Quote:
Originally Posted by Ea
I never could 'get' Dickens - you made me want to try reading Tolstoy.
Perhaps another book by Byatt? After all, "Possesion" is a romance and slightly out of the way for Byatt. But... I feel Byatt may be too intellectual in a thouroughly modern way for many. I like her a lot, but I've met few who feel they can 'connect' with her writing. It's 'too intellectual' and 'too dry' they say. That is what I like myself - I think.
I have a (supposedly) good modern translation of the Iliad - and you made me want to read it. I'm very much in favour of translations that can convey language in a contemporary way when we deal with ancient works. Often we read 100+ year old translations and they sound - rightly - oldfashioned. But for 1000 year old (or older) texts, I think it's better to look for a translation that work well in the current language.
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I agree with you 100% about translations, and I am glad that I made you want to read the Iliad, I hope that you enjoy it!
I have got my hands on Byatt's "The Children's Book", and will begin reading it shortly. It may have been that I didn't enjoy Possession as much as I should have because it is a romance novel, I do read romance novels from time to time but it is not my favourite genre by any stretch of the imagination. Also, I came into reading the book with high expectations for it, so maybe I was setting myself up to be overly critical. There were many elements of the book that I enjoyed, however, so I will be glad to try another novel by A.S. Byatt.