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Authors for Learning Language | ||
Tags: Bilingual texts | Literature | ||
 Language Learning Forum : Books, Literature & Reading |  | |
| Longinus Diglot Newbie United States Joined 4867 days ago 26 posts - 53 votes  Speaks: English*, German Studies: Russian, Polish, Macedonian | Message 1 of 6 30 January 2012 at 2:50pm | IP Logged |
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This is a twist on the other active topic -- "Authors for Language Learners"
My question is, what authors in your languages would be particularly good to read for someone just learning the language? I would ask that you choose only classic literature, i.e., books that are still being read a hundred years or more after they were written, or, if a modern author, likely to still be read a hundred years from now. I'm not asking for simplified language, but even among classic literature, there is a huge range of reading difficulty--consider the difference between Joyce and Hemingway in English, for example. For English, I will offer Arthur Conan Doyle, who writes very elegant and clear English, and for an American author, I would recommend Mark Twain. Not his novels, which are full of dialect, but rather his essays. In German, I have particularly enjoyed Theodor Storm and Stefan Zweig, and was able to read them without a dictionary, whereas Thomas Mann or Goethe are fairly dictionary-intensive for me. I will be particularly interested in Russian recommendations personally, but let's try to include lots of languages in this thread! 4 persons have voted this message useful | |
| espejismo Diglot Senior Member Russian Federation Joined 5041 days ago 498 posts - 905 votes Speaks: Russian*, English Studies: Spanish, Greek, Azerbaijani | Message 2 of 6 30 January 2012 at 3:41pm | IP Logged |
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I just found a wonderful website for beginners and more advanced students of Russian. The first list offers short excerpts from various genres of fiction (fairy tales, detective novels and fantasy) that include a side-by-side translation, stress marks and an mp3 recording. The second list has complete side-by-side translations of English, Portuguese, Italian and French novels. If you scroll down, you will find other useful information, such as free online libraries, etc.
edit: Sorry, I didn't realize you wanted to read Russian authors in the original. If you like science fiction, I recommend Alexander Belyayev (RU). I found a collection of his novels when I was 10 and read them in a couple of sittings. I was very much into authors like Jules Verne, and Belyayev satified my science fiction needs. If you enjoy detective novels, Alexandra Marinina (RU) and Polina Dashkova (RU) were enormously popular in the 90s and remain so to this day. I read them in my preteen years, and they weren't that bad, as far as I recall. Another popular author is the guy who goes by the pen name Boris Akunin (RU). He wrote a bunch of detective novels set in the late 19th century. If you want to read them in order, start with Азазель, Турецкий Гамбит and Левиафан. The movie adaptations are watchable. If you have Russian friends, they might have Marinina, Dashkova or Akunin lying around somewhere. 2nd edit: wow, I'm sorry once again. I just saw the classic part. I'm not sure who to recommend. There are a few writers whose prose is more or less straightforward, but how could anyone read them without understanding all the countless cultural references? But then again, I was able to enjoy "The Canterbury Tales" even though I spent much more time reading about them... Try Anton Chekhov's short stories and Mikhail Bulgakov's "Heart of a Dog" (Собачье сердце). If you want something readable and not excessively long from the 19th century, avoid "Anna Karenina" and "Crime and Punishment" for now and take a look at Ivan Turgenev's "Fathers and Sons" (Отцы и дети ). It starts like this: — Что, Петр, не видать еще? — спрашивал 20-го мая 1859 года, выходя без шапки на низкое крылечко постоялого двора на *** шоссе, барин лет сорока с небольшим, в запыленном пальто и клетчатых панталонах, у своего слуги, молодого и щекастого малого с беловатым пухом на подбородке и маленькими тусклыми глазенками. Слуга, в котором всё: и бирюзовая сережка в ухе, и напомаженные разноцветные волосы, и учтивые телодвижения, словом, всё изобличало человека новейшего, усовершенствованного поколения, посмотрел снисходительно вдоль дороги и ответствовал: «Никак нет-с, не видать». Does that scare you at this point in your studies? If not, enjoy the good read! and if it does... well, you have something cool to look forward to. :) Edited by espejismo on 30 January 2012 at 6:52pm 7 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Longinus Diglot Newbie United States Joined 4867 days ago 26 posts - 53 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Russian, Polish, Macedonian | Message 3 of 6 30 January 2012 at 5:33pm | IP Logged |
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Please, don't apologize! Everything in your post is great! There's a lot of good information and resources on that website, and good advice. I do have some friends who like Akunin, and I will try him and Belyayev.
I think you are right, the classical literature is much more difficult. A Russian friend gave me an illustrated edition of Gogol's "Ночь перед Рождеством" for Christmas, and I am finding the language very difficult. Thank you very much! Michael PS - Just saw your Turgenev recommendation -- it is over my head, but much better than the Gogol! I will try it in a few months as my vocabulary improves. Edited by Longinus on 30 January 2012 at 5:44pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 4999 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 4 of 6 30 January 2012 at 6:43pm | IP Logged |
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To add other languages, as you suggested.
French: Some of the BDs have become "classic" and are likely to be read for generations. Asterix is well known and Persepolis is really good (as good as Maus in English. They both choose topics not too common for a comic book) Quite learner friendly are detective stories, George Simenon is one of the most well known. Fred Vargas is a newer author but her books may have a long future as well. Verne is great too. I think some shorter works by classics (Dumas and others) may be usable for an intermediate learner as well. The Little Prince is the book most people mention on the forums. Spanish: Isabel Allende is said to be not that hard to read. I am not that excited but it may come. Zafón is wonderful. His books may survive generations and some of them are not that hard as they are meant for teenagers. Marquez hasn't wrote only long books but short stories as well and I am looking forward to reading them. I suppose it should be possible for an intermediate. English: Agatha Christie, the Hobbit by Tolkien, and there are surely dozens of others Czech: Karel Čapek without hesitation. He is one of the best authors I know. The books have been popular for approximately a hundred of years and they will stay for much more. The language is pleasant, intelligent but not archaic or difficult on purpose. His short stories are fun to read, just as his plays. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Anomi Newbie Austria Joined 4681 days ago 20 posts - 26 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 5 of 6 31 January 2012 at 7:24am | IP Logged |
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I think that The Picture of Dorian Gray, (Oscar Wilde) is a great choice for anyone who is looking for classic English literature but who is perhaps at a lower comprehension level than necessary for some more complicated works.
I was surprised by how easy it was to read for me in my early teens, I thought the language would be outdated or similar to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or Moby Dick (both of which totally destroyed my literary confidence at the time). It's a not too long and the the story is absolutely terrific! (: Edited by Anomi on 31 January 2012 at 7:25am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| RMM Diglot Groupie United States Joined 5217 days ago 91 posts - 215 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Italian, Spanish, Ancient Greek, French, Swedish, Japanese | Message 6 of 6 02 February 2012 at 8:56am | IP Logged |
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For German, I would suggest the novels and short stories of Hermann Hesse. His style and vocabulary tends to be easy and almost "fairy tale" like, and yet his works are still meaningful and interesting (and even somewhat poetic). I would think that of all the truly great German writers who wrote for adults, Hesse would be the easiest to read for a learner.
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