Writers' Popularity Abroad

[john h]

Here's a thread idea: I read somewhere that the American author William Wharton--best known for his book "Birdy"--is the most popular American author in Poland. Maybe this isn't true anymore but it was at some point and it made me think. What makes someone like Wharton--a minor author by almost anyone's measure--appeal to readers in Poland?

Similarly, the American writer Douglas Kennedy--almost unknown in the states--is very popular in France. Most of his books haven't even come out in the states. The same is true, I believe, of an American woman writer in Italy--I forget her name. She's really big over there and nobody knows who she is here. I wonder if anyone has any thoughts on this.

[Omo]

The same is true, I believe, of an American woman writer in Italy--I forget her name. She's really big over there and nobody knows who she is here. I wonder if anyone has any thoughts on this.

You are probably referring to Donna Leon.

[saliotthomas]

This is a great thread idea.
Thanks John.
I'm affraid we will not sort out the mystery but we can still talk about it.
Very true about Douglas Kennedy,though i have no idea why.
I also remenber few years ago a big love for John Fante in France that started with my stupid dog(west of Rome),the most of his books.At the time,say 20 years ago,i tried an fail to get his books in English.They where out of print (from what i remember).
It was true not long ago for Donald Westlake.(they are reprinted now)
That's all i can think of now but i know there is plenty more.

[Daniel del Real]

Guess we all will never know why David Hasselhof is so popular in Germany :D. Maybe Mirabell can tell us a little about that.

[hdw]

You are probably referring to Donna Leon.

That's strange, I read an interview with Donna Leon not long ago and I thought she said her books weren't translated into Italian. She is very critical of Italian society, but not in a preachy way. Her policeman hero Brunetti and his family are totally believable and the Venetian settings are beautifully done. It makes a change to read about a cop who isn't the usual lout with a pie-and-beer habit and a string of broken relationships behind him, not to mention an adolescent taste for obscure rock bands (sorry, Ian Rankine, but Rebus is a tired clich?, and your new cop character doesn't sound any better).

Harry

[matt.todd]

Patrick White is, I believe, more widely read overseas than over here. We try to forget about him, I think...

[john h]

I just thought of another. Anita Brookner, from what I understand, is much more popular in the states than in England.

There has to be an explanation for this phenomenon. At first I thought it had a lot to do with timing. I mean, certain books just seem to click with certain audiences at given times but I guess what I'm getting at is more than that. Why Wharton hitting it big in Poland and not some other author, Is there something in his sensibility that jibes with that of Poland.

The American writer Jim Harrison is also big in France. I can understand that one to some degree. He's something of a gourmand, a zest for life kind of guy, and I think that clicks with something in French culture. It's the less obvious examples that trouble me.

[Eric]

This thread went into limbo a long time ago. When the Soviet Union existed, there was a kind of Soviet canon for English-language literature that included some big names like Dickens, but also relatively obscure writers such as Jack London and Theodore Dreiser, because they fitted the agit-prop pattern that Soviet ideologists were trying to promote. Also, because there were no copyright problems with such older authors. I'm sure the situation in Russia is completely different now.