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A review by yy_reads
Three Apples Fell from the Sky: The International Bestseller by Narine Abgaryan
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Somehow, despite having every other work by Abgaryan, we don't have this book at home! Luckily the library had it as an ebook, albeit only in translation. The book is lovely, warm and comforting despite dealing with some heavy subjects. And the food descriptions!! I want to come back to this book and reread it during the winter, it's incredibly cozy.
The English translation has some awkward parts that could have been done differently - mostly idioms like царь-птица or море-океан, which sound fantastical when translated literally/word-for-word. It does work okay within the magical realism of the setting but I could tell while reading that the original did not have quite the same tone in those parts. I did really enjoy the lyricism and rhythm of the prose, the translator did a great job there, and I would recommend this translation to anyone who cannot read the original.
The English translation has some awkward parts that could have been done differently - mostly idioms like царь-птица or море-океан, which sound fantastical when translated literally/word-for-word. It does work okay within the magical realism of the setting but I could tell while reading that the original did not have quite the same tone in those parts. I did really enjoy the lyricism and rhythm of the prose, the translator did a great job there, and I would recommend this translation to anyone who cannot read the original.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide
Minor: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and War
Famine (moderate), starvation (minor or moderate), the Armenian Genocide (recurring mentions throughout the book - not easily avoidable)