DOES CRIME TRANSLATE?

by Isabella Maldonado

Reading crime fiction from around the world can provide unique insight into the culture and zeitgeist of a particular place and time. It’s an entertaining way to see various aspects of a country and its people, filtered through the mind of the author, of course.

Murder mysteries and thrillers provide an in-depth analysis of the locale where the story is set, because the fictional investigator must account for possible motives—which may only work in that venue. As an English speaker, most of my reading is from books written in my mother tongue, even if they are set in different countries. But what happens to the nuances of the plot when the story is translated into a different language?

Like millions of others, I enjoyed reading Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy. Its success was a huge part of what became known as “Scandinavian noir,” which found a worldwide audience. Never having traveled to Sweden (an omission I hope to correct) I was enthralled by the atmosphere of the story.

After this successful foray, I added other foreign language crime novels to my TBR pile: The Silence of the White City by Eva García Sáenz, set in the Basque Provinces and translated from Spanish; Drive your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, set in a Polish village on the Czech border and translated from Polish; and Flowers Over the Inferno by Ilaria Tuti, set in the Italian Alps and translated from Italian. Since I’m a fan of the genre, they are all police procedurals. It’s fascinating to see how law enforcement operates around the world.

After so much enjoyment from other authors, I am now humbled to find myself in a similar position. The Cipher, book one in the Nina Guerrera series, is being translated into 21 foreign languages. I never expected the story of a Latina FBI agent and trauma survivor to resonate with readers from so many cultures. There is also a lot of police procedure in the tale, including rank structure, forensics, and investigative techniques. The ubiquity of American television and movies probably helps in this case, and many people already have a good grasp of what the FBI does.

Throughout the process, book covers were one of many pleasant surprises. Foreign rights are obtained by publishers within the country they represent. They take on the task of translating them (sometimes changing the title) and frequently create new book covers designed to appeal to their market. It was stunning to see how widely different the covers were.

Some publishers used themes and images gleaned from the story.

Others used models to represent the main character, Nina Guerrera. I noticed the models tended to resemble the women in the country or region where the book was being sold.

Some used the original cover from the English version, ub.

So far, the story has been well received. Apparently, themes such as resilience in the face of cruelty, and the search for justice, are universal despite cultural differences. Compelling characters in dire situations cross all barriers.

Do you have a favorite author whose works are translated into English from another language?