4 ms·

Roadside picnic is a favourite of mine. I’m currently learning Russian to reread it in the original Russian. But the translation is very good and done by the au

Roadside picnic is a favourite of mine. I’m currently learning Russian to reread it in the original Russian. But the translation is very good and done by the authors themselves.

freetonik 2y ago
I didn't know they've translated the book themselves! I often feel like translations done by other people are missing something fundamental of the spirit of the original. I'm wondering if there is a list of books "translated into language X by the author" somewhere.
- lowdownbutter 2y ago
  The same thing occured to me a while back. There is this wikipedia page about it but I didn't get much further than that. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-translation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-translation
- jhbadger 2y ago
  The problem is that translation isn't just about "capturing the spirit of the original" but realizing where to keep idioms and like from the original and where things need to be changed to make the translation less clunky. This isn't something just anyone can do. That's why people like Umberto Eco, who was more or less fluent in English, still preferred professional translators like William Weaver to translate his Italian books into English.
wazoox 2y ago
It's really one of the most haunting books I've ever read. "Hard to be a God" is also very poignant.
- eatonphil 2y ago
  The Dead Mountaineer's Inn is also good. A classic whodunnit with a twist.
  - wazoox 2y ago
    I found it not as good, and somewhat predictable. Its quirky humour didn't work on me, that's probably why I didn't like it as much.
    - eatonphil 2y ago
      Fair enough! It was my intro to the Strugatsky brothers and I was hooked.
      - wazoox 2y ago
        On the other hand it's not as soul crushing as the other two mentioned :)
orbisvicis 2y ago
It inspired Darker than Black which is quite good though not a book.
0x38B 2y ago
If you're learning to read it, I recommend listening as well. A quick Kagi search turned up a fantastic production read by Левашёв В. (1). I can't go without mentioning my favorite reader in Russian. Listening to Peter Markin read is unforgettable; his performance of Stanislav's "The Invincible" brought the massive machinery and energies to life before my eyes (2); Markin also read Hyperion by Dan Simmons and Frank Herbert's Dune (3). 1: https://youtu.be/IAD-ANTvs9Y https://youtu.be/IAD-ANTvs9Y 2: https://youtu.be/Ad32oH6Cg4Q https://youtu.be/Ad32oH6Cg4Q 3: I've nearly memorized Dune in Russian because I love his narration so much. He also read The Lord of the Rings - as close as we'll get to a Russian Rob Englis, I expect.
adelmotsjr 2y ago
I'm trying to find a legal copy of the original Russian book, but still could not find. Where did you get yours? That and the original Russian copies of the Metro series..
- dur-randir 2y ago
  https://www.litres.ru/ https://www.litres.ru/, but i'm not sure that you can pay with visa/mastercard there now.
Suppafly 2y ago
I'm not interested in learning Russian at all, but if I ever was, I'd want to read Vita Nostra by Marina & Sergey Dyachenko.

Roadside picnic is a favourite of mine. I’m currently learning Russian to reread it in the original Russian. But the translation is very good and done by the authors themselves.

freetonik 2y ago

I didn't know they've translated the book themselves! I often feel like translations done by other people are missing something fundamental of the spirit of the original. I'm wondering if there is a list of books "translated into language X by the author" somewhere.

lowdownbutter 2y ago
The same thing occured to me a while back. There is this wikipedia page about it but I didn't get much further than that. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-translation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-translation
jhbadger 2y ago
The problem is that translation isn't just about "capturing the spirit of the original" but realizing where to keep idioms and like from the original and where things need to be changed to make the translation less clunky. This isn't something just anyone can do. That's why people like Umberto Eco, who was more or less fluent in English, still preferred professional translators like William Weaver to translate his Italian books into English.

wazoox 2y ago

It's really one of the most haunting books I've ever read. "Hard to be a God" is also very poignant.

eatonphil 2y ago
The Dead Mountaineer's Inn is also good. A classic whodunnit with a twist.
- wazoox 2y ago
  I found it not as good, and somewhat predictable. Its quirky humour didn't work on me, that's probably why I didn't like it as much.
  - eatonphil 2y ago
    Fair enough! It was my intro to the Strugatsky brothers and I was hooked.
    - wazoox 2y ago
      On the other hand it's not as soul crushing as the other two mentioned :)

orbisvicis 2y ago

It inspired Darker than Black which is quite good though not a book.

0x38B 2y ago

If you're learning to read it, I recommend listening as well. A quick Kagi search turned up a fantastic production read by Левашёв В. (1). I can't go without mentioning my favorite reader in Russian. Listening to Peter Markin read is unforgettable; his performance of Stanislav's "The Invincible" brought the massive machinery and energies to life before my eyes (2); Markin also read Hyperion by Dan Simmons and Frank Herbert's Dune (3). 1: https://youtu.be/IAD-ANTvs9Y https://youtu.be/IAD-ANTvs9Y 2: https://youtu.be/Ad32oH6Cg4Q https://youtu.be/Ad32oH6Cg4Q 3: I've nearly memorized Dune in Russian because I love his narration so much. He also read The Lord of the Rings - as close as we'll get to a Russian Rob Englis, I expect.

adelmotsjr 2y ago

I'm trying to find a legal copy of the original Russian book, but still could not find. Where did you get yours? That and the original Russian copies of the Metro series..

dur-randir 2y ago
https://www.litres.ru/ https://www.litres.ru/, but i'm not sure that you can pay with visa/mastercard there now.

Suppafly 2y ago

I'm not interested in learning Russian at all, but if I ever was, I'd want to read Vita Nostra by Marina & Sergey Dyachenko.