tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post154932074584591920..comments2008-07-22T02:24:18.661+08:00bibliobibulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16456636355933524132sbakar@streamyx.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-49217835458811525562008-07-22T02:24:00.000+08:002008-07-22T02:24:00.000+08:00Yep, "stiff and painful" is about right although I didn't find 'Devil' quite as bad as 'Brida'. There are quite a few "thought to herself"s in 'Brida' -- aarrrgghhh! And uninteresting descriptions of witches' rituals. I'm sending it back to the library unfinished.Argus Louhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01775884960931383435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-54788564551768750392008-07-21T23:09:00.000+08:002008-07-21T23:09:00.000+08:00The only book of his that I read was &#39;The Devil &amp; Miss Prym&#39; &amp; I found the language / translation very stiff &amp; painful. I dunno, I just felt like I was being talked down to ...melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15110437744973331409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-12081838506985795122008-07-21T01:05:00.000+08:002008-07-21T01:05:00.000+08:00Did anyone else find Paulo Coelho's English version of 'Brida' horrible to read?Argus Louhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01775884960931383435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-78442457194516862102008-07-15T07:57:00.000+08:002008-07-15T07:57:00.000+08:00piersbp - both i and machinist who drops by here are incredible queneau fans, oulipo-ing all the time. the rest of my blog readers probably don't have any idea what i'm talking about, which is fine because one of these days i must surely blog oulipo.bibliobibulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16456636355933524132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-9521327406512643322008-07-15T05:38:00.000+08:002008-07-15T05:38:00.000+08:00People, People! The GREAT thing is, primo, that the FANTASTIC FRENCH WRITER RAYMOND QUENEAU is top of the list! And secundo, that the work of his fabulous translatrix Barbara Wright is similarly numero uno. Once you have read the Exercises then there's a WHOLE HOST of other BRILLIANT STUFF to enjoy - so - ENJOY!piersbphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01700513770164091896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-54491702136501476462008-07-14T08:11:00.000+08:002008-07-14T08:11:00.000+08:00i did write a little more about it <A HREF="http://thebookaholic.blogspot.com/2006/06/dumpees.html" REL="nofollow">here</A>. i must say, to pedal back on the complete damnation, that i did like some of the episodes in it (e.g there is a beautiful piece on masks). but the parts don't create a whole and this was agony, even for a committed reader who seldom dumps a book.bibliobibulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16456636355933524132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-8112757185407415182008-07-14T07:07:00.000+08:002008-07-14T07:07:00.000+08:00Haha! I'm loving the bad puns.<BR/><BR/>Animah, you missed the Yukio Mishima. Not that I've read it, but it's on the list and it's Japanese....<BR/><BR/>I don't know, I don't think Georges Perec is the most difficult author to translate. I love his work but I find the language fairly straightforward; the challenges are elsewhere. Same with Marguerite Duras.<BR/><BR/>Sharon, them's some strong words about Soul Mountain! What did you hate about it? I haven't read it, but am curious if what you didn't like was inherent in the original, or might have been a problem with the translation. I've read Ha Jin, who writes in English, and I am really not a big fan at ALL. I wonder if there are linguistic/stylistic conventions in Chinese writing that translators try to convey in the English, and that Ha Jin maintains (consciously or not) in his work -- such as a particular kind of sparseness that to me sounds stone cold. Like a dead person writing, only that would probably be more interesting.<BR/><BR/>-- PSAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-24960642274808660492008-07-13T19:04:00.000+08:002008-07-13T19:04:00.000+08:00Like the CK Jeans ad with Brooke Shields, "Nothing Comes Between Me and My Calvinos" for Animah :-)))<BR/><BR/>- PoppadumdumAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-17611143915662614692008-07-13T19:02:00.000+08:002008-07-13T19:02:00.000+08:00I'm glad to see John E. Woods' translation of <I>Perfume</I> on the list. The rich variety of sensory experiences described in that book surprised me, because after reading translations of Paulo Coelho's <I>O Alquimista</I> (The Alchemist, which I was lucky enough to be able to read in the original Portuguese) and especially Orhan Pamuk's <I>Snow</I> (can't read Turkish, unfortunately), I got this idea into my head that translations couldn't possibly be adequate. It was so nice to know I was wrong about that.Jordanhttp://macvaysia.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-60729662729017675862008-07-13T18:14:00.000+08:002008-07-13T18:14:00.000+08:00For Georges Perec, I think 'A Void' (La Disparition) translated by Gilbert Adair is also a good translation. The original novel & the translation have no letter 'e'. Granted that it's harder to do so in French than in English. But, still.Burhanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05582444270077430405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-61626588830121255602008-07-13T17:17:00.000+08:002008-07-13T17:17:00.000+08:00animah - "if on a winter's night" is, like martin amis' "time's arrow" a very important post-modern work, snd for that i admired it for it's cleverness and for doing something that no other author had done. cleverness applauded i moved on to read something i'd enjoy more. every book has its reader. i'm not calvino's.bibliobibulihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16456636355933524132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-38466914996064100462008-07-13T16:02:00.000+08:002008-07-13T16:02:00.000+08:00murakami's norwegian wood<BR/>saint-exupery's little prince<BR/>gaarder's sophie's world<BR/>neruda's twenty love poems & a song of despairbooksellernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-66915924712831042462008-07-13T14:26:00.000+08:002008-07-13T14:26:00.000+08:00I donated my copy of 'Soul Mountain' to Payless. I forced myself to read one chapter. It was like doing penance. One friend couldn't get past the 1st page & another only read one paragraph.melhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15110437744973331409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7912730.post-80149348311286929912008-07-13T11:43:00.000+08:002008-07-13T11:43:00.000+08:00Calvino - "why read on once you've got the joke". Sharon, Calvino is fun, he takes your mind through twists, hoops, takes you underwater and you come up gasping - it isn't about getting the joke - it's the journey he takes you through. <BR/><BR/>I'm surprised to find Snow here. I can imagine Turkish must be hard to translate, as Pamuk is a difficult read. I've been told its the translation more than anything, and that's what's put me off. Snow is on my bookshelf - I'll try to read it.<BR/><BR/>Interesting that no Japanese works are here.animahnoreply@blogger.com