What are you reading?

[pbt]

Re: What are you reading?

Their translations are discussed in an interesting article by David Remnick, Translation Wars, on the history of English translations of Russian greats. It was published a while back in the New Yorker and it's available on several blogs (or also perhaps legally though Ebsco via your public library's web site) including here, <DIV>http://ruinedbyreading.blogspot.com/2007/03/cat-has-9-lives-war-peace-has-more.html</DIV><DIV>It's worth a read.</DIV>

[hanajibu]

Re: What are you reading?

kamsky: the P/V translation of Crime and Punishment is Vintage Classics, not Penguin, and I wholeheartedly urge you to pick up that one instead! I have read another translation of C&amp;P (Constance Garnett) and Brothers Karamazov (John Bayley) -- both likewise inferior -- before discovering the P/V team. I first read their translation of Dostoevsky's "The Idiot" and have since read "Demons", "C&amp;P", "Karamazov", Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" (this is a Penguin book), Chekhov's "Stories" (the short story collection, not the longer one), and Gogol's "Stories". <DIV>The P/V version of "Karamazov" is, in my opinion, not only an easier read and far more lucid, but it's actually funny...in sections anyway. </DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>pbt: thank you for the link! very very cool. </DIV>

[Faust]

Re: What are you reading?



On a side note, for anyone who is interested in Dostoyevsky's writing, I would recommend reading Mikhail Bakhtin. Best literary criticism on Dostoyevsky.</p>

I gotta say, I'm grateful to be fluent in Russian.</p>

[Incroyable]

Re: What are you reading?

I am reading a rather simplistically written biography of the art critic, Clement Greenberg.

[Faust]

Re: What are you reading?



[quote user="Incroyable"]I am reading a rather simplistically written biography of the art critic, Clement Greenberg.
[/quote]</p>

What do you think of it/him?</p>

[interman]

Re: What are you reading?

I just finished listening to Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson. Plenty entertaining, and a surprising number of fashion labels involved.

[Incroyable]

Re: What are you reading?

[quote user="Faust"]

[quote user="Incroyable"]I am reading a rather simplistically written biography of the art critic, Clement Greenberg.
[/quote]</p>

What do you think of it/him?</p>

[/quote]</p>

I haven't finished the thing yet, but so far the book is rather commonly written--rather reminds me of a graduate student thesis or something.</p>

As for Mr.Greenberg, he--like other people with a particular brilliance--was apparently an underachiever who loved to criticize in an acerbic manner, was outspoken, and hated his Jewishness, calling them, "crude beings with no culture, wearing golf hose and jewelry".
</p>

[pbt]

Re: What are you reading?



"I gotta say, I'm grateful to be fluent in Russian."</P>


[+o(]</P>

[Faust]

Re: What are you reading?

[quote user="pbt"]

"I gotta say, I'm grateful to be fluent in Russian."</p>


[+o(]</p>

[/quote]</p>

Why such a negative reaction? I wasn't parading my abilities, I genuinely am happy that I can read certain books in the original. I've read plenty of bad translations, and is it not common knowledge that a book inevitably loses something in translation?</p>

[pbt]

Re: What are you reading?



Oh -- my bad! I don't use emoticons very much. I was trying for green with envy. Seriously,seriouslyenvy you that ability.</P>


Argh, so, I'm assuming what this emoticon actually indicates is naseous green? Again -- sorryabout that! </P>
<P mce_keep="true"></P>

[Faust]

Re: What are you reading?

[quote user="pbt"]

Oh -- my bad! I don't use emoticons very much. I was trying for green with envy. Seriously,seriouslyenvy you that ability.</p>


Argh, so, I'm assuming what this emoticon actually indicates is naseous green? Again -- sorryabout that! </p>
<p mce_keep="true"></p>

[/quote]</p>

[:D] Oh, man, you scared me! I am used to this meaning that something makes you vomit, and I was trying to figure out if I said something wrong. Cheers!
</p>

[Faust]

Re: What are you reading?

Naomi Klein - No Logo

[Faust]

Re: What are you reading?



Christopher Lasch - The Culture of Narcissism</p>

I don't think I've ever read anything more scathing [:|]</p>

[Divo]

Re: What are you reading?

Kalevala - Elias Lonnrot

[Faust]

Re: What are you reading?

Belgian Fashion Design - certain sections