Kinna

Please translate this book into English: Trois Femmes Puissantes

I’m wondering what more a book can do to get translated from the French into English?   The book in question is Trois Femmes Puissantes (2009) and here is the low-down on it:

  • It won the 2009 Prix Goncourt, France’s top literary prize
  • The author, Marie NDiaye, is considered a literary rising star in France. She is the first black woman to win the Prix Goncourt.  In 2001, she also won the Prix Femina for her book Rosie Carpe.
  • Berlin’s House of World Cultures awarded its International Literature Prize to  NDiaye and her translator Claudia Kalscheuer for Drei starke Frauen – that is the German translation of the book.  (thanks to love german books for info)

Yeah, I know.  It was published in 2009 and really, a year or two’s wait is not much.  Okay.  But it seems to me that one would want to take advantage of all the good press and news that the book is generating in Europe.  The book is working hard to get more love.  Author & Publisher & Agents & whomever else, please translate the book into English.   And soon!

Review by The Sunday Times

BTW, Stu of Winstonsdad’s blog hosts recommendations for translated works on Thursdays on Twitter under the hashtag #translationthurs.  Be sure to participate, recommend books and join in the discussions to promote and support works in translation.

19 comments

  1. Hello ,

    i will be able to translate this book into english as i know french as well as english language .Please let me know how to go about this. Can some one send me the hard or the soft copy of this book

    Thanks

    Tejashree BHATE

    Like

    • Thanks for visiting this blog. You will have to contact the writer or the publisher to acquire the rights and permission to translate this book.

      Like

  2. This one sounds fascinating, but too bad that it hasn’t been translated into English yet. Being German, I hardly ever had to complain about books not being translated. It’s just awful that they don’t get translated into English though, that should be a priority. I’ll look for the German edition in my library though.

    Like

    • Europeans are better at translations. I’m jealous. The author actually lives in Germany now. Well, I’m glad that I brought it to your attention 😉

      Like

  3. Let’s hope that someone somewhere is currently working on the translation and that we’ll have one eventually. It’s sad though how many French, and other European books never become available in English. Fingers crossed.

    Like

    • Completely agree, Tanabata. I’ve been looking into reading more works by Eastern and Central European women and it’s sad, as you say, how many and successful one at that, are yet to be translated into English. Fingers crossed too.

      Like

  4. I wondered when I saw this few months ago when it reach us in english sure it has been snapped up by some one they can be cagey these publishes about who they ‘ve got .The last few Prix Goncourt have been Rahmi being one ,all the best stu

    Like

    • You’ve said it, Stu. Publishers can be “cagey”. Unless, I’m missing something all indications are that this book will do well in the English-speaking world!

      Like

    • Drats. Well, that is the only publisher I know actively searching for new books to translate. Of course, I don’t know a lot about publishing. Hopefully someone translates it soon though, it sounds like a good book.

      Like

  8. Lol well if I worked for publishing I would totally translate it for you 😉 That is my dream job after all (not enough French books translated into English!). It looks really good and now I’m pining for my own copy. Will have to beg sister studying in France to bring home a copy for me.

    Hopefully it’ll come out in English eventually for you!

    Like

    • Let’s hope it is translated soon. The Solitude of Prime Numbers was translated a year after it won the Premio in Italy so why the delay. And like you, I’m also convinced that people will read it.

      Like

Comments are closed.