Arnon Grunberg, een succesverhaal

My paper focuses on the reception and translation of Arnon Grunberg’s books in Italy. This description is not based on a theoretical model, but rather on personal observations and experiences as a literary translator. I explore the role of large and small publishing houses and book reviews in the reception of these books, examining the translator as mediator between languages and cultures and the reviewer as an important factor in successful promotion. As the quotes show, Arnon Grunberg had a good press in Italy, based on careful observations and comparisons with well-known authors. It is particularly interesting to note that the foreign rights were sold first to a very important, right-wing publishing house, Mondadori, later to a small but quality publisher, Instar Libri, and finally to an influential left-wing publishing house, Feltrinelli. This could be an effect of the ups and downs in the sales of his books.
I also give a short account of the difficulties the translator of Grunberg’s books is confronted with. The question of how to translate his way of writing into Italian is, to say the least, far from uncomplicated. The writer uses short sentences and frequent repetitions to create atmosphere and comic effects. These stylistic choices have become the trademark of his writing, but this kind of prose is considered unappealing to Italian readers. I compare my colleagues’ and my own solutions and describe the meetings held with the Italian publisher of Tirza, Feltrinelli, to develop a common approach to deal with this question. It was decided we would preserve the characteristics of the source text in order to render the ‘feel’ of the book.