The Krimi in English German critic Thomas Wörtche takes a look at Crime at the Coalface. Translating crime from German to English? It may seem like carrying coals to Newcastle, but that doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be done. Of course I’m not suggesting that every krimi merits translation. In the overcrowded field of crime fiction nine out of ten books needn’t appear in any other language – but that applies to all run-of-the-mill crime products, from Britain, Italy, Spain, Sweden, the US or anywhere else. No, the books that urgently require translation are those by exceptional writers, whose works should be available in each and every language. Genre is not the decisive factor – or at least it wouldn’t be, if ‘crime fiction’ weren’t such a terrible leveller. While no one would think of discussing the twentieth century Anglo- American novel with reference to James Joyce and Barbara Cartland, in the discussion of crime fiction qualitative differences are often ignored. Any London publisher faced with the decision as to whether to publish a production-line krimi that has sold well in German or to translate a novel by Friedrich Ani has already been caught in the trap. Take the following example. When Ingrid Noll’s krimis came out in unspectacular English language editions it was clear from the start that they wouldn’t take off. At around the same time one of Pieke Biermann’s truly first rate novels appeared in a less-than-adequate translation because no one could imagine that a German krimi could have almost Joycean linguistic flair and be witty and funny as well. Back then Biermann refused to allow any of her other novels to be translated. Tempi passati. In the here and now we need to focus on singling out those crime novels that stand out from the globalized norm and bringing them into international exchange. And this can be commercially rewarding, as I have found through my own experience of publishing crime literature from all over the world. Top quality crime novels do exist in German: Friedrich Ani’s series about a missing persons’ unit in Munich; Astrid Paprotta’s novels about a female detective in Frankfurt; Heinrich Steinfest’s stories about the unlikely private investigator, Mr Cheng; Monika Geier’s series set in the deepest German provinces; Robert Hültner’s period pieces from the beginning of the twentieth century. The basic crime conventions are those employed globally, known and loved in the Englishspeaking world and certainly not something that would scare a reader off. Yet the specific way in which these conventions are used, the physical and social environment that shapes them, and the literary and aesthetic make-up of the books are different and original. This is illustrated by the fact that no easy comparisons can be made: none of the above authors write ‘like’ any other – Ani doesn’t write ‘like’ Derek Raymond, Hültner doesn’t write ‘like’ Philip Kerr and so on. And that is what speaks so strongly in favour of these authors and others like them. They all have their own sound – a sound that is eminently translatable – and they all offer high levels of suspense and a cast of memorable characters. They also present specific locations in an original and convincing way – not by theorizing about them, but as part and parcel of the story. Not knowing these authors means not knowing crime fiction in its international dimension. Getting to know them could be profitable for both sides. Thomas Wörtche is a leading German critic whose columns, features and reviews regularly appear in the German-language press. His crime columns, ‘Crime Watch’, ‘Cream of Crime’ and ‘Leichenberg’, are renowned for their incisive commentary and wit. As well as writing about literature and music, Wörtche also edits the international crime series, metro, published by Unionsverlag. © August 2004 Thomas Wörtche Translated by Sally-Ann Spencer You may also be interested in an overview of crime fiction in German by Tobias Gohlis, courtesy of litrix.de