Carmela's Books

It's always interesting to see when titles are or aren't translated, and The Giver by Lois Lowry is no exception. You'd think that there are set rules for when and when not to translate titles, but that's not exactly true. I've seen books here in Italy that keep the original English title, translate it directly, or give it a new translated title, and none of these follow a pattern. Circe by Madeline Miller is named after its titular character and the title remains the same, but Ariadne by Jennifer Saint becomes Arianna in the Italian edition. You’ve Reached Sam by Dustin Thao became Ancora una volta con te . The more translated books I find, the more I learn it really is done on a case-by-case basis. In the case of The Giver , it’s such a staple that it makes sense why the English is kept.  The Giver tells the story of 12-year-old Jonas, who lives in a seemingly utopian society. As the story goes on, however, truths are discovered and revelations are made, and...

Originally published under the English title You’ve Reached Sam , Dustin Thao’s YA debut tells the story of Julie, a recent high-school graduate who just lost her boyfriend Sam. In her grief, Julie calls Sam’s phone, just to hear his voicemail one last time, but then a miracle happens. Sam picks up. The book’s title pays homage to this central theme of the story, phone calls and reaching through grief. But what happens when an important phrase such as “you’ve reached [name]” can’t be translated? Phone calls aren’t often the first thing you think of when you imagine cultural differences, but the ways in which languages adapt around technology aren’t always the same, despite globalization and the rise of English loanwords. In Italy, when you pick up the phone you say “pronto.” If someone’s asking who they’re speaking to, or when recording a voicemail, the way to introduce yourself is “sono [name].” But “I am Sam” doesn’t hold the same double-meaning as “You’ve reached sam”, and “pronto” ...

Gruppo Mondadori's Oscar Vault, known for its trade translations of trending YA books, has acquired the rights to the Italian edition of Sue Lynn Tan's Daughter of the Moon Goddess.  Translator information and the Italian release date have yet to be made public. Tan describes the book as a "romantic fantasy of immortals, magic, and love, inspired by the legend of Chang’e, the Chinese Moon Goddess."  Daughter of the Moon Goddess  was first published in the US in January 2022 by Harper Voyager and is represented by Naomi Davis of Bookends Literary. Tan's sequel,  Heart of the Sun,  is forthcoming in November 2022.  Translation deals have also been made for Hungary, Brazil, Spain, Poland, Romania, Turkey, and Russia. 

Circe by Madeline Miller is one of the first books I saw in Italy. At first, I didn’t even think the book was a translation. The cover was almost identical to my copy back in the States, and the title hadn’t changed at all—which makes sense as it is a name. A quick flip through the first couple of pages proved me very wrong. This was the first time I’d seen a translated book that wasn’t a classic, and I was absolutely ecstatic. I immediately wanted to know everything about it—who published it, who translated it, how the acquisition happened. There’s nothing like seeing a story you know and love being shared and well-appreciated across cultures. And well-appreciated it truly is.  I’ve quickly learned that Madeline Miller is very popular here in Italy. La canzone di Achille, when name-dropped around Italian university students, had gotten me a chorus of excited shouts. Miller’s works are a consistent staple amongst Italian bookstores, across all the towns I’ve visited. I’ve seen the...