Eins im Andern by Monique Schwitter is currently being translated into several languages. Here five of her translators give us their personal insight into translating her novel. 

HELEN MOSTER (FINLAND):
“The writing seems simple at first, but Monique Schwitter’s style is accomplished, her sense of humour sharp and shrewd, her dialogue precise.”

OLGA KOZONKOVA (RUSSIA):
“The hypertext comes with difficulties, such as puns and ambiguities. Fundamentally, though, it’s fun to translate such clever prose.”

TESS LEWIS (USA):
“An amusingly deceptive and deceptively amusing book. The early passages promise conventional memories of past loves, but soon dark abysses open up. ‘What is it, this love thing?’ asks the narrator. Over twelve chapters, love reveals itself, at once offbeat, absurd, desperate, ecstatic, faithful, dependable, ephemeral – and so much more.”

SEVGI TUNCAY (TURKEY):
“It’s difficult to adapt the style of this book to suit the tastes of the Turkish reader, which made translating it an exciting challenge!”

HELEN SINKOVIC (CROATIA):
“Monique Schwitter’s writing in Eins im Andern immediately enthralled me: its enigmatic humour, self-irony, profound but humorous portrayal of people’s love affairs made me curious as a reader and eager to set to work as a translator. The text seems easy to read on the surface, but only when you start to translate it, do you realise that Monique Schwitter has set herself high literary standards, which both reader and translator must heed.”

Monique Schwitter was born in 1972 in Zürich and has lived in Hamburg since 2005. She studied acting and directing in Salzburg and has had theatrical engagements in Zürich, Frankfurt, Graz and Hamburg, amongst others. She writes novels, short stories and plays. Her novel Eins im Andern was awarded one of the 2016 Swiss Literature Awards.

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