...

Lui, self destruction and depression

As my friend pointed out, Lui is possibly suffering from depression. half of the time she feels numb and the other she abuses her body in all possible way, in an attempt to feel something. But the book is extremely surprising and what you feel will happen to Lui doesn't really happen.
You never know if you have to blame Lui for what happens or pity her, and I felt that the book wasn't exactly about this. It is a glimpse into this girl's self destructive circle. She stays with Ama and you can see he has so many feelings for her that she is incapable to share or reciprocate. 
Lui is also a masochist, she enjoys being hurt in sexual relations. I would link this to the fact that she has no respect for her body, but anyone could have these tastes. It is undeniably creepy to read some of the scenes, but it is interesting to see how Lui conceives it in her head. 

Counter-culture in Japan

The depiction of counter-culture in Japan is simply mesmerizing. This is why I love reading translated books from foreign countries, you learn so much! I had no idea that groups like "Barbie girls" and "punks" were so distinctive in Japan. 

It is also always very interesting to read about people living on the fringe. Our lives are so organised and ruled by social conventions that sometimes we might forget who we are. People living on the fringe don't have this need to abide by the rules and are, in a way, much more natural than we are.

The book also shows a new generation. If earlier generations were rebellious or ambitious, we are, if anything, a bored generation. Nothing surprises us or moves us. We have even stopped dreaming. We live in a state of suspension from which nothing can shake us except fake emotions and convictions. When I read about Lui's story, I saw that in her. 

Tattoos and piercing

To which extent are they a form of art? This is an endless question and there isn't one answer. As a fan of the form of art, I would agree with Shiba's vision of them. They are a way to magnify the body, not change it. Whereas Lui doesn't have any respect or consideration for her body. The book is an interesting way to explore this theme and see the two visions. By experience, not two tattoo artist or tattooed person have the same conception of what a tattoo or a piercing is. As widespread as the practice might be, it is a very personal experience.
Lui is first attracted to Ama because she is fascinated by his forked tongue. She decides to do this to herself (the process includes to get your tongue pierced and then to stretch the hole progressively). She also wants a unique tattoo and asks Shiba to design it. The descriptions are completely realistic and people not familiar with them might be a little put off. 

The style of the book

I feel that this book wants to depict reality as it is and not create a false image of teenagers with a conscience or with any sense of responsability. I find the style haunting. This story creeps on you and you find yourself vehemently disliking Lui for what she does to herself and others. But she grows on you at some point.

This is a masterpiece of a book. It is short but will give you a sense of whole which only a 700+ pages book can do. It is simply marvelous and an incredible way to make you discover another culture, another way of life, and yourself - maybe - in the process.

It may be a Young Adult book but obviously not for our standards since it was published as an adult book in the UK and has so much explicit content I cannot even begin to enumerate it. So consider yourself informed!

Event Report: Conference on Children's Books in Translation + Debate

Last week, the lovely Becky @ The Bookette invited me for a conference on Children's Lit which took place during the Flow Festival on International Translation Day (30th Sept). She went to the entire day, while I only went to that one conference, so I'll link to her article as soon as she writes it ;)

Translated books are very important to me, but what is really special is the foreign language and culture behind the translated book. When I read a book, any book, I like to learn things and be surprised. Now that doesn't happen often when I read a paranormal romance these days, but it usually happens when I discover a foreign writer translated in English. There is a certain rhythm to the sentences and to the action that you don't always find in an Anglo-Saxon book, but also an enormous amount of knowledge linked to that culture.

I know that it is just me, and that it is easy for me to say "I like translated literature" when I am only saying that I like the literature from my native country or the one where I have lived. All the Anglo-Saxon authors I have read in French when I was a kid were by essence translated books. So I do realise that it comes more naturally to me than anyone else, especially when you are surrounded by by so many amazing English books.

During this conference there were many persons from various backgrounds, a foreign author, a bookseller of foreign titles, a publisher of foreign authors in English, and someone more industry and business focused. 

