Chekhov's Mistress
Pevear & Dumas
I’ve grown accustomed to seeing Richard Pevear’s name, along with his partner Larissa Volokhonsky, on the covers of Russian masters’ books, so was surprised to see that he had translated Dumas’ The Three Muskateers. Michael Wood gave Pevear’s effort a nominal thumbs-up in today’s Slate:
The new translation is very readable (as are its predecessors), though there are quite a few lapses into pure translationese, that language that no one ever speaks: “what horror,” “he is relegating me to the infamous,” and so on. But Pevear has got rid of all the coyness about sex that marks most of the earlier versions, and above all he preserves the swift movement and casual complexity that Dumas’ breezy method creates.
I tend to treat new translations with skepticism – for no good reason other than being egotistically offended by descriptions like “readable” and “up-to-date” when in my head a translation should be something like the language of the day (not always practical, plausible or desired) and language of the original rather than just an appeal to a modern sensibility. Still, I have it on good word that Pevear and Volokhonsky have brought a lot of truth to their Russian work and I’ve enjoyed the translations of theirs that I have read (Crime & Punishment, The Master and Margarita and some of Chekhov’s Stories) for the very reasons I’ve just complained about.
I wonder how they find the time for all these fat books? I seem to recall that Pevear and Volokhonsky are translating War & Peace too, which will probably make me chuck my Maud translation and re-reading it some cold winter’s week or three. It would be worth every minute, I’m sure.
comments
You know, I started to read their translation of notes from the underground and HATED it--Constance Garnett, I will never take you for granted again!
xxoo
Sara
– Sara Gran (08/24 at 11:18 AM)
Page 1 of 1 pages of comments
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About this Post
- Posted by: Bud Parr
- Date: July 31, 2006
- Filed Under:
Translation
- Comments:1
- Links to this Post: Technorati
