World Languages, Biblio File
May 2017 International Fiction Bestsellers
Are you curious about what people are reading around the world? Travel the bestseller lists with us! This month we checked out fiction bestsellers in Belgium, Brazil, Finland, Peru, and Taiwan and found a mixture of novels by local authors, translations of international bestsellers, and some poetry.
Belgium
Nearly 60% of Belgians speak Dutch as their first language and almost 40% speak French as their first language, so to get an idea of the bestselling fiction titles in the country, we checked the website of a large French language bookseller, CHAPITRE.BE, and a Dutch language bestseller list, the Boeken Top 10 last week.
At the top of the French language list, we found La dernière des Stanfield [The last of the Stanfields] the latest novel by “the most read French author in the world,” Marc Levy. Many of Levy’s earlier novels are available to borrow in the original French and Russian, and several in English, Spanish, and Chinese. Bloodfever / Fièvre rouge, the second book in Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series was also near the top of the list.
The Library has some of these paranormal romances in Spanish as well as many in English. Some other fiction titles on the list were a novel by Québec author Marie Laberge, Ceux qui restent [Those who stay], and Alison Gaylin’s psychological suspense novel What Remains of Me / Ne te retourne pas. Laberge’s work has not been translated into English.
We found mostly nonfiction on the Dutch language list, including many diet and fitness books and a memoir by Mohamed El Bachiri, who lost his wife in the 2016 terrorist attack in Brussels, Een jihad van liefde [Jihad of Love]. The original English language version of Rupi Kaur’s poetry collection, Milk and Honey was also on the top ten list, followed by Het Smelt [The Melting] the debut novel by Belgian author Lize Spit. Het Smelt has been shortlisted for the 2017 Fintro Literatuurprijs, formerly known as the Golden Book Owl prize, awarded to original Belgian literature. The novel has not yet been translated into English.
Brazil
At the top of the the fiction bestseller list at Brazil’s Publishnews for the week of May 8-May 14, we find The Shack (A Cabana) by William P Young. The novel, which inspired the recent movie of the same name, is currently available to borrow from the Library in English and in Spanish. Next on the list is O homem mais inteligente da história [The most intelligent man in history] by Brazilian author Augusto Cury, a physician and psychotherapist who writes both fiction and nonfiction. The Library has several novels and nonfiction titles to borrow in Spanish and an earlier novel, The Dreamseller: The Calling / Vendedor de sonhos in English.
Other authors in translation are also in the fiction top ten. Two by Two / Dois a dois, the latest by Nicholas Sparks is third on the list. NYPL has a large selection of novels by Nicholas Sparks in Spanish and Russian, as well as some in Vietnamese, Italian, Polish, and Hebrew. Two by Two is currently available in English and in Spanish (Solo nosotros dos.) Jojo Moyes and Neil Gaiman each have two in the top ten: Me Before You Como / Como eu era antes de você and After You / Depois de você for Moyes and Norse Mythology / Mitologia nórdica and American Gods / Deuses americanos for Gaiman. The Library has many works by Neil Gaiman in Spanish, including American Gods, and in Russian, including Американские боги.
The poetry collection Milk and Honey / Outros Jeitos de Usar a Boca by Canadian poet Rupi Kaur is also included on the bestselling fiction list.
Finland
When we checked the Fiction top ten at the Finnish bookseller Akateeminen Kirjakauppa last week, Jo Nesbo’s latest Harry Hole novel, The Thirst / Jano was at the top of the list. It was also at the top of their Swedish language bestseller list (Törst). NYPL has crime novels by Norwegian author Jo Nesbo to borrow in English, Russian, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, and Korean.
A number of Finnish writers were in the top ten, including an anthology of Finnish poetry, Katso pohjoista taivasta [See the Northern Sky] edited by Jenni Hakuio, and a historical novel, Ruokarouvan tytär [The Food Lady’s Daughter] by the prolific writer for adults and children, Enni Mustonen.
Other books in translation in the Finnish fiction top ten were The Story of a New Name / Uuden nimen tarina, the second of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels. A Strangeness in My Mind / Kummallinen mieleni by Turkish Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk, and A Little Life / Pieni elämä by Hanya Yanagihara. Elena Ferrante’s novels are available to borrow in English, as well as the original Italian, Spanish, Polish, and French. Books by Orhan Pamuk can be borrowed in English, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese, and a few titles in the original Turkish. Yanagihara's A Litttle Life is currently available to borrow in Spanish, Russian, and Polish, as well as the orginal English.
Peru
The bestseller list at Planeta de Libros, Peru, combines fiction and nonfiction. Most of the fiction titles we spotted near the top of the list are by authors from Spain, including El secreto de la modelo extraviada [The secret of the lost model] an off-kilter detective story by Eduardo Mendoza. The Library has several of Mendoza’s novels to borrow in the original Spanish, as well as one in English translation, The Mystery of the Enchanted Crypt.
The next fiction title on this list is Algo tan sencillo como estar contigo [Something as simple as being with you], the third book in the Algo tan sencillo trilogy by bestselling Spanish YA author Blue Jeans (aka Francisco de Paula Fernández González.) The Library has a number of books by Blue Jeans in Spanish.
A new edition of the historical religious thriller El regreso del Catón / Cato's Return, the sequel to El último Catón /The Last Cato by Spanish author Matilde Asensi is also near the top of the list. Several of Asensi’s novels are available to borrow in the original Spanish and in English. Some fiction in translation was also high on the list, including Bad Karma / Maldito karma / Mieses Karma by German author David Safier, and a new illustrated edition of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion /El Silmarillion. The Library has books by Tolkien to borrow in English, Russian, Spanish, and Chinese.
Taiwan
Eslite, one of Taiwan’s largest booksellers, provides two fiction bestseller lists on their website, one for Chinese language authors and one for literature in translation. Here are a few titles from each that we found earlier this week.
Two books by Japanese author Keigo Higashino were at the top of the list, Jie you za huo dian / 解忧杂货店 / Namiya zakkaten no kiseki / ナミヤ雑貨店の奇蹟 [The Miracle in the Grocery Store] and Ren yu chen shui de jia/ 人魚沉睡的家 / 東野圭吾 / Ningyo no nemuru ie / 人魚の眠る家 [The house where the mermaid sleeps]. Neither book has been translated into English yet; both are currently available at NYPL in the original Japanese, in Chinese, and in Korean. Many other books by Higashino can be borrowed from NYPL in the original Japanese, in English, Chinese, Korean, and a few in Russian, and Spanish. The science fiction bestseller Dark Matter by Blake Crouch is also high on the list. The Library currently has copies to borrow or download in English, and copies of the Chinese translation are on order.
A collection of essays by Taiwanese writer Zhang Manjuan 当我提笔写下你 : 你就来到我面前 / Dang wo ti bi xie xia ni : ni jiu lai dao wo mian qian [When I mention the pen to write you: you come to me] is near the top of the list of Chinese language authors. The Library has other books by 张曼娟 / Zhang Manjuan to borrow. Her work has not been translated into English. Another Taiwanese author high on the list is Yin Tang, who writes the “password” thriller series. The Library does not currently have 蘭亭序密碼 / [Lanting order password] the title on the Eslite list, but an earlier title in the series is available, Xuan ji tu mi ma /璇璣圖密碼 [Xuan Ji map password] and 長恨歌密碼 / Zhǎng hèngē mì mǎ [Everlasting song password] is on order.
You can find our previous international explorations under Bestsellers. Do you check the bestseller lists from any other countries? What have you discovered? Any favorite novels in translation or authors you wish were translated? Let us know in the comments section below.
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