--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Of course my books are translated into…" description: "\"Of course my books are translated into many languages. I have here, in my home, translations on my shelf of my books into forty-five different language..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/amos-oz-1478_book_of-course-my-books-are-translated-into-m_2038188.png" --- # Of course my books are translated into many languages. I… ![“Of course my books are translated into many languages. I have here, in my home, translations on my shelf of my books into forty-five different languages. Almost none of them I can read. I can read only the English editions. But, I know that a translation of a work of literature is like playing a…” quote by Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/amos-oz-1478_book_of-course-my-books-are-translated-into-m_2038188.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/amos-oz-1478_book_of-course-my-books-are-translated-into-m_2038188.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/amos-oz-1478_book_of-course-my-books-are-translated-into-m_2038188.png) > “Of course my books are translated into many languages. I have here, in my home, translations on my shelf of my books into forty-five different languages. Almost none of them I can read. I can read only the English editions. But, I know that a translation of a work of literature is like playing a violin concerto on the piano. You can do this. You can do this very successfully on one strict condition: never try to force the piano to produce the sounds of the violin. This will be grotesque. So, different musical instruments provide for different music.” [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Translations must respect the unique qualities of each language, not force one form onto another. **In simple terms:** Respect language differences; avoid forcing styles. Key Takeaway Honor each language’s voice. Themes translation language art creativity Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - publishing - literary criticism - multilingual education - global marketing Key Concepts literary theory cross‑cultural communication Questions to Reflect On - How can you preserve a work’s spirit while adapting its form? - What aspects of a text are essential to keep? A Different Perspective A translation that mimics the original too closely can feel artificial. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Different languages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-languages/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Musical instruments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musical-instruments/) [Translation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translation/) [Translations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translations/) ## Related quotes > [It is my huge pleasure that my novels are translated into languages that are read among small numbers of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/it-is-my-huge-pleasure-that-my-novels-are-translated-into-languages/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I know that a translation of a work of literature is like playing a violin concerto on the piano. You can do this. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/i-know-that-a-translation-of-a-work-of-literature-is-like-playing-a/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Though most of my titles are translated into about 7 to 8 languages, I feel that translations, to some extent, can lose the flavour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sudha-murty/though-most-of-my-titles-are-translated-into-about-7-to-8-languages-i/) [Sudha Murty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sudha-murty/) > [My books have been translated into various languages and sold in other countries, but I never have any contact with the foreign publishers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-zarr/my-books-have-been-translated-into-various-languages-and-sold-in/) [Sara Zarr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-zarr/) > [The main reason I decided to study Latin American literature was because I'd gotten somewhat bored by the American fiction I was reading. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-morris/the-main-reason-i-decided-to-study-latin-american-literature-was/) [Adam Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-morris/) > [ Few \[books\] get translated and the ones that do have trouble making it into the mainstream. It's more likely that Americans will discover another… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laila-lalami/few-books-get-translated-and-the-ones-that-do-have-trouble-making-it/) [Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laila-lalami/) > [When my books were translated, it was always about the characters, because the unique language aspect was lost in translation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/when-my-books-were-translated-it-was-always-about-the-characters/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [I speak four languages and read a great deal, so I do as much working out on the brain as I do on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fabio-lanzoni/i-speak-four-languages-and-read-a-great-deal-so-i-do-as-much-working/) [Fabio Lanzoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fabio-lanzoni/) > [I just know so many people who have six or seven foreign languages and have read everything and have musical training and they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-epstein/i-just-know-so-many-people-who-have-six-or-seven-foreign-languages/) [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) > [I think a lot of writers are unrealistic about having their books translated into film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-davidson/i-think-a-lot-of-writers-are-unrealistic-about-having-their-books/) [Robyn Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-davidson/) > [Home to me is the world because my books have been translated into more than 30 languages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nawal-el-saadawi/home-to-me-is-the-world-because-my-books-have-been-translated-into/) [Nawal El Saadawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nawal-el-saadawi/) > [At Oxford University, I studied languages so I could read the great novels as they were originally written. I took what in the United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-beckinsale/at-oxford-university-i-studied-languages-so-i-could-read-the-great/) [Kate Beckinsale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-beckinsale/) > [“Translation work involves knowing not just the structure of the language to be translated, but the cultural framework that surrounds it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-mckay/translation-work-involves-knowing-not-just-the-structure-of-the/) [Corinne McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-mckay/) > [“The work of the authors of the LXX was not only a translation, it was also a revised version. In all such translation work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-john-courtenay/the-work-of-the-authors-of-the-lxx-was-not-only-a-translation-it-was/) [James John Courtenay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-john-courtenay/) > [My translation work has been pretty separate from my fiction, as it was basically an accidental side project that turned into a separate and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/my-translation-work-has-been-pretty-separate-from-my-fiction-as-it/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) ## More by Amos Oz > [I find the family the most mysterious and fascinating institution in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/i-find-the-family-the-most-mysterious-and-fascinating-institution-in/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [“All the profits that Papa made by the sweat of his brow from his mill she extorted from him and spent the lot on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/all-the-profits-that-papa-made-by-the-sweat-of-his-brow-from-his-mill/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Nobody ever predicted, a week before President Sadat came to Jerusalem in 1977, that his arrival would be the beginning of a peace process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/nobody-ever-predicted-a-week-before-president-sadat-came-to-jerusalem/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Every country in the world should follow the example of President Trump and move the embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. But simultaneously, there should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/every-country-in-the-world-should-follow-the-example-of-president/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Actually, who hasn't been through the ghastly experience of sitting in front of a blank page, with its toothless mouth grinning at you: Go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/actually-who-hasn-t-been-through-the-ghastly-experience-of-sitting-in/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [I think loathing begets fanaticism, and in the end, loathing begets hatred and violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/i-think-loathing-begets-fanaticism-and-in-the-end-loathing-begets/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Literature is about telling stories. Now, the gift of literature is that, in some lucky cases, reading a novel or a story makes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/literature-is-about-telling-stories-now-the-gift-of-literature-is/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Very often, fanaticism begins at home. It begins inside the family. It begins with the urge to change our kin, to change our beloved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/very-often-fanaticism-begins-at-home-it-begins-inside-the-family-it/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [When I need to take a side, I write a newspaper article and I tell my government, "You should not do that, you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/when-i-need-to-take-a-side-i-write-a-newspaper-article-and-i-tell-my/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [We have to carry through to the next day and hope that we will be okay tomorrow as we are today and in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/we-have-to-carry-through-to-the-next-day-and-hope-that-we-will-be/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Trump is many things. He is pampered. He is an immature man. He is a teenager craving unconditional, endless love from everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/trump-is-many-things-he-is-pampered-he-is-an-immature-man-he-is-a/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [The only way to keep a dream, any dream at all, to keep a dream perfect and rosy and intact and unsullied is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/the-only-way-to-keep-a-dream-any-dream-at-all-to-keep-a-dream-perfect/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [“Judaism and Christianity, and Islam too, all drip honeyed words of love and mercy so long as they do not have access to handcuffs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/judaism-and-christianity-and-islam-too-all-drip-honeyed-words-of-love/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Never cut loose from your longings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/never-cut-loose-from-your-longings/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [If people are pro-Israel, they are pro-Israel one-hundred-and-twenty percent. If they are anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian, they tend to be pro-Palestinian one-hundred-and-twenty percent. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/if-people-are-pro-israel-they-are-pro-israel-one-hundred-and-twenty/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) [Explore all 223 Amos Oz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Of course my books are translated into many languages. 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