For me it’s gotta be “Morte e Vida Severina”/ “Severino Death and Life”. It’s an epic poem narrating the journey of a poor man from Northeastern Brazil, a famously poor and segregated region that’s frequently affected by severe droughts, fleeing from his home and walking to the big city to survive the season. On the way he describes all the misery he experiences and sees.
One stanza that has stuck with me for years goes something like this "And all of us Severinos/With the same lives/Will die of the same/Severe Severino death,/The death died of/Old age before thirty/Of an ambush before twenty/And of hunger day by day/(Of weakness and plague/The Severino death/attacks at all ages/even those not born)
Vyakti Ani Valli by PL Deshpande (Pu La Deshpande), which is in Marathi language. The book name translates to People And Portraits.
Here’s a ChatGPT summary of it:
“Vyakti Ani Valli” is a compilation of vivid character portraits, where P. L. Deshpande uses his keen observational skills and humor to bring various personalities to life. The book is a delightful exploration of human traits, quirks, and idiosyncrasies. Through these sketches, Deshpande captures the essence of different individuals, presenting them in a light-hearted yet insightful manner.
The characters depicted in the book come from diverse backgrounds, and each sketch is a mini-story that provides a glimpse into the lives, behaviors, and peculiarities of these individuals. Deshpande’s unique narrative style combines wit, satire, and a deep understanding of human nature, making the characters relatable and memorable.
“Vyakti Ani Valli” not only showcases Deshpande’s mastery in humor but also serves as a mirror reflecting the idiosyncrasies of society. The character sketches are not just humorous anecdotes but also offer a deeper commentary on the intricacies of human relationships, societal norms, and the human condition.
Overall, the book is a celebration of the rich tapestry of human experiences, seen through the lens of Deshpande’s wit and wisdom. Each character becomes a microcosm of the larger world, making “Vyakti Ani Valli” a timeless and cherished work in Marathi literature.
Any thing by GA Kulkarni
Tschick. It’s about two boys on a road trip. It’s not my favorite, but it does deserve more recognition.
Definitely going with “Meu Pé de Laranja Lima”, also from Brasil. The rest of the world needs to be traumatized like I was at 11.
Grande Sertão: Veredas, de Guimarães Rosa.
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. I mean, I know there are translations of all of Mann’s works, but I don’t think he even remotely gets the attention he deserves. Such an incredible author.
He’s one of these authors that I keep going back to. The Magic Mountain is a whole world in itself.
Scarlet Sails by Alexander Grin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarlet_Sails_(novel), a simple but very touching romantic novel.
Ferdydurke. It’s a really brilliant book, masterfully dealing with anstraction, humour and extreme absurdity, also filled with a specific kind of philisophy. Problem is, it’s the kind of book you really need someone to teach you about to fully appreciate. Explain what the whole idea and philosophy is in the first place, give context to the author and the time it was written, all rhat sorta stuff. And unless you know a decent bit about polish history, especially art/poetry, you’ll be missing out on a lot too.
Even back home, fully depending on your teacher, it’s either a book everyone despises with all their hear because it doesn’t make sense or (almost) everyone loves it
Gombrowicz is great. I’ve read only Cosmos so far, but definitely want to read Ferdydurke and a couple of his other books, possibly his diary too.
I live in Australia, and in my city there is actually a bar called Ferdydurke with decor inspired by the book!
“Canto jo i la muntanya balla”, by Irene Solà. The title roughly translates to “I sing and the mountain dances”. Maybe not the first novel to come to mind when talking about Catalan literature, but it is easily on the top 3 of my favourite books ever. Sadly, I think it has only been translated into Spanish but, for me, it radically changed the way in which I thought stories could be told. The way she describes the natural world and passage of time, so carefree, so strict yet so beautiful. There is no easy way to describe the book, is such an unique experience that everything I could say would not bring justice to the sheer beauty of the writing. Truly an excellent work.
The English title is “When I Sing, Mountains Dance” and I highly recommend it as well!
Edit: typo
Yes, and anything by Mercè Rodoreda in Català as well!
Ponniyin Selvan by Kalki Krishnamurthy. It’s a Tamil language historical novel written in the 1950s.
The storyline, characters and the metaphors used to describe them were beautiful. I wish it should be read by a larger audience worldwide.
I don’t know. Are you willing to learn a new language? Translations are so hit and miss…
So im english but: The hatching magic series. A beautiful book series about dragons
As a chilean i’d say bolaño, but he’s well known already. Aside from him, Manuel Rojas has a special place in my heart with Hijo de ladrón (Born Guilty in the UK, acording to Wikipedia). Vivir Abajo, by Gustavo Faverón (peruvian) has been my favorite novel since 2020, it’s so good in so many levels. I dont know of any translation yet, but I wish everyone could read it.
Martín Fierro. It is a (very long) epic poem about the life and times of one gaucho in rural and frontier Argentina. Beautifully written, with exquisite attention to rhyme, perfect use of local expressions, it also doesn’t pass upon oportunities to make social commentaries on the life and times of the characters.
The only downside is that you have to know Spanish in order to fully appreciate it. There are several very good translations that are faithful to the tone and the intention of the author, but the rhymes are invariably lost.
Italy: Io e Te by Niccolo’ Ammaniti. Can be read in less than 3 or 4 hours. Can’t comment on the english translation but it is available.