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Wyrd & Wonder: 5 Translated Fantasy Books You Need to Read

Happy Fantasy Friday! I’ve been super excited about today’s Wyrd and Wonder prompt, which is: “Fantasy in Translation”. Obviously, this calls for a list of my favourite translated fantasy works. I’ll link to my full review where possible, but a few of these are from my childhood/before this blog so there are no reviews. They’ve just been imprinted on my heart.

Brave Story by Miyuki Miyabe

Translated from: Japanese

Fantasy Subgenre: Portal Fantasy

Do not let the fact that this book is the size of a brick (or bigger) stop you from reading it! Wataru’s quest to change his fate by venturing into the world of Vision, a world that draws on Wataru’s reality, is a sensitively written bildunsroman. I was particularly impressed by the way Miyabe handled the issue of Wataru’s father’s affair through the people he met while in Vision.

My full review

Bonus: If you like this, you should also read The Gate of Sorrows, which is also by Miyuki Miyabe. It’s a fantasy-mystery hybrid that has a detective investigating the disappearance of various people in Tokyo. And monsters (for more, check out my review of the book)

The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers

Translated from: German

Fantasy Subgenre: Humorous Fantasy

For a slightly more whimsical (but also very very long read), check out The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear, a book which literally does what it says on the title – tell you about the 13 lives that Bluebear has lived. Most chapters are pretty short, but there are a few monsters in there. If you like imaginative worlds, talking animals, and contests to see who can tell the best lies, check out this book!

My full review

Bonus: Moers has written other books in the same world, and I highly recommend The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books, which has a different set of characters but the same amount of charm plus many, many books.

The Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt

Translated from: Dutch

Fantasy Subgenre: Arthurian/Classic

Sometimes, all you want is a classic fantasy story where the protagonist has to prove himself worthy of being a knight. Or maybe that’s just me. The Letter for the King stars Tiuri, who has to give up his knighthood to save his kingdom. It’s a wonderful coming of age story had reminded me a lot of The Book of Three from the Chronicles of Prydain series.

My full review

The Legend of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong

Translated from: Chinese

Fantasy Subgenre: Wuxia

How can I make a list about translated fantasy without mentioning one of the most popular wuxia novels? I literally grew up watching the TV adaptation of this before school and reading the comics (the Asiapac version is the classic one for me). If you like martial arts, lots of fighting and romance, this is the book for you. It’s also very accessible, because even if you don’t want to read the translated texts, there are multiple TV adaptations and the comic I mentioned before.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Translated from: Spanish

Fantasy Subgenre: Magical Realism

Ok so I was a little unsure about whether to put this in the list, but I think there are enough elements that it counts as magical realism, which I park under fantasy. If you like books and reading about books, you’re going to love this book which has: a cemetery of lost books, book theft, and mystery! It’s amazing and I loved it when I read it.

I hope that at least one of these books have caught your eye! If there are any translated books that you recommend, please let me know so that I can add it to my TBR list.

9 thoughts on “Wyrd & Wonder: 5 Translated Fantasy Books You Need to Read

  1. I haven’t heard of any of those! – it makes me wish I could speak a language other than English … so many good books out there!

  2. These are all new to me so thanks for sharing! My own entry for this prompt is an oldie: the Moomin books by Tove Jansson translated from Finnish into English.

    1. I’ve not read the Moomin books, but I’ve been to a Moomin cafe so they are on my TBR list! Thanks for sharing!

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