tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post3407839580543396609..comments2023-12-20T04:18:41.617-06:00Comments on The Hunting of the Snark: AssassinsSusan of Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00076915322771385454noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-77310909704349227312011-01-19T21:06:08.823-06:002011-01-19T21:06:08.823-06:00Thanks! From what I know, Garnett's well-rega...Thanks! From what I know, Garnett's well-regarded. I'll have to look at those editions. I know the plays very well, and some of the short stories, but certainly not all of them. I've read Garnett's translation of <i>Ivanov</i>, which is okay, but I think the David Hare version is better – but I also think plays and poetry are harder to translate. Chekhov can be extremely subtle, and I know of one case where Michael Frayn (a very good playwright) "corrected" a line in <i>Three Sisters</i> and accidentally messed it up. Paul Schmidt's translations of the plays are supposedly quite good. <br /><br />My Russian's too rudimentary to fairly judge all the translations myself, but I've asked around, and I try to research that sort of thing, own multiple translations of some works, etc. FWIW, here's my take: If you're reading Dostoevsky, Garnett is pretty good, but go for Pevear and Volokhonsky. If you're reading Bugakov's <i>Master and Margarita</i>, go for the Burgin and O'Connor edition, which also has excellent endnotes.Batocchiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02193752396025012825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-3875722584542587672011-01-19T06:41:03.919-06:002011-01-19T06:41:03.919-06:00Batocchio,
I have the old Constance Garnett trans...Batocchio,<br /><br />I have the old Constance Garnett translation, re-issued in 12 volumes by the Ecco Press several years ago (still in print), along with some notebooks and other materials. This is about the only way that I know of to have all of them, though I suspect that the translation might be a little slovenly. Cambridge University Press published them as well, and I seem to remember liking those better but it was a while ago. I do think Chekhov the short story writer is underappreciated (because surprisingly not read), so you are in possession of the secret treasure. And "emotional truth" perfectly describes what he does.Kiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07652157502257079776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-42688862041739754822011-01-18T03:59:59.212-06:002011-01-18T03:59:59.212-06:00Kia, what edition/translation? (Many of his stori...Kia, what edition/translation? (Many of his stories about adults have similar dynamics.)<br /><br />Chekhov's life was pretty interesting, and sad. Basically, as a young man, he was told he'd die soon (from tuberculosis) and then kept on living - finally dying at 44. He woke early before the rest of his extended family to write for a couple of hours in peace. In his early career, he wrote many satirical pieces, which aren't always read over here. Perhaps he always felt he was living on borrowed time, which helped him develop his sardonic wit, and his keen eye for small kindnesses and cruelties. His best work captures the subtleties of life and what's "emotionally true" as few have. (I could go on, but one of the best things I got from studying in Moscow was a much, much deeper appreciation for Chekhov.) <br /><br />Also, this thread discussion reminds me again of <i>The White Ribbon</i>. Susan, have you seen it yet?Batocchiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02193752396025012825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-85546037158843743132011-01-14T21:49:01.671-06:002011-01-14T21:49:01.671-06:00You'll find all you need in my past posts.You'll find all you need in my past posts.Susan of Texashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00076915322771385454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-30752212480147628702011-01-14T21:06:26.788-06:002011-01-14T21:06:26.788-06:00Humor me.Humor me.Tom Ballnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-18627493006420584832011-01-14T20:34:44.146-06:002011-01-14T20:34:44.146-06:00Kia, I will have to start reading Chekhov.
About ...Kia, I will have to start reading Chekhov.<br /><br />About a year ago I read an article about life in Dubai. The expatriates there--British, American, European--loved having lots of cheap servants who were basically slaves. They bragged about never having to lift a finger. <br /><br />And now I remember Mrs. Trollope writing of her disgust when a Southern woman said the same thing. People don't change, I guess.Susan of Texashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00076915322771385454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-71267606047070279552011-01-14T20:27:20.509-06:002011-01-14T20:27:20.509-06:00You are incapable of understanding them.You are incapable of understanding them.Susan of Texashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00076915322771385454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-16732322401048939602011-01-14T20:21:40.917-06:002011-01-14T20:21:40.917-06:00This post is much more interesting than the McArdl...This post is much more interesting than the McArdle fascination. Although Mr. Silber is way off-base about the wretchedness of the United States, I am sympathetic with your sentiment about our leadership. I'd love to see a post exploring your thoughts as to why this situation exisits.H.R. Cullennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-90422987958723714942011-01-14T15:28:02.090-06:002011-01-14T15:28:02.090-06:00This week I revisited some of Anton Chekhov's ...This week I revisited some of Anton Chekhov's short stories. In the edition I'm reading, one volume is dedicated to stories--realist stories--told from the points of view of animals and children. It is the saddest volume in the whole series. Poor children and orphans would be sort of taken into slavery in households and worked all day, beaten if they fell asleep while rocking the baby's cradle in the middle of the night. The people who mistreated the children in this way tended to be shopkeepers, the tradesman's class, for whom the tiny margin of advantage that a slave child working in the house would give could turn into some incrementally equivalent advancement in social status. So you see a society in which "nice" people--or at least people who keenly want to be taken for nice--habitually regard (certain) others as instruments of their private ambitions; from these instruments the maximum of value is to be pitilessly extracted, and somehow, also, the value extracted never seems to keep up with the cost of their upkeep, even when the child-slaves can hardly stand up, between hunger and lack of sleep. You just know that such casual mindless cruelty was commonplace at the time, so much so that no one even noticed that there was anything wrong with it. That many people, in fact, regarded their severity with these poor children as a point of pride. When I first read those stories, years ago, I thought of these things as 19th-century phenomena, other times, other mores. But I feel quite differently now: I see it in the really callous and punishing attitude to the poor that prevails in our own time. The stories, that always seemed emotionally true if rather fantastic, seem less fantastic and even more sadly true. There is something base and basic us that makes it easy for us to think we can rise by pushing those who are down even further down.Kiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07652157502257079776noreply@blogger.com