Why are Russian and a few German translations considered classics in english? There are some traditions, like the french, that just dont seem to enter much in the english lexicon of classic novels. But a lot of dostoyevsky for instance is well know in english. why is this? Like, as a big name I can only think of Jules Vern and his speculative fiction, though that is considered less "serious" literature.Is this a product of a certain historical phases of xenophilia that just didnt extend to some regions, or were French writers for instance just not as impactful on the international stage, or is it a translation issue? If it is a translation issue, why did the likes of dostoyevsky get so popular in the Anglosphere?
>>25333699AI says its literally because of SOVL
As someone who started studying French for literature having only read L'Étranger my biggest surprise was discovering just how gigantic the French literary canon was and how much of it is ignored in the anglosphereI don't really understand why and I don't think it's necessarily a translation issueIt was trendy to claim in the late 20th century that French poetry didn't exist and that the French didn't have any real poets
>>25333699Because Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy was better than any French writer
>>25333902I'd say Potocki, Huysmans and Flaubert are all better than Tolstoy and most of Dostovesky.
>>25333699Imperialism
>>25333893Now do the same for the criminally underappreciated Spanish tradition.
>>25333699Russian is notoriously difficult to translate and evolves very quickly across its contemporary literature.
>>25333918Stendhal in particular stomps on Tolstoy and combined with Balzac and Hugo sweep Dosto. And this is still a fraction of the French writers of the century where, unlike in Russia, it was not the only century in their history with an appreciable literary scene.
This is bullshit, everybody into literature knows about Proust, Balzac, Dumas, Hugo, de Sade, de Nerval, and Baudelaire. The Hunchback of Notre Dame and the Three Musketeers are way more famous than Jules Verne or Dostoevsky. If anything it's the Italians who are underrepresented. Everyone knows Dante of course but few know Tasso or Goldoni.
>>25334472>Tasso or Goldoniwho (plural)?
>why doesn't the English speaking literati talk more about this French ir Russian author Probably because it's English. Why would the French give a fuck about some of our more esoteric picks? Silly question.
Actually french literature is a large part of what is considered the western classics. You just don't hear as much about it on retardo sites like 4chan where the french are considered effeminate gay frogs, while russians are based and trad.
>>25334145So real +Flaubert, Zola, Maupassant, Céline
>>25334472>de NervalI've literally never heard of him and I consider myself relatively well read. Not sure why you'd pick him over Rabelais, Stendahl, Huysmans and Rimbaud.
