blogblond gets smarter. or not.
so i just finished reading a book which i am dying to brag that i read. it is called 'a curable romantic' by joseph skibell.
this book slips casually from english into french, german, hebrew, yiddish, and esperanto. the french and german are fairly easy, the hebrew is mostly translated, the yiddish is translated sometimes, and the esperanto is mostly decipherable if you have a background in romance languages and latin.
oddly enough, the most difficult language for me in this book was the english. now, all kidding aside, i am not an intellectual slouch. in spite of my uncorrected typos on this blog, and in spite of my blond relationship to all things technical, i am a fairly proficient speaker of english. i would say that i am, in fact, mostly fluent. however, this book required me to sit with a dictionary by my side- 6 words in the first 8 pages alone!- and i can't exactly figure out who could read this book otherwise. i was tempted to take the easy road and just guess at the words from their contexts, but i figured 'in for a penny, in for a pound'- or really, if i was going to spend the time to read this massive novel (two words that don't usually bode well when used together) i would do it "properly" (yes, i am married to a brit...)
the plot was surprisingly good, although by the third section i was losing my zest. the ending (page 593) was sort of weird, but overall it was a good read and a worthwhile use of time. the problem is, i can't figure out who in the world i can recommend this book to. who but an overindulged jewish intellectual (hello, joseph skibell) flits in and out of languages so casually? who will have enough familialrity with the hebrew alphabet to read both the hebrew and the yiddish, but be worldly enough to hang in there through the french, german, and esperanto? as the plot drags into the third section, it helps immensely to have a familiarity with jewish shtetl/ghetto culture.
oh, as an aside, i had a native yiddish speaker translate the dedication for me (yeah, red flag #1 is when you can't even understand the stuff leading up to chapter 1...) and it made even less sense in english than in yiddish. so, in some ways it's that kind of book.
so, i am bragging and throwing down a gauntlet- read this book, if you dare. belong to the elite blogblond reading circle. intimidate friends and influence people. or at least carry it around with you and astound those who try to read it after you.
happy translating! -BB
this book slips casually from english into french, german, hebrew, yiddish, and esperanto. the french and german are fairly easy, the hebrew is mostly translated, the yiddish is translated sometimes, and the esperanto is mostly decipherable if you have a background in romance languages and latin.
oddly enough, the most difficult language for me in this book was the english. now, all kidding aside, i am not an intellectual slouch. in spite of my uncorrected typos on this blog, and in spite of my blond relationship to all things technical, i am a fairly proficient speaker of english. i would say that i am, in fact, mostly fluent. however, this book required me to sit with a dictionary by my side- 6 words in the first 8 pages alone!- and i can't exactly figure out who could read this book otherwise. i was tempted to take the easy road and just guess at the words from their contexts, but i figured 'in for a penny, in for a pound'- or really, if i was going to spend the time to read this massive novel (two words that don't usually bode well when used together) i would do it "properly" (yes, i am married to a brit...)
the plot was surprisingly good, although by the third section i was losing my zest. the ending (page 593) was sort of weird, but overall it was a good read and a worthwhile use of time. the problem is, i can't figure out who in the world i can recommend this book to. who but an overindulged jewish intellectual (hello, joseph skibell) flits in and out of languages so casually? who will have enough familialrity with the hebrew alphabet to read both the hebrew and the yiddish, but be worldly enough to hang in there through the french, german, and esperanto? as the plot drags into the third section, it helps immensely to have a familiarity with jewish shtetl/ghetto culture.
oh, as an aside, i had a native yiddish speaker translate the dedication for me (yeah, red flag #1 is when you can't even understand the stuff leading up to chapter 1...) and it made even less sense in english than in yiddish. so, in some ways it's that kind of book.
so, i am bragging and throwing down a gauntlet- read this book, if you dare. belong to the elite blogblond reading circle. intimidate friends and influence people. or at least carry it around with you and astound those who try to read it after you.
happy translating! -BB
posted by BlogBlond @ 11:26 AM
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