Daniel Kehlmann: 'I have no idea how well most of the translations work' – interview
You're taking part in the World Literature Weekend which celebrates literature in translation. How do you feel about having your novels translated?
It's a great honour. The idea that there are publishing houses in other countries that pay people to translate my books, and that those people take time to do so, is very flattering. With most translations, though, I have no idea how well they work because I can't read or understand the language.
What about in English?
In English, I work with Carol Janeway who is also a friend and the senior vice-president of my publishing house in America. She was born in Scotland but lives in the US. She does "transatlantic translation" so that it works in both the US and in Britain. We work very closely together and we have a lot of fun. She captures my tone very well.
What do you like about British literature?
It seems to me that British literature has a very fine sense of the complicated-ness of social life and the nuances of the interplay between people of different social classes. It's still very much concerned with the life of society, in a sociological sense. There are many contemporary British writers I admire – Zadie Smith, Ian McEwan, Adam Thirlwell.
Your last novel was called Fame. What is it like being famous?
It's immensely surreal because it doesn't have anything to do with what you really are. But this is only an aspect of the constant problem of feeling misunderstood. Everyone feels that people around them don't take them for who they really are, but famous people just feel they are misunderstood by a lot more people.
The theme at this year's weekend is history and memory. How do German writers relate to the history of Germany?
I'm convinced that one of the tasks of German literature is to deal with Germany's history in the 20th century and keep working to understand it better. That doesn't mean every German book has to do it all the time and that every German writer has to write about it. I do feel that sooner or later I will try to deal with it, but I haven't yet found an angle that is original and good enough for me to approach that topic. It is such a serious matter and, unfortunately, it has often been used to make mediocre literature seem more important or more relevant. That's silly, ridiculous and immoral.
Your father was a film and theatre director. Do you ever consider writing for theatre or film?
I've actually just finished the adapted screenplay of my book Measuring the World, which will start filming in October. It's going to be in 3D, which I find very exciting. I was also commissioned to write my second play which opens in September in Austria. It's dangerous to be lured into the excitement and glamour of writing plays and scripts. You lose track of the quiet and unglamorous work of writing novels, which I find much more important.