How to Choose a Translation of a Book

How to choose a translation of a book: five checks

Two catalogue tabs, the same book, and somehow another decision to make. You’ve chosen what you want to read. Now there are different English versions, and everyone seems to have a favourite. If you’re wondering how to choose a translation of a book, start with the translator’s name. Then check a few details about the edition and, where you can, read a little of each version. The cover can wait a minute.

You’re looking for a version that suits what you want from the book. You don’t have to settle which translation is the best for everyone. A sample can help you hear the sentences and see whether they draw you in. Judging how accurately they carry over the original language is a different question, and a short English sample can’t answer it on its own.

Before you borrow or buy, jot down these five things:

No spreadsheet needed. A note in your library app or on the back of a bookmark will do. You just want enough detail to find the same edition again once you’ve closed those tabs.

Find the translator, then identify the edition

Look for the translator’s name in the book details. It’s easy to get distracted by a lovely cover, but a new cover, listing date, or ISBN doesn’t automatically mean a new translation. It might be a new format or edition of a translation that already exists. The publisher’s description should help you work out what has actually changed.

Next, check the format you want. A paperback and an ebook can have different ISBNs even when they use the same translation. On a library catalogue, bookseller, or publisher page, look for the ISBN attached to your chosen format. Save it beside the translator’s name. That way, when you go back to borrow or order the book, you’ve got something more reliable to search for than “the one with the blue cover.”

Dates need a little care, too. The publication date on an edition’s page won’t necessarily tell you when its translation was first made. If the publisher doesn’t explain that, leave the translation date blank. There’s no need to fill every space in your note, especially when filling it would mean guessing.

Compare the same part of the book

When both publishers offer legitimate previews, find the same opening detail or passage in each. It’s tempting to read whichever page happens to appear first. But if one sample is a lively conversation and the other is a long description, you’ll be comparing two scenes as much as two translations.

Take a small stretch and read it slowly. Where do you pause? Which words catch your attention? Which version is easier for you to follow? You might prefer one quite quickly, and that’s useful to know. Keep that preference separate from a claim about accuracy, though, especially if you don’t know the language the book was written in.

If you can find only one preview, work with what you have. You could look for an authorized library copy or another publisher sample, or make your choice using the translator and edition details you’ve checked. You can still choose a book with one sample; you just won’t have compared how both versions read.

A small example: two English versions of Kafka

Let’s look at one small difference in the opening of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. The 2013 Modern Library paperback record names Stanley Corngold as translator and lists seven critical essays and contextual material. Its publisher’s preview uses “a monstrous vermin.” The 2014 W. W. Norton paperback record names Susan Bernofsky as translator. Spoiler warning: Bernofsky’s essay discusses later plot details. In her essay about translating the book, she quotes her version as “some sort of monstrous insect.” Here are the details for those two paperbacks:

You can hear a difference even in those few words. One phrase is compact; the other makes the uncertainty more explicit. That gives you something to notice, but it doesn’t tell you which translation is more accurate. And look at those page counts: they’re quite far apart. The editions include different supporting material, so the totals alone can’t tell you whether either text is abridged. This is a small comparison to try, with no winner or purchase recommendation attached.

One more detail before you open the links: Bernofsky’s essay is adapted from her afterword. It supports this opening comparison, but it isn’t a full book sample to read alongside the other version. You can read the publisher’s Modern Library record and preview for that edition’s details and excerpt.

Look at what comes with the text

Have a look at what else is included. An introduction, notes, an afterword, critical essays, or extra stories can make an edition useful in a different way. You might want that context for a book group. You might just want to get to the story. These extras can also add pages, and some discuss things you haven’t reached yet.

Check the contents or publisher’s description when you can. If the introduction looks as though it discusses the whole book, save it for afterwards. If you’re reading for a class, notes may be worth having close by. For an evening with the story, you may prefer fewer extras. It comes back to what you’ll actually use.

Choose for your purpose, then stop comparing

Reading for yourself? Choose the version whose sample and extras appeal to you. If a course, book group, or library discussion specifies an edition, check the translator or ISBN with the organizer before borrowing a different one. And if availability is what matters most, try your library catalogue or ask a librarian. The publisher’s page can help identify the book, but it can’t tell you what’s on your local branch’s shelf.

Once you’ve chosen, keep the translator’s name and the ISBN for your format somewhere you can find them. Then close the extra tabs. Another version will still be there if you’re curious later; you don’t have to read every comparison before you can begin the book.

Still deciding which book to read in the first place? How to Choose a Book can help with that earlier decision. And if you’d like a few translated-fiction ideas, Short Books in Translation compares different works, rather than different editions of the same one.

When you have two translations in front of you, what usually helps you choose?