As a long time student of the Judeo-Christian Bible, I am keenly aware (and sensitive to) the importance of a good readable translation for the work under consideration. That said, there are many foreign language books (think the classics) that I would love to try, however I feel quite dubious about reading an outdated translation.
What I am asking for is examples of well-loved foreign language books in well crafted, contemporary English. For example, I love (what I have read of)
Brothers Karamazov written by Fyodor Dostoevsky and translated into english by Andrew MacAndrew (
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...w_myk_ro_title). Thank you so much for the suggestions!