The members of the panel pointed out that making children read translated books from foreign authors was a way to engage them even more in literature. The idea that children are prejudiced against such books is entirely false, they accept everything and are even attracted to more "exotic" books. Literature in itself has no borders and it is very important for children to learn no boundaries while growing up. Increasing the diversity of a child's reads increases the chances of him becoming an avid reader tomorrow.

Children get a lot from a translated book, from a different world view to various historical contexts, some themes in children literature are completely universal though there is a cognitive process where children see their cultural references completely upside down. The intuition children have makes them see the gaps in the translation and understand the meaning of it. Picture books are actually the hardest books to translate because you have to catch the essence of the story in a couple of sentences.

What is actually Lost in Translation? For the members of the panels, there is obviously a loss, in terms of language and how the culture is reflected. But it's better to have these books in some form than in no form at all. In the classrooms, there are several actions which can be done to promote translated books. Special days/months like Black History Month or National Poetry Day can be turned in big events and facilitate the use of translated books. There are very creative ways to approach the curriculum and the books can be used for translation exercises for example.

The UK is one of the "worst" countries in terms of translated fiction (below 10%, if not below 5%, is the percentage of translated books in all the books published in the UK each year) whereas countries like Germany of France have an average of 30/40% of translated books.

I agreed on the majority of what was said but realised that I didn't see translated books exactly the same way they did. They talked mainly about translated *literary* literature and classics. I know these books should be read and translated, but this vision only fuels the common idea that a translated book is by essence old, boring and very literary. With Becky we could name a few children/YA translated books which were published in the last couple of years and had made a success (if a translated book makes its way in a small WHSmith, chances are it is a commercial success). We thought that the most important part of translating a foreign author is to share the amazing book he/she wrote. Is the ever increasing fanbase of Stieg Larsson (which I know are adult books!) actually bothered by him not being English/American? 

I would love for the Italian author Licia Troisi to be translated in English, not because you learn things on Italy (because it's fantasy and the action takes place in another time and place) or because you can improve your Italian, but because she is an absolutely amazing fantasy writer and creates those wonderful stories with fascinating female characters in them. And I am sure people would relate to Licia more on the fantasy aspect than on the Italian aspect.

Anyways, enough of me, what do you guys think? 

Do you read translated books? What is your opinion of them? What could be done to make them more popular?

I'm Not Scared - Niccolò Ammaniti

Hello people,

 After a little neglecting during the summer, Lost in Translation is back with one of the most promising Italian young writer, Niccolò Ammaniti. If you want to know more about Lost in Translation, check this page.

A few months ago, I went to visit The Italian Bookshop situated in a tiny street next to Charing Cross Road and I was amazed: the people are adorable, there are many books for children (downstairs) and a large variety of books translated in English! I am not regretting any of the books I have been advised, so don't hesitate to check it out if you want to discover Italian writers!

Title: I'm Not Scared

Author: Niccolò Ammaniti

Publisher: Walker

Category: Young Adult, Horror

Release Date: 2010

Source: Bought at The Italian Bookshop

Paperback : 240 pages

Summary from Goodreads:

Ammaniti is one of Italy's most acclaimed younger writers, and this carefully constructed thriller is the first of his books to appear here. During a piercingly hot summer, a few kilometres from a bone-dry hamlet in rural Italy, a shy, nervy, nine-year-old boy called Michele explores a derelict house and discovers, under moldering leaves, a horrifying secret. The novel is saved from sensationalism by Ammaniti's almost cinematic ability to conjure detail—the look of scraps of meat on a plate, the sheen of a new bike, the whispers of adults in the night—and by his utterly convincing re-creation of a child's perspective, as Michele's discovery propels him into ever more uncertain territory.

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The book takes place in the countryside in the South of Italy. Ammaniti is absolutely brilliant at describing this tiny village next to the small town of Acqua Traverse. The reader can really feel as if they are right there with the characters during this scorching hot summer.


Historical background of the story:
You have to know that Italy is a divided country between North and South. The unity of the country was 'only' brought in the 1870s, and, other than differences in terms of idioms (in some rural parts of Italy, the local idiom is used more than the Italian language by the population) and culture, the North and the South are divided economically and, thus, socially and politically.

