/lit/ - Literature

Some of the finest and most readable classics in all of world literature belong to the Russians. Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky have an unprecedented monopoly on modern tralsnation efforts despite producing the worst, by far, translations of Russian literature. Most likely this has been done (((intentionally))) in order to denigrate Russian literature and turn people off reading greats such as Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Gogol, Pushkin, Chekhov, Lermontov, Turgenev, and others.

https://www.commentary.org/articles/gary-morson/the-pevearsion-of-russian-literature/

This article with example comparisons from multiple translations proves that if you get a P/V translation (and they are VERY hard to avoid, especially if you shop at a bookstore rather than online) you are cheating yourself out of the entire style and meaning of the book.

If you enjoy this genre please make sure you tell everyone else who might ever read a Russian book to never ever read one translated by these unbelievable hacks. Before I knew anything about translations I purchased a number of books by these clowns and robbed myself of sufficient enjoyment and understanding.

Discuss why they've been (((promoted))) so heavily and why anyone should respect critics who apparently have no discernment and probably didn't even read the translations they were reviewing.

What do you guys think of their translations? I want to start reading the Russians (in my case starting off with Turgenev and Chekhov's stories, and then Gogol and Pushkin), and I keep hearing about how their translations are the best and most accurate, though of course there were dissenting opinions.

But recently I read George Saunders' A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, and for one Tolstoy story he compares several different translated versions of certain lines in the story... and I always liked the P&V version the least. Every single time, I felt that the P&V version of the translation was the least well-written (in English), even at times edging into boring. It makes me want to go with a different translation for everything I want to read... but maybe I just don't know enough about the Russian language and its literature to realize how great they are?