by Ella Frances Sanders
Back Cover Blurb: Did you know that the Japanese language has a word to express the way sunlight filters through the leaves of trees? Or that there's a Finnish word for the distance a reindeer can travel before needing to rest?
Lost In Translation brings to life more than fifty words that don't have direct English translations with charming illustrations of their tender, poignant, and humorous definitions. Often these words provide insight into the cultures they come from, such as the Brazilian Portuguese words for running your fingers though a lover's hair, the Italian word for being moved to tears by a story, or the Swedish word for a third cup of coffee.
In this clever and beautifully rendered exploration of the subtleties of communication, you'll find new ways to express yourself while getting lost in the artistry of imperfect translation.
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| image via book's Amazon page |
What I Loved: This book is the perfect hand-held sized art book, and the front cover copy isn't too shabby either. What lies nestled just in between this book's beautiful pages? Stunning untranslatable word-studded illustrations. Gorgeous, silly, surprising, swoon-worthy, untranslatable words - some words I've never heard of, and one or two I've seen lurking around literary fringes of the web. Lost In Translation is a book that can be read in a single sitting, however it's also a book that you'll want to hang onto for years to come, so you can look back at all those words that don't translate over into English, but are delightful and beautiful to truly know, nevertheless.
In other news: Have I mentioned that I absolutely adore the illustrations in this book? Because I do. I love your work Ella Frances Sanders! (Ahem, pretty please, say there's a volume two in the works?)
This book will happily take up residence on my apartment coffee table. And I'm looking forward to sharing it with all of my dear word-nerd friends too. What were my favorite words? Komorebi and Hiraeth and Waldeinsamkeit, and those are just 3 of them. Purchase the book, or look them up to find out why . . . I know, I'm like that. Forgive me. But if you're desperate and want to take a peek at some the illustrations that made it into Lost In Translation beforehand, I'll understand. You may find them here.
What I Didn't Love As Much: My only qualms with this book are 1) occasionally some of the typography in the illustrations were hard to make out, and 2) there were only 50 words and I desperately wanted to learn more. Overall? The typography didn't keep me from enjoying this book at all though, and I'm an eternal optimist for more untranslatable words in our nearing future. ;)
Would I Recommend Lost In Translation . . . If you're a word-lover, a big time reader, a world traveler, a seeker of knowledge, or just want to be pleasantly surprised by the unknown, this book is for you.
About The Author: Ella Frances Sanders is a writer and illustrator who intentionally lives all over the place, most recently Morocco, the UK, and Switzerland. She likes to create books with real pages while drawing freelance things for charming people, and she is not afraid of questions or bears.
Find Ella at her website: www.ellafrancessanders.com
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I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group as part of their Blogging for Books program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255
Is it weird that I simply squeal when I see a new blog post from you? I don't care that you're talking about a book--well, actually I do, I just mean I love whatever you post here, dearie.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a book I'd love! :)