With the Industrial Revolution, the North became quickly very wealthy and didn't see with a good eye the redistribution of wealth to the poor agricultural South. Several decades later, this hostility is still patent. The book is set in the 1970s, where corruption and criminality was still very high.

I am not telling you all this to bore you to death (no really, I don't!) but because this poverty, especially in the South of Italy, is the background of this story.


The story:
Michele Ammitrano (9 years old) lives in a very poor village in the South of Italy, all the adults of the village have to go to work in the North or in a big city outside the village to survive and provide for their families. They might not like each other, and even bad mouth one another, but all the families are there in the same boat, so they help each other out by giving food, clothes and exchanging what they can.
The kids of the village all play together. They are very poor and even second hand toys and bicycles are a luxury, they mainly play outdoors with stray dogs or invented games. They have all very different personalities, and, in other circumstances, they would never be friends. But they are stuck together in this small village in the middle of the summer without a pool or a lake to cool themselves.
One day, Michele loses a race and has to climb in an abandoned house. While jumping out a window on a tree outside, he falls on a mattress which is put on top of a hole to hide it. Michele looks inside. The hole isn't empty, and what he will find will change his life. At first, Michele doesn't talk about what he found to anyone. But in a small village, there is only so much you can hide.

The style of the book:
The style is uncharacteristically very fast and gripping. Italian is a very rich language you can play with for several lines without feeling the need to end the sentence. In this book, the sentences are very short and straight to the point. They make you sit at the edge of your chair, turning frantically the pages to read the end. The end which you will probably find disappointing - all this tension for a cliffhanger, REALLY?
The setting is wonderfully described and the characters are very well brought up to the story and are very typical. Michele's mother is the real "Mamma italiana" who is, in turn, as ruthless as a pittbull and as sweet as an apricot pie in the sun. (*cough* Hi Mum!)
The poverty of these people is very cleverly shown and only picky idiots persons like myself could write paragraphs and paragraphs on it :)


The story is very, very dark. Just so you know, this was published as an adult book in Italy (and UK) at first, but it has now been given a new cover in the UK and has been put in the YA section.
It is hard to say that this is a beautiful story, considering the gruesome details which are not spared to the reader. The subject isn't very happy-making either, but the realism and the ideas behind the story are definitely worth your chills.
I wouldn't advise this book to the younger young readers nor the faint-hearted.


Language corner:
As the sentences are very short and straight to the point, a person with an intermediate level of Italian could read the book.


Where to find it in English:
UK: Amazon, Waterstones, WH Smith
US: Amazon, Barnes and Nobles

Lost in Translation #4 - The Prince Of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Hello everyone !

Lost in Translation is a meme, hosted here, organised to appeal to the curious international reader in you to discover foreign authors and even encourage you to read some books in their original language ! How exciting ! Wouhou !

For a presentation of the meme, you can go here or email me here (I love receiving emails!)

The meme has a few tiny rules:

- Check if the book is translated in English and available (country and online/bookstores) and specify it in your post

- It would be nice to follow the "Language Corner" where you say to which level the book is suitable for people who might want to read the book in its original language

- And finally: Enjoy and Spread the love ! 

So today I am going to break my own rule of French and Italian author to write a review about Spanish author Carlos Ruiz Zafón and his debut YA novel The Prince of Mist that has just been translated in English.

I discovered Carlos Ruiz Zafón a few summers ago when my mom told me to read this book. You have to know that my mom is an avid reader like me and that my parents have a bookshop/news-stand in France. Now before you start getting all jealous, there is an incredibly annoying thing: we don't read the same books at all. She just can't read anything remotely linked to Fantasy and Science Fiction (you understand now why I couldn't live under the same roof and had to exile myself to another country) and I find mystery novels and Douglas Kennedy a bit so so. 

So when she told me during a summer "you should definitely read The Shadow of the Wind", I was like "Meh, I can't, the new Harry Potter is coming out, I need to say no to social life and read it ten times". Good for me I didn't listen to myself and actually read the book (after reading Harry Potter ten times, that goes without saying).  The Shadow of The Wind is as much a great fiction book as an ode to people who like books and reading.

