‘Reading the World: Confessions of a Literary Explorer’ (also published under the title ‘The World Between Two Covers’ in the United States) is Ann Morgan’s account of how she read a book from every country in the world after realising that her literary diet mostly consisted of British and American authors. Rather than cobbling together Morgan’s reviews of the 197 books she read in 2012 which are already available for free on her excellent blog A Year of Reading the World, her bibliomemoir examines questions such as what makes a good translation, how to define a sovereign nation and what the future holds for world literature and the publishing industry.
Morgan’s experiences of tracking down books from across the world are as varied as the texts themselves. She struggled to get hold of a single book from certain sovereign states, such as the collection of short stories from São Tomé and Príncipe which was specially commissioned and translated for her by volunteers. Partly due to the dominance of the English language, some of the books Morgan read had been written specifically with a Western audience in mind with varying degrees of success. Elsewhere, other texts are virtually impenetrable to those who don’t share the specific cultural and historical references required to understand the context. As I’ve discovered while reading books like Death by Water by Kenzaburo Oe, my personal expectations of how stories are told doesn’t necessarily correspond with how an author may write for a non-Western audience. I was particularly fascinated by the traditions in Chinese crime fiction which rarely centres on any sort of mystery needing to be solved (and also explains why A Perfect Crime by A Yi lacks any suspense whatsoever).
Although it is commendable that Morgan hasn’t copied a single paragraph of her original blog content into her book, some of her extensive research on topics such as postcolonial literature tends to be rather dry and academic in tone. However, it is the personal stories of the authors and translators involved in her project which are the most interesting parts of the book. These include authors who have been affected by censorship in their native countries such as Hamid Ismailov in Uzbekistan or Dr Julia Aker Duany who provided Morgan with an autobiographical text representing South Sudan, the world’s newest state which gained independence in 2011 just a few months before Morgan began her project.
As I have developed more of an interest in translated fiction over the last couple of years, ‘Reading the World’ has been excellent food for thought while I’ve been working my way through the Man Booker International Prize longlist in recent weeks. As varied as the thirteen books are, they are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what literature from around the world can offer. ‘Reading the World’ is therefore a timely reminder of why stories matter in whatever form they are told and wherever in the world they come from and I recommend it to anyone seeking to widen their literary horizons.
A Little Blog of Books 
This bibliomemoir sounds interesting and seems to address some weighty subjects (like how to define a sovereign nation). I’m going to consider adding this one to my TBR pile. Thanks!
LikeLike
It’s a really interesting book and I definitely recommend checking out Ann’s blog too – hope you enjoy it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m pretty sure I’ve come across Ann’s blog at some point, but I appreciate the re-introduction to it! Thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This sounds fascinating! Going into the queue!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This sounds like an interesting and thought-provoking memoir. I started reading a lot more translated literature since I resumed reading regularly a few years ago. I’m constantly struck by the richness of what has been published from various corners of the world. Thanks for the recommendation!
LikeLike
Hope you enjoy the book – it certainly gave me lots to think about and ideas for what to read in the future.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Do you recommend reading through the blog first then the book, or reading the two in conjunction? Does she provide points at which it’s obvious it’s time to go to the blog?
LikeLike
I don’t think it’s essential to look at the blog either before or whilst reading the book but it might help a bit for context as it expands on some of the issues she came across whilst completing the project.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This one’s already on my list. My plan was to use it as a way of expanding what I read in translation (currently a woefully small amount) but I like the idea of finding about the stories behind those who were part of the project. Lovely review!
LikeLike
Thanks! Yes it’s the stories behind the stories themselves which are particularly fascinating.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I loved Morgan’s blog, but I too found the book somewhat dry.
LikeLike
It’s more academic in tone than I had been expecting but it contained some very interesting stories too.
LikeLike
What a fascinating idea. And if we cannot get to those places, we can visit vicariously.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What you say about sometimes missing the point in translations applies equally to film. I go to a lot of world cinema in my 10 day stint at the London Film Festival, choosing these films deliberately because they are not likely to reach a screen (even in London) any time soon. Especially the Asian market where even the thrillers do not have a familiarity in tone or texture. But it is mind expanding…I love it that your blog does so much to promote works by foreign authors which in a small way I hope I do for film
LikeLike
Thanks, yes I absolutely agree that there are similar issues regarding diversity in world literature and film and there are very few arthouse cinemas outside major cities (and within them too).
LikeLike
Sounds interesting, but I’d much rather try Michael Orthofer’s (AKA The Complete Review) new book – I think this would be a nice intro to the subject but a little light if you’ve already examined the topic.
LikeLike
Thanks for the recommendation – I’ll look out for it!
LikeLike