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2578909 No.2578909 [Reply] [Original]

Which translation of War and Peace is the BEST? And by that I mean the most enjoyable to read. I don't care about the preservation of Tolstoy's original intentions ( i.e. keeping the French in the
text and not just translating it to English.) I just want to be able to read this fucker with as much ease and fluidity as possible.

Thank you. Let this be the definitive "War and Peace Translation" thread.

>> No.2578913
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2578913

>Leo Tolstoy
>French

>> No.2578915
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2578915

>>2578913

>> No.2578918

>>2578913

You're a fucking idiot.

>> No.2578929
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2578929

>>2578918
>>2578915
He was Russian you dumbasses. For a board obsessed with reading books in their own languages, you goofed pretty bad this time.

>> No.2578932

>>2578929
You should probably read War and Peace before commenting on it.

>> No.2578933

>>2578932
In French?...lol

>> No.2578935

>>2578933
I have no idea how they translate the French in French. Maybe they use Russian?

>> No.2578936

>>2578929

Well, I'm out. Your premature death would be tragic, but ultimately of no particular loss to be society.

>> No.2578973

>>2578936
No, that retard's death wouldn't be tragic at all.

>> No.2578978

>>2578973

All unnecessary death is tragic.

>> No.2578987

i think guy is trolling
lol i troll you
10/10

>> No.2578991

WHY IS EVERYTHING TRAGIC NOWADAYS. "TRAGEDY" USED TO MEAN SOMETHING. NOW EVERY TIME SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS IT'S A "TRAGEDY" OR IT'S "TRAGIC". GODDAMMIT, GUYS.

>> No.2578992

Well OP, I'm reading a translation from one Constance Garnett. I'm almost halfway through, and it's been really good. Very fluid, and it keeps the French (I know you said you didn't care). Before I got this copy, I was reading it online from Project Gutenberg, which I thought was also a good translation.

>> No.2578994

>>2578992

Thank you for actually answering the question.

>> No.2578995

>>2578992

>However, Garnett also has had many critics, notably prominent Russian natives and authors Vladimir Nabokov and Joseph Brodsky. Brodsky notably criticized Garnett for blurring the distinctive authorial voices of different Russian authors:[2]
>"The reason English-speaking readers can barely tell the difference between Tolstoy and Dostoevsky is that they aren't reading the prose of either one. They're reading Constance Garnett."
>In her translations, she worked quickly, and smoothed over certain small portions for "readability", particularly in her translations of Dostoevsky.[3] In instances where she did not understand a word or phrase, she omitted that portion.[2][4]

>> No.2578999

>>2578995

>In instances where she did not understand a word or phrase, she omitted that portion
>In instances where she did not understand a word or phrase, she omitted that portion
>In instances where she did not understand a word or phrase, she omitted that portion
>In instances where she did not understand a word or phrase, she omitted that portion
>In instances where she did not understand a word or phrase, she omitted that portion

Good God.

>> No.2579004

>>2578999
I am the faggot that has been 'trolling' this thread.
But I am deeply disturbed by this, leave a woman to do a job and look what happens.

>> No.2579006

>>2578995
Well shit. However, I must admit that I used to care about things like style in writing, but nowadays I don't think it's that important in novels that aren't heavily stylized (like War and Peace). Something like say, One Hundred Years of Solitude, or poetry, sure, I can see pretty much everything being lost with a poor translation. I don't think a translation can do much damage to a historical novel though.

>> No.2579007

>>2578999

As if Nabokov is someone who should be criticizing anybodys translations.
He butchered Pushkin even worse than Garnett did Tolstoy.

>> No.2579008

>>2578999
This is tragic.

>> No.2579010

>>2579007
Does Nabokov write in Russian or English?

>> No.2579012

>>2579010

At least Garnett could claim ignorance for her mistakes.
Nabokov was fluent in both so he really has no excuse for the hack job he did on Pushkin unless it was done out of malice.

>> No.2579013

I hear good things about the recent translation by Volokhonsky, but haven't read it myself

but you know them Russkies. They get killed by the Kremlin every time they mess up, and she's still alive, so it must be a pretty good translation.

>> No.2579055

Since we're talking about Tolstoy, I think everyone should check out The Kingdom of God is Within You. Anarcho-christianism is one hell of an idea.

>> No.2579073

Nabokov was too up Onegin's ass to try and preserve anything other than the direct meaning of the words. From everything I've heard (specifically from my Russian Lit professor at St. Peterburg State), Nabokov basically worshipped the ground Pushkin walked on. Not exactly my choice for a translator.

>> No.2579082

anybody read the pevear translation? thoughts?