The “Heaving Breasts and Alabaster Thighs” CEFR A2-B1 Reading Program

[iguanamon]

Two of my languages are mainstream enough (and advanced enough) to have romance novels, Portuguese and Spanish. I have read and enjoyed romance novels in both languages. My favorite author in Portuguese is the Brazilian writer, Carina Rissi. Carina Rissi writes in an educated colloquial style. She has had a few translations in other languages, but I'm surprised that she hasn't been more widely translated. Her heroines are intelligent and strong and her stories are contemporary and intriguing. There is a ton of dialog and this really helps with colloquial speech. One of her major influences was Jane Austen and her heroines have an Austen feel.

In translation, I love Sophie Kinsella, a British writer, whose works I have read in both Spanish and Portuguese. Her novels are along the same lines as Carina Rissi's with intelligent, strong heroines and a contemporary setting. To this day, I have never read one of her novels in English.

I was inspired by Carina Rissi to explore Jane Austen and have read some of her novels in Portuguese, Spanish and even a few chapters in Catalan. I'm not quite ready for these type romance novels in Catalan, yet.

To anyone who is at an intermediate level in a big language, I highly recommend exploring this genre, especially writers along the lines of Jane Austen and Sophie Kinsella. They will definitely help a learner to incorporate modern colloquial speech patterns.