Archives for September 2007

“Gustav Aschenbach was the writer who spoke for all those who work on the brink of exhaustion, who labor and are heavy-laden, who are worn out already but still stand upright, all those moralists of achievement who are slight of stature and scanty of resources, but who yet, by some ecstasy of the will and by wise husbandry, manage at least for a time to force their work into a semblance of greatness.”
Thomas Mann, Death in Venice

Apropos of today’s Bulgakov discussion contrasting the opening paragraphs of the Ginsburg and Glenny translations of Master and the Margarita, a reader writes:

BTW, the Russian original is, literally, “chewed,” not “crumpled.” Ginsburg, being a native Russian, is obviously concerned here about translating too literally, not being sure whether “chewed” works in English.
Also, I wonder where they both got “sneakers” from. The Russian word is “slippers” (something one wears only at home), which adds to the picture of slovenliness.
The “cowboy” v. “tartan” is interesting: the Russian word is “kovboyka,” which, literally means cowboy shirt. But in the Russian of that time this was a common word for a large category of what we would now call polo shirts, not worn by those with sartorial taste. A literal translation doesn’t work. Tartan is better. But neither fully conveys the picture.
It’s always interesting to see how translators go about their work. Having read and compared many originals and translations, I would say that on the whole, nine times out of ten the superior translation will be the one done by the translator who is translating into his native language, as opposed to from his native language.

I find this sort of thing fascinating. So many thorny issues in a single paragraph — let alone a chapter, a novel.

• After yesterday, I was going to self-impose a moratorium on all mentions of James Wood until he either a) published his first review as a New Yorker staffer (on the topic of the latest deadly Philip Roth novel, I believe*), or b) stopped by the house for tea & buns, but this screed, written by The Rake, is too smart and provoking to skip.
• What is a cranberry morpheme? (Via Lindsayism.)
* I admire Roth’s novels a lot, but the last few have me want to hire him a hooker.**
** I expect Wood will work with a different thesis.
*** I don’t know why I’m using so many footnotes today either.

The Bulgakov translation conundrum began a few weeks ago. My husband Mr. Tingle* was looking for a book to read, and I suggested Master and the Margarita as it’s one of the Best Books in the World. Also, he (Mr. T) recently read the Bible, a grinding sort of triumph, and I thought he’d enjoy Master and the Margarita‘s religious elements.**
But the book was abandoned after only a few pages, the reason given that something was off with the writing, maybe it was the translation? And I flapped my arms around a lot, but when I went to re-read the novel myself I saw he was right. Our house copy is the Mirra Ginsburg translation, and I got the Michael Glenny translation from the library and started reading it last night. It’s a huge improvement, as you can see from the opening paragraphs alone.
From the Ginsburg translation:

At the hour of sunset, on a hot spring day, two citizens appeared in the Patriarchs’ Ponds Park. One, about forty, in a gray summer suit, was short, plump, dark-haired and partly bald. He carried his respectable pancake-shaped hat in his hand, and his clean-shaven face was adorned by a pair of supernaturally large eyeglasses in a black frame. The other was a broad-shouldered young man with a mop of shaggy red hair, in a plaid cap, pushed well back on his head, a checked cowboy shirt, crumpled white trousers, and black sneakers.

From the Glenny translation:

At the sunset hour of one warm spring day two men were to be seen at Patriarch’s Ponds. The first of them — aged about forty, dressed in a grayish summer suit — was short, dark-haired, well-fed and bald. He carried his decorous pork-pie hat by the brim and his neatly shaven face was embellished by black horn-rimmed spectacles of preternatural dimensions. The other, a broad-shouldered young man with curly reddish hair and a check cap pushed back to the nape of his neck, was wearing a tartan shirt, chewed white trousers and black sneakers.

The musicality of the Glenny translation is just more pleasing, down to the substitution of “chewed” for “crumpled.”
RELATED LINKS:
• In praise of the Glenny translation
• Excellent Master and the Margarita website (via TEV.)
* This was my husband’s handle at Tingle Alley, and he’s asked that it remain what he gets called here as well. In case he ever wants to join a motorcycle gang or open up a magic store or something.
** Spotting Biblical allusions is Mr. Tingle’s new hobby — a consolation, I think, for the hardships of Leviticus. One night I was watching Devil Wears Prada and at the point when Miranda Priestly approaches the building and Stanley Tucci shouts “Gird your loins,” he popped in from two rooms over to announce, “‘Gird your loins’ is from the Bible!”

Here’s my list of recommended Broadway and off-Broadway shows, updated weekly. In all cases, I gave these shows favorable reviews in The Wall Street Journal when they opened. For more information, click on the title.

Warning: Broadway shows marked with an asterisk were sold out, or nearly so, last week.

BROADWAY:

• Avenue Q * (musical, R, adult subject matter and one show-stopping scene of puppet-on-puppet sex, reviewed here)

• A Chorus Line * (musical, PG-13/R, adult subject matter, reviewed here)

• The Drowsy Chaperone (musical, G/PG-13, mild sexual content and a profusion of double entendres, reviewed here)

• Grease * (musical, PG-13, some sexual content, reviewed here)

• The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee * (musical, PG-13, mostly family-friendly but contains a smattering of strong language and a production number about an unwanted erection, reviewed here)

OFF BROADWAY:

• The Fantasticks (musical, G, suitable for children old enough to enjoy a love story, reviewed here)

• Iphigenia 2.0 (drama, R, adult subject matter and violence, reviewed here, closes Oct. 7)

CLOSING SUNDAY:

• A Midsummer Night’s Dream (play, G, suitable for very bright children, reviewed here)

“All human errors are impatience, the premature breaking off of what is methodical, an apparent fencing in of the apparent thing.”
Franz Kafka, notebook, Oct. 18, 1917

• NYPL Series on the “Life And Works of Vladimir Nabokov“: Lots of great archival images to peruse.
• The 25 world’s weirdest animals. (via Dooce.)

• Garth Risk Hallberg in The Quarterly Conversation: “Why James Wood Is Wrong About Underworld”
• A LitKicks panel investigates “Does Literary Fiction Suffer From Dysfunctional Pricing?”