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Old 02-09-2011, 01:10 AM   #1
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Kobo version of War and Peace

I have decided that it's high time I read War and Peace. I am in my mid 40's and it's been on my "to be read" pile for 20 plus years so I've decided to follow some advice I read to "live it" and I'm going to read a chapter a day.

My question is, has anyone read the kobo version that comes in the 100 free books? I am loath to open it in case it has terrible formatting or the chapter breaks are wrong - and I don't fancy paging through to the end! Is it a reasonable translation with minimal errors, or am I better to buy one or source a better version?

And if anyone wants to join me, I'd love to have some company...we can live War and Peace in Russia for the next year!
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Old 02-09-2011, 02:37 AM   #2
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Regarding Tolstoy, the content matters. Read his works however
they are formatted.
Aside, I'm not sure how some Russian styles might sound in English.
Deminutives are common, so be prepared.
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Old 02-09-2011, 05:14 AM   #3
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I can't comment Kobo's version of War and Peace myself, so just generally speaking:

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Originally Posted by kiwipippa View Post
Is it a reasonable translation with minimal errors, or am I better to buy one or source a better version?
How important is the fit of the translation to you? Do you favour more modern styles in your translation, in which case it might be worth spending money? The public domain ones tend to be older or more 'Victorian', but this doesn't always mean they're worse.

I think the Kobo version is from Project Gutenberg, which appears to be the Maude translation. There are various other translations available (some for purchase), including Garnett, Briggs, Bromfield, and Pevear-Volokhonsky. The newest and most modern translation is by apparently the tour de force Pevear-Volokhonsky, whose translation of Anna Karenina made the Oprah Book Club and seems to have made their efforts flavour of the month. Bromfield's is a controversial translation that purports to be based on the 'original' (there are apparently a few different versions of W&P). Garnett's is seen as rustically Victorian but with an easy style. The Maudes apparently knew Tolstoy and were fervent promoters of his works. Unfortunately, most ebooks available for purchase don't seem to specify the translator.

Of course, if you don't care for translations that much, just try the public domain one and see if it reads naturally for you. In any case, sorry for the info dump... I've been wanting to read War and Peace myself, and since the translation is fairly important to me, am having trouble deciding on one.

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Old 02-09-2011, 05:58 AM   #4
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I've been wanting to read War and Peace myself, and since the translation is fairly important to me, am having trouble deciding on one.
From original, maybe?
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Old 02-09-2011, 06:06 AM   #5
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Heh, one from the original, that would be the goal, yes. I think I'm fussing too much in any case, so maybe I'll start off with the public domain translation though. Either that, or there's a fat Pevear-Volokhonsky pbook edition of Anna Karenina I can borrow from a friend, whichever one appeals better...
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Old 02-09-2011, 11:28 AM   #6
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Quote:
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From original, maybe?
Isn't the original in both French and Russian?

As far as formatting goes, check and see if there is an edition in the library here. Most classics seem to be there, and even if it is in a different format like .mobi, you might get a better formatted version once you convert to .epub with calibre.

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Old 02-09-2011, 11:32 AM   #7
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Thanks everyone, I'll try the kobo one - which is gutenburg according to the kobo site. I'd forgotten that Anna Karenina was the first book I ever read on my kobo and it seemed fine - although all the "russian" and "french" words in it were not italicised, instead they were formatted as _word_ which was a bit annoying, but I'll see how it goes. I'm a member of the Victorians group on Goodreads so love the older style of writing anyway. And, viviena, why would a translator modernise the style? Isn't that changing the original too much?

There was an online group who read it last year (or perhaps 2009). The Pevear-Volokhonsky version was the one the moderator used for that. But I'm not really that fussy as long as it isn't full of errors. I downloaded Sister Carrie from Gutenberg a month or so ago and it was full of errors - "of" instead of "or", names spelt differently in different places, spelling errors, incorrect sentence structures - not just standard ebook errors, these made in unreadable. I ended up buying a $2 copy that was perfect (and it was a good read too if you like Dreiser).

Anyway, thanks everyone and Viviena, hurry up and source a copy and we'll do it together!
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Old 02-09-2011, 11:35 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bill_mchale View Post
Isn't the original in both French and Russian?

As far as formatting goes, check and see if there is an edition in the library here. Most classics seem to be there, and even if it is in a different format like .mobi, you might get a better formatted version once you convert to .epub with calibre.

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Good idea, I'll have a look there first.

