I recently picked up a French version of The Alchemist (I know it's originally in Portuguese, but I've been wanting to practice my French). Some of the passages just sound so much more joyful/emotive in French than their English counterparts.

The prologue, for example, describes the story of Narcissus, who kneels beside a lake every day to look at his own reflection. After Narcissus dies, the lake weeps. When the goddess asks the lake why it weeps, this is the response:

The lake was silent for some time.

Finally it said:

"I weep for Narcissus, but I never noticed that Narcissus was beautiful. I weep because, each time he knelt beside my banks, I could see, in the depths of his eyes, my own beauty reflected."

The French text tells exactly the same story, but it feels a bit more colorful. I actually laughed out loud when I read it.

Le lac resta un moment sans rien dire. Puis:

<< Je pleure pour Narcisse, mais je ne m'étais jamais aperçu que Narcisse était beau. Je pleure pour Narcisse parce que, chaque fois qu'il se penchait sur mes rives, je pouvais voir, au fond de ses yeux, le reflect de ma propre beauté. >>

I think it's the delivery of the last line that just resonates a lot more with me in French than in English. The English version is a tad dry in a matter-of-fact way.

BUT, this got me thinking. What books give you a different experience when you read them in their original language? I'd be mostly interested French/Spanish since those are the two I could stumble through personally (maybe Italian).

In general though, have you ever read the same book twice in two different languages? Did you have a unique experience each time, or with certain sections of the book?