Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe Minton
I have before me two translations of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's "One Day in The Life of Ivan Denisovich." I have read both. There is a difference.
The first I read was, as I now understand, very badly translated. It does not 'ring true'. It does not carry the emotion and subjective reality of the second translation.
The second was approved by the author and carries much more 'weight'. Let me give you the opening sentence of both so you can judge for yourself:
First version:
"At five o'clock that morning reveille was sounded, as usual, by the blows of a hammer on a length of rail hanging up near the staff quarters."
Second:
"The hammer banged reveille on the rail outside the camp HQ at five o'clock as always."
The first is in passive voice and descriptive. The second is active voice, more involving, and expresses the profundity of the story that is to follow. The words "as always" at the end of that sentence informs the reader of the drudgery, monotony and hoplessness of Ivan's life. "as always" says that things are so bad that Ivan cannot afford to think beyond the banged announcement of "reveille."
We don't care about "in the morning"; of course it was in the morning; who the hell would think otherwise. We don't care about a description of how or even whether the "rail" was hung. What we care about, what Solzhenitsyn cares about, is the plight, the quiet horror, the essential reduction of life to staying warm and getting enough to eat.
I encourage you to read the book, but: read the translation by H.T. Willetts.
I can only imagine the difficulty of 'accurate' translation.
Joe
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Hmmmm
I preferred the first one. I didn't see it as being more passive that the other and the image of what happened was clearer in my mind. Methinks we can chalk these differences up to personal tastes. I like to savor what I read; I'm guessing you prefer to just get on with it. Nothing wrong with either preference; they are just personal differences.