A German Oprah?

It's hard for America to keep up with what's capturing the imagination of people in other countries when it takes so long for books to be translated into English.

Case in point: The prize-winning Nazi-era novel, "Les Bienveillantes,'' (mentioned below by my colleague) is a best seller in France but it won't be available in English until 2008.

Pantheon has been a bit quicker to translate a German novel that knocked J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown off the top of the bestseller lists over there. "Measuring the World'' by Daniel Kehlmann -- favorably reviewed in the Times on Sunday -- focuses on two eccentric German scientists in the early 19th century. It was published in English this week and is the German Book Office's first selection for its book of the month program. Take that, Oprah.