Much has been written of Elmore’s ability to nail-down characters, drive his writing along with dialogue, and his very refined sound; which got me thinking: How does Elmore’s flavour translate to other languages?

Consider, the first four pages of Out Of Sight. You get, the main character, the setting and a lead straight into a prison break, that makes you keep turning the pages. You want to find out more. All in Elmore’s slick sound.

So, while I have every faith in translators, I can’t help but wonder, with languages as different as English and Japanese, does it work? I remember reading many of Murakami Haruki’s novels a few years ago. I thoroughly enjoyed some of them, but the question always nagged me: Is this how he originally wrote it in Japanese?

Even in daily conversation and simple verbal language, there are often no direct translations,either way, between Japanese and English, as the whole structure and intended meanings differ so much, depending on situation. And that’s just verbal language. I wonder, with something as complex as the written word, a Novel, are Elmore’s Japanese readers simply reading a good tale, that has been morphed into something that more ‘fits’ the Japanese ear, or has his distinct flavour and sharp characters made the journey here in one piece.

So, today I ordered Out of Sight in Japanese. I plan to examine a few key sections, and post my findings here. Although my Japanese skills verbally are good, and in regards to reading, pretty good, I don’t kid myself into thinking I know the 2000 characters needed to read a novel. I have enlisted the help of my wife, whose native tongue is Japanese. Together, we’ll see, and post our findings.

Has anyone else read any Elmore in a language other than English?
If so, how did it come across?

There are a few translators who frequent the board, I believe.  Some of the translations, like Finnish, are probably totally off the hook.  It’s very hard to translate “sound”.  The French, in new Rivage translations, are probably the most conscientious.  But anybody who reads English will want the original.

I’m inclined to agree with you Gregg. I think much will be lost in the translation, especially with the vagueness and ambiguity of the Japanese language. I agree, it’s hard to translate sound. But, until the book arrives, I’ll try to keep an open mind, and wait and see.
It’s interesting that you mention the French translations. I have a friend that speaks/reads very good French. I might try to get her involved too. I know she recently read all the H. Potter books in French with no problem.