Anyways, all this boring and useless story to say that when I saw that one of his YA books was being translated in English (it was published in 1993 in Spain), I was just really really excited!!!

The Prince of Mist

by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Summary from Amazon:

Max Carver's father - a watchmaker and inventor - decides to move his family to a small town on the coast, to an old house that once belonged to a prestigious surgeon, Dr Richard Fleischmann. But the house holds many secrets and stories of its own. Behind it is an overgrown garden full of statues surrounded by a metal fence topped with a six-pointed star. When he goes to investigate, Max finds that the statues seem to consist of a kind of circus troop with the large statue of a clown at its centre. Max has the curious sensation that the statue is beckoning to him. As the family settles in they grow increasingly uneasy: they discover a box of old films belonging to the Fleischmanns; his sister has disturbing dreams and his other sister hears voices whispering to her from an old wardrobe. They also discover the wreck of a boat that sank many years ago in a terrible storm. Everyone on board perished except for one man - an engineer who built the lighthouse at the end of the beach. During the dive, Max sees something that leaves him cold - on the old mast floats a tattered flag with the symbol of the six-pointed star. As they learn more about the wreck, the chilling story of the Prince of the Mists begins to emerge.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I loved this book!!

Everything I loved from The Shadow of The Wind is there, with a paranormal young adult spin (aka *perfection*). I loved following Max and his sister Alicia through this adventure. The characters are very well described and they feel so real with their tiny flaws and habits that it is a real pleasure to read. This book has the atmosphere of old gothic/horror novels where the characters are in a pretty regular setting and then something unexpected, dark and frightening happens which turns the situation upside down.

Reading this story has made me think about how fortunate we are today in Europe, USA and other countries not to have a war going on inside our frontiers. Of course many of our troups may be waging war/bringing peace in parts of the world, but we don't really know what a civil war is anymore. In this book, the setting is Second World War Spain. The country had been living a very brutal Civil War from 1936 and when WWII broke out, Spain aligned itself with Germany at first but progressively adopted a neutral stance. When the story of Max Carver starts in 1943, Spain doesn't take part in the Second World War but is a dictature with a very strong repression which will only end in 1975. You can read The Shadow of The Wind if you want to have an idea on how much the Franco regime has scarred the Spanish psyche. 

Sorry, I got a little carried away here! Anyways, I *love* reading a good fiction where I learn something about history or another culture (which sort of the aim of this meme) and here I loved looking at this family obliged to move cities to avoid the war. The story is told from a third person point of view, and I liked how it seemed to give more insight to the characters' personalities. The themes of growing up are very well treated in the book, and I loved the romance which builds up between Alicia and Roland.

I have to admit that the absence of both parents from a large part of the book is what I would call quite a convenient plot development but which doesn't kill the whole story either. The universe created by Carlos Ruiz Zafón is so rich, and yet not completely overwhelming, that any weakness is instantly forgotten.


I am fervently hoping that his three other Young Adult novels will get translated soon!!


This is book is such a quick enjoyable story that it is the perfect summer read. I would advise it to anyone going to the beach this summer (since part of the book takes place on a beach during the summer). You probably won't look at those seemingly harmless shadows lurking under your feet in the water the same way. 
Just saying ;-)

Language corner:

Since the book is aimed at young adults, the language used is quite simple. I am estimating that an intermediate/upper-intermediate level would be enough to read the book.

Where to find the book:
UK: Waterstones, Amazon
USA: Barnes and Nobles, Amazon


Thanks so much to Jo from Ink and Paper and Once Upon a Bookcase for giving me a copy of this book!!!

To take part in the meme :

- Write your name

- The name of your blog

- In parenthesis if it is the first, second time or more you participate

- In parenthesis which language it is

- Link to the LiT post, not your blog !

Exemple: Caroline @ Portrait of a Woman (4, Spanish)

If what you post doesn't look like that, I will retaliate. Live in fear.