My seven favorite non-English books and series

"Stories are the communal currency of humanity"

• Tahir Shah, in Arabian Nights

 Some people say human beings think in metaphors and learn from stories. This is because story, though fictional, embodies a storyteller's values, experiences, and the perspective of the world. In other words, every story can be considered as a facet of humanity, so the more stories we read, the more complete the picture we will have about mankind. I love stories, but I have a limited exposure to the stories around the world because I am only bilingual. Fortunately, in these days more and more books are being translated into English. I believe all the stories I have read, in English or otherwise, will matter one day, where it will help me building bridges instead of erecting walls. Meanwhile, I compiled a list of my seven favorite books and series which were penned by non-English authors, but have been translated into English, and I would like to share the list with you, my gentle readers, in the hope that it may add more colors to your reading world. 

P.S. While I do love ancient classics and epics, such as The Divine Comedy, The Romance of Three Kingdoms, The Iliad and The Odyssey etc... but in this list I am focusing on the "modern" books. This means the books from the last one hundred years.

7. The Name of the Rose

Author: Umberto Eco

Language: Italian

English translator: William Weaver

Genre: Historical murder mystery

Published in: 1980

The Name of the Rose is a story like Sherlock Holmes, but set in the medieval times. Its author, Umberto Eco, was a semiotician and a brilliant philosopher, and the story is a series of intellectual puzzles consisting of semiotics, biblical analysis, literary criticism, and medieval studies. At its heart, The Name of the Rose is a book about books, and it made a ton of references to medieval literatures written in Latin, and as a result this is one of the hardest book I have ever read. At the end of the day, though, the efforts were well worth it.

6. The Witcher saga

Author: Andrzej Sapkowski

Language: Polish

English translation: David French­

Genre: Fantasy

The first story published in: 1986

Elves and dwarves are common in fantasy, but in the world of The Witcher they are not lords and ladies like in The Lord of the Rings. No no, in the world of The Witcher the elves and dwarves are terrorists and victims of racial discriminations, it is a world torn asunder by power struggles and civil wars, waged by religious fanatics, and tyrannical kings advised by court sorceress and politicians. The story of The Witcher follows one Geralt of Rivia, a mutant monster hunter who travels from one city to another slaying monsters for bags of coins. Geralt carries two swords; a silver sword for killing the monsters, and a steel sword for dealing with his human foes. The Witcher saga is somewhere between A Song of Ice and Fire and The Lord of the Rings, and it consists of 7 books (5 full length novels and 2 compilations of short stories). The stories are rich with Eastern European folktales as well as Arthurian legends. In short, if you like A Song of Ice and Fire but you also want more high fantasy settings with elves and dwarves, then check out The Witcher Saga. (Apparently Netflix is planning to adapt it into a TV series)

5. Blindness

Author: José Saramago

Language: Portuguese

English translator: Giovanni Pontiero

Genre: Literary fiction

Published in: 1998

Most people you come across in your day-to-day life seem like nice, upright citizens. But how will these people behave if everyone, that is, everyone in the whole world, collectively become blind tomorrow? Jose Saramago, the winner of Nobel Prize in Literature, wrote Blindness to explore the dark side of the human nature. This book is shocking, raw, and brutal, it is not for the faint hearted, yet it is also the most thought provoking book I have ever read. Strangely Jose Saramago is not more widely known in the English speaking world. This is unfortunate considering his works are stunning. Make sure to check out Blindness, and if you like this book then you can also read The Gospel according to Jesus Christ, which, alongside Blindness, are commonly regarded as this brilliant man's best works.

4. The Club Dumas

Author: Arturo Pérez-Reverte

Language: Spanish

English translator: Sonia Soto

Genre: Mystery/Crime thriller

Published in: 1993

Not many people have heard of The Club Dumas, but if I mention the cult classic movie, The Ninth Gate, then it may ring the bell for some people. The Ninth Gate, starring Johnny Cage and directed by Roman Polanski, was a movie adaptation of The Club Dumas (the novel). However, I strongly recommend you read the book and forget about watching the movie, because the movie only adapted half of the book and it is but a shadow of the book's true glory! The Club Dumas is macabre and deeply fascinating, it is a book that truly made me feel as if I was reading about some forbidden knowledge not meant for the mortal eyes!

3. The Long Ships

Author: Frans G. Bengtsson

Language: Swedish

English translator: Michael Meyer

Genre: Historical fiction/Adventure

Published in: 1941

Apparently The Long Ships is a very famous book in Scandinavia, but few in the English speaking world has heard of it. This is a historical adventure novel, set in the late Viking age, and it tells the story of Red Orm, a viking chieftain whose adventures spanned across half the globe, from the frozen tundra of Northern Europe all the way to the sun-scorched desert in the Middle East. This is a ripping yarn about treasures, blood feuds and politics, with a special focus on the exclusivity of Christianity and Islam. If you want to read a fun and interesting Viking story, then you cannot go wrong with The Long Ships.

2. The Cemetery of Forgotten Books

Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Language: Spanish

English translator: Lucia Graves

Genre: Gothic/Mystery

The first book published in: 2001

The Cemetery of Forgotten Books is a tetralogy consisting of four books; The Shadow of the Wind, The Angel's Game, The Prisoner of Heaven, and The Labyrinth of Spirits. The series's author, Carlos Ruiz Zafon, wrote so beautifully it hurts. These books are set in Barcelona, in the 1950s, but the stories are inspired by the Gothic genre, with mysteries and dramas galore. Last year I read the first three books of the series and they are magical. I am looking forward to read The Labyrinth of Spirits, which will conclude the series. I recommend this series to anyone who likes stories and want to read good books.

1. Remembrance of Earth's Past

Author: Cixin Liu

Language: Chinese

English translator: Ken Liu

Genre: Science fiction

The first book published in: 2008

I am not big on sci-fi, but I loved Remembrance of Earth's Past. This trilogy falls into a subgenre in sci-fi called, "hard science fiction"; meaning, a type of science fiction which uses the established or carefully extrapolated science as its backbone. In other words, for "hard science fiction", think of 2001 Space Odyssey, or the works of Arthur C. Clarke. In fact, Cixin Liu, the author for Remembrance of Earth's Past, is dubbed the Arthur C. Clarke of China. With the first book in the trilogy, The Three Body Problem, winning the Hugo award for best novel in 2015 and also Nebula award for best novel in 2014, it is no wonder why such high regard was paid to Cixin Liu. The book's success in the US is even more astonishing considering it is a Chinese novel winning multiple literary awards which are supposedly for the English books. If you are still not convinced, then just ask Barack Obama and Mark Zuckerberg, both are loyal fans of this trilogy who won't hesitate at recommending it.