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The 100 Best Novels in Translation

This list is drawn from "The 100 Best Novels in Translation" (Boyd Tonkin, 2018). According to Ian McEwan: "This is a brilliant and extremely useful guide, approachable on every level. Boyd Tonkin opens up infinite worlds of the imagination." Tonkin gives his preferred English translation for each title which should assist in finding an enjoyable version.
To make this list a more useful resource, I created the entire set of 101 icons from scratch, in order to include the preferred translator(s), so please try this challenge. CHECK an item if you have read ANY translation. The list is sorted alphabetically by title.
Note: The icons show a version of the work which uses the suggested translation. There are 101 items because the preferred translation of "Solaris" by Bill Johnston may prove elusive, whereas Kilmartin-Cox remains easy to find. Tonkin is a British literary critic, specialising in translated fiction, and an adviser to the International Booker Prize.
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Basti (Intizar Husain, Trans. Frances W. Pritchett)
Basti
1
Intizar Husain, Trans. Frances W. Pritchett
Berlin Alexanderplatz (Alfred Döblin, Trans. Michael Hoffman)
Berlin Alexanderplatz
2
Alfred Döblin, Trans. Michael Hoffman
The Betrothed (Alessandro Manzoni, Trans. Bruce Penman)
The Betrothed
3
Alessandro Manzoni, Trans. Bruce Penman
The Black Book (Orhan Pamuk, Trans. Maureen Freely)
The Black Book
4
Orhan Pamuk, Trans. Maureen Freely
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting (Milan Kundera, Trans. Michael Henry Heim)
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting
5
Milan Kundera, Trans. Michael Henry Heim
The Bridge of Beyond (Simone Schwarz-Bart, Trans. Barbara Bray)
The Bridge of Beyond
6
Simone Schwarz-Bart, Trans. Barbara Bray
The Bridge on the Drina (Ivo Andrić, Trans. Lovett F. Edwards)
The Bridge on the Drina
7
Ivo Andrić, Trans. Lovett F. Edwards
The Brothers Karamazov (Fyodor Dostoevsky, Tr. Pevear & Volokhonsky)
The Brothers Karamazov
8
Fyodor Dostoevsky, Tr. Pevear & Volokhonsky
Buru Quartet (Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Trans. Max Lane)
Buru Quartet
9
Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Trans. Max Lane
The Cairo Trilogy (Naguib Mahfouz, Tr. Hutchins, Kenny Et Al.)
The Cairo Trilogy
10
Naguib Mahfouz, Tr. Hutchins, Kenny Et Al.
Candide (Voltaire, Trans. Theo Cuffe)
Candide
11
Voltaire, Trans. Theo Cuffe
Chéri/The Last of Chéri (Colette, Trans. Roger Senhouse)
Chéri/The Last of Chéri
12
Colette, Trans. Roger Senhouse
Chronicle in Stone (Ismail Kadare, Trans. Arshi Pipa, David Bellos)
Chronicle in Stone
13
Ismail Kadare, Trans. Arshi Pipa, David Bellos
Corinne, or Italy (Madame De Stael, Trans. Sylvia Raphael)
Corinne, or Italy
14
Madame De Stael, Trans. Sylvia Raphael
Correction (Thomas Bernhard, Trans. Sophie Wilkins)
Correction
15
Thomas Bernhard, Trans. Sophie Wilkins
The Crime of Father Amaro (Eça De Queirós, Trans. Margaret Jull Costa)
The Crime of Father Amaro
16
Eça De Queirós, Trans. Margaret Jull Costa
Dead Souls (Nikolai Gogol, Trans. Donald Rayfield)
Dead Souls
17
Nikolai Gogol, Trans. Donald Rayfield
The Death of Artemio Cruz (Carlos Fuentes, Trans. Alfred Macadam)
The Death of Artemio Cruz
18
Carlos Fuentes, Trans. Alfred Macadam
A Dictionary of Maqiao (Han Shaogong, Trans. Julia Lovell)
A Dictionary of Maqiao
19
Han Shaogong, Trans. Julia Lovell
Dirty Snow (Georges Simenon, Tr. Marc Romano & Louise Varèse)
Dirty Snow
20
Georges Simenon, Tr. Marc Romano & Louise Varèse
Don Quixote (Miguel De Cervantes, Trans. Edith Grossman)
Don Quixote
21
Miguel De Cervantes, Trans. Edith Grossman
The Duel (Anton Chekhov, Trans. Pevear & Volokhonsky)
The Duel
22
Anton Chekhov, Trans. Pevear & Volokhonsky
The Emigrants (W.G. Sebald, Trans. Michael Hulse)
The Emigrants
23
W.G. Sebald, Trans. Michael Hulse
Epitaph of a Small Winner (Machado De Assis, Trans. William L. Grossman)
Epitaph of a Small Winner
24
Machado De Assis, Trans. William L. Grossman
Fathers and Sons (Ivan Turgenev, Trans. Peter Carson)
Fathers and Sons
25
Ivan Turgenev, Trans. Peter Carson
The Feast of the Goat (Mario Vargas Llosa, Trans. Edith Grossman)
The Feast of the Goat
26
Mario Vargas Llosa, Trans. Edith Grossman
Fortress Besieged (Qian Zhongshu, Tr. Jeanne Kelly & Nathan Mao)
Fortress Besieged
27
Qian Zhongshu, Tr. Jeanne Kelly & Nathan Mao
The Foundation Pit (Andrey Platonov, Tr. R. Chandler & Olga Meerson)
The Foundation Pit
28
Andrey Platonov, Tr. R. Chandler & Olga Meerson
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (Giorgio Bassani, Trans. Jamie McKendrick)
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis
29
Giorgio Bassani, Trans. Jamie McKendrick
The Gate (Natsume Sōseki, Trans. William F. Sibley)
The Gate
30
Natsume Sōseki, Trans. William F. Sibley
Germinal (Émile Zola, Trans. Roger Pearson)
Germinal
31
Émile Zola, Trans. Roger Pearson
The Gift (Vladimir Nabokov Trans. Scammel & Nabokov)
The Gift
32
Vladimir Nabokov Trans. Scammel & Nabokov
The Good Soldier Švejk (Jaroslav Hašek, Trans. Cecil Parrott)
The Good Soldier Švejk
33
Jaroslav Hašek, Trans. Cecil Parrott
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (Haruki Murakami, Trans. Alfred Birnbaum)
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
34
Haruki Murakami, Trans. Alfred Birnbaum
A Hero of Our Time (Mikhail Lermontov, Trans. Natasha Randall)
A Hero of Our Time
35
Mikhail Lermontov, Trans. Natasha Randall
The Hive (Camilo Jose Cela, Trans. J.M. Cohen)
The Hive
36
Camilo Jose Cela, Trans. J.M. Cohen
Home and the World (Rabindranath Tagore, Trans. Sreejata Guha)
Home and the World
37
Rabindranath Tagore, Trans. Sreejata Guha
Hopscotch (Julio Cortazar, Trans. Gregory Rabassa)
Hopscotch
38
Julio Cortazar, Trans. Gregory Rabassa
Hunger (Knut Hamsun, Trans. Sverre Lyngstad)
Hunger
39
Knut Hamsun, Trans. Sverre Lyngstad
I Served the King of England (Bohumil Hrabal, Trans. Paul Wilson)
I Served the King of England
40
Bohumil Hrabal, Trans. Paul Wilson
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