The Observer Translation Project

Fiction | Leo Butnaru

Letter from Chişinău

July 01, 2009

Translated by: Jean Harris, Florin Bican

Ion Luca Caragiale, the classic and much-cited Romanian writer, is probably right in asserting that “literature is…the big sister of politics,” and that “…the supreme driving force of any nation is its own thought…” Under the present circumstances, I ...

Critics | Leo Butnaru

The Experts Weigh In

July 01, 2009

Critic: Jean Harris, interviewer

World-famous novelist Norman Manea, two premier experts in the realm of literature in translation—Susan Harris of Words Without Borders and Chad Post of Three Percent and Open Letter—and award-winning translator from German Susan Bernofsky address a literary zone in permanent crisis: the ...

Invitation to Gabriela Adameşteanu | Mircea Nedelciu

Translator's Choice in Croatian

November 03, 2008

Please scroll down to read this month's Translator's Choice author in Croatian.

Mircea Nedelciu

The Controlled Echo Effect

November 03, 2008

A thick glass tumbler, chipped around the rim, brimming with wine the colour of cooking oil, the glaring light of a desk lamp, a stack of white paper, the noise of faucets reverberating through the pipes all over the building, a door left ajar, the entrance hall, a second door left ajar can be seen ...