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Sign up todayThe Translator
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Learn moreIn silken prose and with subtle suspense, Nina Schuyler brings us a mesmerizing novel of language and translation, memory loss and heartbreak, and the search for answers in a foreign country. When renowned translator Hanne Schubert falls down a flight of stairs, her injury is an unusual but real condition—the loss of her native language. She is left speaking only Japanese, a language learned later in life. With her personal life at a crossroad, Hanne leaves for Japan. There, the Japanese novelist whose work she translated stunningly confronts her publicly for sabotaging his work. Reeling, Hanne struggles for meaning and seeks out the inspiration for the author's novel—a tortured, chimerical actor, once a master in the art of Noh theater. Through their passionate and intriguing relationship, Hanne begins to understand the masks she has worn in her life, just as the actor dons the masks that have made him a legend of Noh. The demons from her past and present begin to unfold and Hanne sets out to make amends in this searing and engrossing novel.
Nina Schuyler’s first novel, The Painting, was a finalist for the Northern California Book Awards. It was also selected by the San Francisco Chronicle as one of the Best Books of 2004 and has been translated into Chinese, Portuguese, and Serbian. She attended Stanford University for her undergraduate degree, earned a law degree at Hastings College of the Law, and earned an MFA in fiction with an emphasis on poetry at San Francisco State University. Schuyler currently teaches creative writing at the University of San Francisco.
Kirsten Potter has won several awards, including more than a dozen AudioFile Earphones Awards and been a three-time finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. Her work has been recognized by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts and by AudioFile magazine, among many others. She graduated with highest honors from Boston University and has performed on stage and in film and television, including roles on Medium, Bones, and Judging Amy.
Reviews
“Rich in details both sensory (the country's colors and tastes, as well as the sounds of its language) and cultural (manners, habits, social expectations)…delivered with great grace.”
“A lyrical, haunting tale delivered with both grace and smarts. Nina Schuyler skillfully strips away her translator character’s primary language, and sends her on a journey of self-discovery to Japan. You’ll be thankful you followed.”
“In Hanne Schubert’s talent for language, Nina Schuyler delivers the importance of words in literature and in life. In her loss, we better understand the long road of grief, and the distance we will travel for our children.”
“What stands out in Nina Schuyler’s complex and absorbing novel is her ability to craft descriptive and emotionally engaging language with respect to her characters and how she deftly weaves her storyline. A solid, compelling novel from beginning to end, The Translator is truly exceptional and highly recommended for both personal reading lists and community library fiction collections.”
“Multilingual readers will be delighted by how Schuyler weaves the intricacies and the process of translation into the novel without interrupting the story or its tone. Monolinguals, too, will relate to Schuyler’s carefully sculpted, complex characters and their relationships, the most tender of which involves Hanne’s poignant transformation in regard to her daughter, Brigitte. Evocative, powerful, and well-paced, Schuyler’s novel illuminates how interpreting a person is as complicated an art as translating a book because of the risk of reading what one wants to discover rather than what one needs to learn.”
“Schuyler’s prose is beautifully elegant and understated, with every detail made to count in weaving a rich emotional tapestry.”
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