Motoko Akashi – författare

This volume is the first of its kind to explore the notion of untranslatability from a wide variety of interdisciplinary perspectives and its implications within the broader context of translation studies. Featuring contributions from both leading authorities and emerging scholars in the field, the book looks to go beyond traditional comparisons of target texts and their sources to more rigorously investigate the myriad ways in which the term untranslatability is both conceptualized and applied. The first half of the volume focuses on untranslatability as a theoretical or philosophical construct, both to ground and extend the term’s conceptual remit, while the second half is composed of case studies in which the term is applied and contextualized in a diverse set of literary text types and genres, including poetry, philosophical works, song lyrics, memoir, and scripture. A final chapter examines untranslatability in the real world and the challenges it brings in practical contexts. Extending the conversation in this burgeoning contemporary debate, this volume is key reading for graduate students and researchers in translation studies, comparative literature, gender studies, and philosophy of language.The editors are grateful to the University of East Anglia Faculty of Arts and Humanities, who supported the book with a publication grant.

This volume shifts attention from the global reception of world-famous author, MURAKAMI Haruki’s works, to the translators whose labour enables its circulation. Moving beyond established discussions of literary style, market success, and readership, the book foregrounds the often-overlooked role of translators as cultural mediators, advocates, and agents in the international transmission of literature.Featuring contributions from translators working into Bengali, Catalan, Chinese, Italian, Russian, and Thai, alongside scholars specialising in the circulation of MURAKAMI’s works in East and South Asia, the volume provides a rare comparative and practice-based perspective on translating one of the world’s most widely read contemporary authors. Drawing on reflective accounts, professional experiences, and critical analysis, contributors explore the challenges, negotiations, and creative decisions involved in translating MURAKAMI across diverse linguistic and publishing environments.The book will appeal to scholars and students of Translation Studies, Japanese Studies, Comparative Literature, and World Literature, as well as literary translators and publishing professionals. By illuminating the social, cultural, and commercial dimensions of translation, the volume develops our understanding of translator agency and how global literary circulation is shaped through local contexts and translational practices.