Found in Translation

Post date: 2020-07-04 09:32:40

Looking for recommendations for good English language translations of novels. Will happily take recommendations for non-English films and TV shows with English subtitles as well. Particularly fond of mysteries/thrillers and comedies. Looking for more recent examples within the past 20 years. Very curious to hear about people's favorites. Thanks all!

Novels
I loved Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama. It was an excellent addition to the mystery/thriller genre. I remember Confessions by Kanae Minato being difficult to put down, especially the beginning chapters. I had heard that Natsuo Kirino was also a popular Japanese mystery writer, although my read of Out has been somewhat slow-going. Having also read some Scandinavian noir (with mixed results), I found The Silence of the Sea by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir to have a very cinematic quality. Some of Sigurðardóttir's earlier thrillers were too violent for my taste, however. Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo is on my to-read list. More recs like these novels would be very welcome!

Film
One of my favorite Japanese films is Linda Linda Linda, about a group of high school girls who form a rock band. I would love more recs for Japanese movies, but not for anime. Recently, like most of the world after seeing Parasite, I have been on a Korean film kick. A few I have already seen include Train to Busan, The Host, and Memories of Murder. I'm also particularly interested in recs for Spanish language films - I've already seen Pan's Labyrinth.

TV
I have watched a number of mystery series over the years and can't recall the names of all of them, but have seen a few French, Swedish, and Danish language series that were fairly entertaining. More recently, I loved the Korean detective drama Signal. I have seen a fair number of Korean TV series, but not as many of the very recent programs. I also enjoyed When the Camellia Blooms.

Thank you all for your recommendations! I look forward to reading about your favorite novels, films, and/or tv shows in translation.

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