Fandom Pulse is extremely enthusiastic about the Library’s foray into Spanish literature. One wonders why…
Castalia Library built its reputation translating Japanese literature into English. Natsume Soseki’s Sanshiro, Botchan, and Kokoro. Six volumes of Eiji Yoshikawa’s secret scroll cycle. Nine translations into a catalog that has established Castalia as the most serious independent literary translation operation in the English-speaking world.
Their tenth translation is not Japanese. It is Spanish. And it is one of the most overdue introductions in the history of European literature reaching English readers. The expansion into Spanish literature signals something about what Castalia is building. Their translation subscription has run on Japanese literature since launch. A single pivot to Pérez Galdós announces that the project is broader than a specialty press, that the mission is recovery of major world literature that English publishing has ignored rather than Japanese literature specifically. Forty-five more volumes of the Episodios Nacionales exist. If Castalia follows through, they will have done something no major publisher has attempted in the history of English-language literary translation.
Fandom Pulse reached out to Vox Day asking if they would be translating the entire series, and he told us, “Yes, we are translating the entire 46-volume series.”
I’m pleased to say that not only have more people joined to support Castalia’s translation efforts, but Trafalgar is already the #1 New Release in Spanish literature. One subscriber expressed his opinion after receiving this week’s book:
One of the best rewards on Substack is receiving copies of these historic treasures with new compelling translations, some never having been previously translated to English at all!