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Kafka (and other translations)

Started by Thomas, November 04, 2015, 09:33:44 AM

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Thomas

I imagine some of you lot are pretty clued up on ol' Franz. I've a collection here translated into English by a fella name of John R. Williams. Is this a good place to start as I delve into a world of describing things as 'Kafkaesque'?

I suppose there's some point to be made about never truly experiencing the work of a writer unless you're reading it in their own language. But if you're going to make that point, please do make it in English.

Literary translations, then; discuss 'em here. I know Nabokov, that enviable master of our language, translated some of his own works, which seems to me quite a reliable source of translation. Perhaps here we tread towards the territory of 'The Death of the Author', an argument I remain unconvinced by, and other thoughts on the limits of using language to express the stuff in our minds.

I don't know, I'm at work. Say interesting things.

Famous Mortimer

I've rather enjoyed a couple of translations by Pevear and Volokhonsky - "Crime and Punishment" and "The Brothers Karamazov" are both decent (although I could have done without every character apparently having three different names in the latter one). Pevear's translation of "The Count of Monte Cristo" is a fucking stormer too.

neveragain

I've been trying to get through some Murakami, but I'm not confident about how much is intended by the author. Same thing with watching Chekhov plays. Yes, I have little to add.