tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1536632601144343589.post7291995702853900948..comments2023-10-21T17:15:44.508+01:00Comments on logophilia: Friday NotesLogophilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09822880147540261566noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1536632601144343589.post-57353910858694534562008-07-25T20:41:00.000+01:002008-07-25T20:41:00.000+01:00I really need to read the Barker trilogy as well, ...I really need to read the Barker trilogy as well, I've been putting it off and busy with other projects...but that is no excuse. There was a wonderful article about her in the New Yorker a few months ago and it reminded me that I need to bump her higher on the TBR list.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1536632601144343589.post-74587937991517420952008-07-25T16:44:00.000+01:002008-07-25T16:44:00.000+01:00AntipodeanOwl, sounds like you have a spectacular ...AntipodeanOwl, sounds like you have a spectacular view! That must be a great way to start the day. <BR/><BR/>Verbivore, the reading time on the commute is excellent. I nearly missed my train this morning (am reading Pat Barker's Regeneration and am really enjoying it!). <BR/><BR/>Mark, you have my dream commute. Me, jealous? Never...<BR/><BR/>Max, I agree the recent tends to dominate all sorts of lists - must be the familiarity of it, the ease of recall, as well as what's is fashionable at particular times. I get more than a little irritated when translators aren't mentioned in reviews! Though I'm sure I've been guilty of this myself when discussing people like Garcia Marquez...interesting about Verne, as Simone Beauvoir is another who has apparently not been translated well and suffers critically in English as a result.Logophilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09822880147540261566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1536632601144343589.post-68720469376718228992008-07-23T13:11:00.000+01:002008-07-23T13:11:00.000+01:00Lists tend toward the recent as the recent is easi...Lists tend toward the recent as the recent is easier remembered, lists of greatest movies tend to have a preponderance of recent cinema for example.<BR/><BR/>Still, interesting thoughts on translations. The Heaney translation is excellent (and he did an audio version which is very good too). <BR/><BR/>On the relationship between translator and author, I wonder a lot about that too. I once saw the same passage from Three Musketeers repeated three times, each time from a different translation. The differences in tone were remarkable, very significant.<BR/><BR/>Apparently Jules Verne has never had a good translation into English, many of the best known omit entire chapters and one of his more prominent translators boasted of how much he left out. I've never liked Verne, but given the state of the translations how can I know if I don't like his work or just don't like bad translations of it?<BR/><BR/>By contrast, Haruki Murakami writes novels in Japanese but also is a well known translator in Japan, translating English novels into Japanese. Given that, we can probably assume the translations of his novels into English are pretty good, since he can read them himself and would presumably object if they didn't fairly capture his work.<BR/><BR/>I think the whole area of translations is very interesting. Reviews frequently fail to mention who the translator is or to comment on the quality of the translation, and these are key questions as I think you rightly identify.<BR/><BR/>Glad to hear the move went well, nice to be living by the sea. The idea of being able to see it from your home is very nice, well worth a bit of a commute I'd have thought.Max Cairnduffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01456908303542544616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1536632601144343589.post-78758730762655106532008-07-23T08:03:00.000+01:002008-07-23T08:03:00.000+01:00Glad the move went well. I envy the sea view ... S...Glad the move went well. I envy the sea view ... Sunny Stockport, where I am forced to dwell, is very far from the sea ...<BR/><BR/>The commute sounds much better now too. Although my commute consists of coming downstairs -- so I win on that score I think!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1536632601144343589.post-82177742251984799532008-07-22T06:04:00.000+01:002008-07-22T06:04:00.000+01:00Thank you for your very nice comment! I used to ha...Thank you for your very nice comment! <BR/><BR/>I used to have quite a commute as well, and as long as I could read it didn't really bother me. <BR/>Glad the move went well, Brighton is supposed to be so lovely!<BR/><BR/>I look forward to your thoughts on The Stone Angel, I've been meaning to read that one as well. And I printed that list of translations to see which ones I might be able to look at this summer!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1536632601144343589.post-2006567009261141362008-07-22T01:34:00.000+01:002008-07-22T01:34:00.000+01:00Being able to see the sea as you cook is such a lo...Being able to see the sea as you cook is such a lovely image! Isn't Brighton where Billy Bragg retired to? :D<BR/><BR/>Where I live I look out across three mountain ranges, and there is nothing better than standing in my kitchen of a morning and watching the weather role in over the mountains with a steaming cup. Bliss! And I agree with you, I love the longer commute, great for reading and relaxing!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com