I'd love to read the original Russian or French, but unfortunately I was educated in the Anglo Saxon school system which didn't emphasis languages at all so I wouldn't get past the first word! I'm all for the European system where they became fluent in several languages at a very young age - us English speakers assume everyone else speaks English.
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Old 02-09-2011, 01:34 PM   #9
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We didn't assume that... we worked very hard to make sure that the British Empire and then the American Sphere of influence were so powerful to ensure that everyone would learn English .

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Old 02-09-2011, 07:20 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kiwipippa View Post
I have decided that it's high time I read War and Peace. I am in my mid 40's and it's been on my "to be read" pile for 20 plus years so I've decided to follow some advice I read to "live it" and I'm going to read a chapter a day.
Here's a link to a Michael Dirda review of the new translation of War and Peace:

http://tinyurl.com/6avjy7u

How can you resist?

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Old 02-09-2011, 09:26 PM   #11
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And, viviena, why would a translator modernise the style? Isn't that changing the original too much?
I don't want to give the impression that modernisation, at least in the case of newer translations such as Pevear-Volokhonsky's, dumbs down the original or anything. It's just how various phrases and words have been translated to make the reading experience flow more smoothly and read more naturally for modern sensibilities, as opposed to the Victorianisms that can be found in earlier translations. Nothing wrong with them of course, and I'm used to the more archaic turns of phrase myself, but I can understand why some people would find the older translations difficult to bear with. An example I found elsewhere on the internet:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Maude
Prince Vasili always spoke languidly, like an actor repeating a stale part. Anna Pavlovna Scherer on the contrary, despite her forty years, overflowed with animation and impulsiveness. To be an enthusiast had become her social vocation and, sometimes even when she did not feel like it, she became enthusiastic in order not to disappoint the expectations of those who knew her. The subdued smile which, though it did not suit her faded features, always played round her lips expressed, as in a spoiled child, a continual consciousness of her charming defect, which she neither wished, nor could, nor considered it necessary, to correct.
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Originally Posted by P-V
Prince Vassily always spoke lazily, the way an actor speaks a role in an old play. Anna Pavlovna Scherer, on the contrary, despite her forty years, was brimming with animation and impulses.

Being an enthusiast had become her social position, and she sometimes became enthusiastic even when she had no wish to, so as not to deceive the expectations of people who knew her. The restrained smile that constantly played on Anna Pavlovna’s face, though it did not suit her outworn features, expressed, as it does in spoiled children, a constant awareness of her dear shortcoming, which she did not wish, could not, and found no need to correct.
For those that are curious, there's an interesting overview of the various translations out there by a reviewer on Amazon.

Anyway, yes yes, I've settled on the Maude and have downloaded a copy from FeedBooks! I've just got to finish off a library book or two first...

Last edited by viviena; 02-09-2011 at 09:29 PM.
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Old 02-09-2011, 11:48 PM   #12
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Here's a link to a Michael Dirda review of the new translation of War and Peace:

http://tinyurl.com/6avjy7u

How can you resist?

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I can't! Started this morning and really enjoyed the single chapter I read.
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Old 02-09-2011, 11:52 PM   #13
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I don't want to give the impression that modernisation, at least in the case of newer translations such as Pevear-Volokhonsky's, dumbs down the original or anything. It's just how various phrases and words have been translated to make the reading experience flow more smoothly and read more naturally for modern sensibilities, as opposed to the Victorianisms that can be found in earlier translations. Nothing wrong with them of course, and I'm used to the more archaic turns of phrase myself, but I can understand why some people would find the older translations difficult to bear with. An example I found elsewhere on the internet:





For those that are curious, there's an interesting overview of the various translations out there by a reviewer on Amazon.

Anyway, yes yes, I've settled on the Maude and have downloaded a copy from FeedBooks! I've just got to finish off a library book or two first...
Hmmm... they are both quite different. In my personal opinion, the first seems more in keeping with the era.

Great to see that you are going to join me. I had two library books come in this morning that I have been waiting ages for - but I am going to read War and Peace at the same time as other books, or at least try it this way and see how it goes.
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Old 02-11-2011, 10:43 AM   #14
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I have to say, that if I only had that paragraph comparison to go on, the decision would be for the Maude translation every time. But that is just me .
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Old 02-11-2011, 10:40 PM   #15
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I have to say, that if I only had that paragraph comparison to go on, the decision would be for the Maude translation every time. But that is just me .
I agree, but I'm from the colonies so what would I know?

the British colonies that is - I remember as a child looking at world maps and seeing all the blobs of pink right round the globe - the British Empire was once a mighty beast - her biggest legacy must be the English language.

And I've started War and Peace - up to Chapter 4
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