War and Peace, 4
I finished War and Peace and it only took nine weeks. Well kind of finished, I still have the second epilogue but I should read that tonight. I talked to Hope (she wrote her thesis on it) last night about the book. I hashed out my pet theories with her, some where just wrong, some tautological. When I read it for class senior year I was surprised by every one thinking that you either like Pierre or Andrey. Unless you are Mr. Wodzinski, in which case you don't like either. Hope belongs to the Pierre crowed; I belong to the the Andrey crowed; it was a long conversation.
I just cannot read the first epilogue without thinking that Pierre will fail in what he is trying to do. He will try to change Russia, join the Decemberists, be sent to Siberia, which will kill Natasha, and destroy his family. Not only that but the Decemberist revolt brought about the repressive regime of Nicholas I. Tolstoy, in his architectonic-no-free-will sort of way, thinks that Andrey and Nikolay Rostov do more for Russia by treating their sefs well, and living life for their families. You think Pierre learns this lesson, but he doesn't. On the other hand, Tolstoy greatly admired the Decemberists, so we can't say that Pierre is a bad man. I have a lot of thought about this, but they are far from organized.
As for the new translation, it is adequate. Anthony Briggs (the translator) did try to make the soldiers a little more soldierly; which is a needed corrective. My favorite example is when Kutuzov is giving his speech about 'seeing the French off' One of the older translations says,
But after all is said and done, who asked them to come here? It serves them right, the b bÂ.
Ah, the good old days when you couldn't put swear words in print. I do like the way the new translation puts it,
They asked for it, the fucking bastards!
Because it is the first, last, and only time that a named character in War and Peace swears it holds special significance. In it comes all thhatreded that has been boiling over since the invasion started. It is shocking because in two words Tolstoy shows how much the Russians hate the French for invading, killing, pillaging, and raping. In a way its better than Andrey's speech before Borodino, or Kutuzov's 'I will make them eat horse flesh'.
So much for that. As for the rest of the translation. Any one will make mistakes in translating a 1400 page book, so I wont complain too much. Some of the more poetic moments in the book, however, don't come out very well in this translation. Like old Prince Bolkonsky's death. Also, in thdescriptionsns of Natasha the 'chit of a girl' is updated to 'slip of a girl'. Small point I know, but 'chit' and 'slip' don't mean the same thing. 'Slip of a girl' means that she is young and skinny. 'Chit of a girl' however means she is wild, exciting, youthful, and has a certain erotic charm; in other words Natasha. 'Chit' might not be a word used very much these days, but it is still the best word for Natasha and I see no reason to change it.
I just cannot read the first epilogue without thinking that Pierre will fail in what he is trying to do. He will try to change Russia, join the Decemberists, be sent to Siberia, which will kill Natasha, and destroy his family. Not only that but the Decemberist revolt brought about the repressive regime of Nicholas I. Tolstoy, in his architectonic-no-free-will sort of way, thinks that Andrey and Nikolay Rostov do more for Russia by treating their sefs well, and living life for their families. You think Pierre learns this lesson, but he doesn't. On the other hand, Tolstoy greatly admired the Decemberists, so we can't say that Pierre is a bad man. I have a lot of thought about this, but they are far from organized.
As for the new translation, it is adequate. Anthony Briggs (the translator) did try to make the soldiers a little more soldierly; which is a needed corrective. My favorite example is when Kutuzov is giving his speech about 'seeing the French off' One of the older translations says,
But after all is said and done, who asked them to come here? It serves them right, the b bÂ.
Ah, the good old days when you couldn't put swear words in print. I do like the way the new translation puts it,
They asked for it, the fucking bastards!
Because it is the first, last, and only time that a named character in War and Peace swears it holds special significance. In it comes all thhatreded that has been boiling over since the invasion started. It is shocking because in two words Tolstoy shows how much the Russians hate the French for invading, killing, pillaging, and raping. In a way its better than Andrey's speech before Borodino, or Kutuzov's 'I will make them eat horse flesh'.
So much for that. As for the rest of the translation. Any one will make mistakes in translating a 1400 page book, so I wont complain too much. Some of the more poetic moments in the book, however, don't come out very well in this translation. Like old Prince Bolkonsky's death. Also, in thdescriptionsns of Natasha the 'chit of a girl' is updated to 'slip of a girl'. Small point I know, but 'chit' and 'slip' don't mean the same thing. 'Slip of a girl' means that she is young and skinny. 'Chit of a girl' however means she is wild, exciting, youthful, and has a certain erotic charm; in other words Natasha. 'Chit' might not be a word used very much these days, but it is still the best word for Natasha and I see no reason to change it.
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