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Did you read a particular translation? It's a book I've always intended to read and I started trying to read Constance Garnett's translation recently, but the w
by Deimorz 7y ago
Did you read a particular translation? It's a book I've always intended to read and I started trying to read Constance Garnett's translation recently, but the writing felt awkward and it turned me off pretty quickly. It felt like I was reading poorly written fanfiction or a book intended for young adults with limited vocabularies.
An example from one of the first few pages:
"There happened to him at that instant what does happen to people when they are unexpectedly caught in something very disgraceful. He did not succeed in adapting his face to the position in which he was placed towards his wife by the discovery of his fault."
- elcomet 7y agoI read a french translation so I cannot recommend an English one, sorry. But it definitely didn't read like fanfiction in my translation!
- norrius 7y agoI wonder if the French parts of the book were altered in the translation or kept as is. Or do you get excerpts of untranslated Russian instead, huh?
- elcomet 7y agoNo excerpts of untranslated Russian. What about the English version? But I read that Tolstoy participated in the french translation, since he spoke french fluently.
- js2 7y agoI can't make any recommendation, however this NYT article discusses various translations, including Garnett's: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/28/books/review/new-translations-of-tolstoys-anna-karenina.html https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/28/books/review/new-translat... The author seems to like the translation by Pevear and Volokhonsky, published in 2000. People get really worked up about translations: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/11/07/the-translation-wars https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/11/07/the-translatio...
- lordleft 7y agoI’m a massive fan of the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation (they’re a husband and wife duo)
- jkhdigital 7y agoI've never read an English translation of any classic Russian literature that didn't require re-reading of at least 10% of the sentences to figure out the meaning. On the one hand, it makes reading such books feel like an arduous undertaking. It took me about a year and a half to finish Anna Karenina, and I just gave up on The Brothers Karamazov. On the other hand, using two dozen words when five could suffice has the effect of drawing out each moment of the story, giving it a texture and flavor that would not otherwise be possible.
- mappu 7y agoI found the matching paragraph in my 1918 Maude translation: "At that moment there had happened to him what happens to most people when unexpectedly caught in some shameful act: he had not had time to assume an expression suitable to the position in which he stood toward his wife now that his guilt was discovered."