Follow Rosario Traducciones as we journey through the most translated literature of different countries.

 

 

Despite being the smallest continent on Earth, Oceania is vast and diverse, making searching for translated literature quite challenging. Although Australian and New Zealand— to a lesser extent — authors had their literature translated, the rest of the countries in the Pacific Ocean (Solomon Islands, Samoa, Kiribati, Tonga, Marshall Islands, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and many other islands) haven’t translated much of their literature in other languages. 

Our short — yet fascinating — journey of the most translated texts from Oceania reveals that family is at the center of most fiction novels. Examples are The Thorn Birds by Australian author Colleen McCullough and Whale Riders by Witi Ihimaera (New Zealand).

Similarly, Leaves of the Banyan Tree by Samoan author Albert Wendt tells the story of a family’s thirty-year struggle during European colonialism.

 

 

The Thorn Birds (original 1977 title known as El pájaro canta hasta morir or Amor entre espinas in Latin America and as El pájaro espino in Spain) is a romantic drama by Australian writer Colleen McCullough.

With 33 million copies sold, this novel is the most successful Australian literary text in history, translated into over 20 languages. 

In 1983, it was adapted into a television miniseries, and when broadcasted, it became the second highest-rated miniseries in the U.S.

 

The Māori claim that their ancestors came to New Zealand in canoes. The people of Whangara and the East Coast believe that their ancestor Paikea arrived not by canoe but on the back of a whale that rescued him after his canoe capsized. Since then, for generations, each male child of that lineage has been called upon to rule the people of the village with the courage and wisdom of their hero, Paikea. Whale Rider is the story of the last descendant of the lineage, a girl named Kahu, who, at the age of eight, aided by whales, is faced with a culture governed by men and the intolerance of her grandfather, who refuses to allow any woman lead the tribe.

This book, written by Witi Ihimaera, has been translated into over 15 languages and was adapted into a film in 2002. 

 

 

 

Spanning three generations and written by Samoan author Albert Wendt, this epic novel tells the story of a family and community in Western Samoa. It explores the universal themes of greed, corruption, colonialism, exploitation, and revenge on a large scale. Winner of New Zealand’s 1980 Wattie Book Awards, it’s considered a classic in Pacific literature. It has been translated into more than five languages.

 

Unlike the previous books, this Tonga literary text deviates from family stories. It’s a collection of comic short stories called Tales of the Tikongs written by Epeli Hau’ofa. Confronted with modernization, the indigenous people of Tiko respond in a funny way to the new cultural expectations set before them. Even though it’s only translated into five other languages, this unique South Pacific text is well worth the read. It tackles the serious matters of facing society’s challenges in a comedic way.