Definitely know what you mean re foreign names. I read a book translated from Chinese recently, and it was a strangely hard read (despite being a fairly straightforward detective thriller) just because I could not keep the names straight, and it wasn’t immediately clear to me whether the characters were men or women.
It is a challenge. What is really a shame is when the names mean something, which might affect how the reader perceives the character. Perhaps an example in English could be Pandora, Ernest, or Eve, where the names are already associated with personality traits.
The part about Russian names cracked me up, i've never heard anyone say it. My last Russian book was "The Idiot" and i almost threw it out of the window halfway through because of the names.The story is amazing but i think the names are what's throwing a lot of people off from lot of great books. 🍻
It is true though, I just finished Oblomov and it took some time to get use to all the names of the characters. But it is something literature lovers have to try to enjoy, as an aspect of culture, rather than take a lazy attitude of; 'That's too strange for me.' Now, when I read something and there are Hungarian names, or if the story takes place in Budapest, I am completely happy, but I suppose most people would find those names difficult.
Not yet, this was my first Tanizaki, but I have 'The Makioka Sisters' on the shelf, that will be the next one in 2022. (Or later, I really have a lot to read this year!)
Definitely know what you mean re foreign names. I read a book translated from Chinese recently, and it was a strangely hard read (despite being a fairly straightforward detective thriller) just because I could not keep the names straight, and it wasn’t immediately clear to me whether the characters were men or women.
It is a challenge. What is really a shame is when the names mean something, which might affect how the reader perceives the character. Perhaps an example in English could be Pandora, Ernest, or Eve, where the names are already associated with personality traits.
The part about Russian names cracked me up, i've never heard anyone say it. My last Russian book was "The Idiot" and i almost threw it out of the window halfway through because of the names.The story is amazing but i think the names are what's throwing a lot of people off from lot of great books. 🍻
It is true though, I just finished Oblomov and it took some time to get use to all the names of the characters.
But it is something literature lovers have to try to enjoy, as an aspect of culture, rather than take a lazy attitude of; 'That's too strange for me.'
Now, when I read something and there are Hungarian names, or if the story takes place in Budapest, I am completely happy, but I suppose most people would find those names difficult.
Not sure if you have read The Key, also by Junichiro Tanizaki, but it is similar to this... with feet action lol.
Not yet, this was my first Tanizaki, but I have 'The Makioka Sisters' on the shelf, that will be the next one in 2022. (Or later, I really have a lot to read this year!)