Professor translates classic books

A University of Iowa law professor has spent the past year translating a decades-old Danish book into English so American readers can get their first taste of Denmark’s best-selling novel of all time. Marc Linder says putting “The Fisherman” into English wasn’t easy.Linder found a person in Iowa City who was from Denmark and knew the obscure dialect. The book was written in 1928 by Hans Kirk and has been printed in twelve languages, but not English. Linder was given a copy of it 25 years ago while teaching in Denmark, recently rediscovered it on his shelf and decided to share it with America. He says the story follows a group of Danish fishermen and their families.The families move from the harsh conditions near the North Sea to an inland fjord. Linder says the easier conditions bring conflict for members of the group because of their strict religion — and those conflicts become the focus of the group’s story.The book is available through Prairie Lights Bookstore in Iowa City.