The first of Yu Hua's new book, Cries in the Drizzle. I haven't read the original, but this is one of Yu Hua's earlier books, and it sounds as if it might not be his strongest.
The other is of Wang in Love and Bondage, published on the MCLC website. The review is first of all an excellent background on Wang Xiaobo, which is nice, though it's very positive about a translation I just can't understand anyone liking. I hope this book marks the last of the Chinese/foreign translation team efforts – it's just not the right way to go. Still, the review is quite worth reading.
By Eric Abrahamsen, December 11, 3:38p.m.
One of the great mysteries of Chinese to English translation. Mark today on the calendar.
By Eric Abrahamsen, December 10, 3:48p.m.
It appears that John Updike has been officially nominated to tackle Chinese literature for The New Yorker. First there was a dual review of Su Tong's My Life as Emperor and Mo Yan's Big Breasts and Wide Hips in 2005, now an examination of Ha Jin's latest novel, A Free Life. We couldn't ask for a better reviewer (though I suppose we could ask for someone more familiar with Chinese literature).
Apart from Updike's general judgment of the book (neither as focused nor compelling as his other works) a good portion of the review is dedicated to language. Ha Jin is compared to Nabokov and Conrad as a writer who came late to English and achieved, if not mastery of it, at least fluency, and although a charitable reader might prefer to overlook language in favor of the story, Updike doesn't. There's a good reason for that – the book is about immigrants, and in particular the immigrant's struggle to learn the language, but judging from Updike's examples, Ha Jin's own English is slipping as well. Nan Wu, the protagonist, is tripped up by verb modifiers and prepositions (how many Chinese students of English have I heard bitterly cursing prepositions!), while Ha Jin himself is tripped up by awkward usages, inflated metaphors, and turns of phrase that sound to Updike as though they were translations from the Mandarin. I was curious about this last – the example given is "If his wife had been of two hearts with him, this family would have fallen apart long ago", but I can't tell whether this might really have been born as a Chinese phrase in Ha Jin's head.
More…
By Eric Abrahamsen, December 8, 1:39a.m.
New Comments
on Google Translator: Making the World a More Baffling Place?
Friends don't let friends make single line breaks.
But if friend did let friends make single line breaks, they would tell them do it by leaving two blank spaces at the end the line.
I have taken the liberty ...
posted by Eric Abrahamsen
on Sold: Dutch-Language Rights to "Right Bank of the Argun"
Bruce, do you have any background on this? For example, were you involved in the sale? Was the publisher's decision based on your English excerpt, on another language translation, or did they have someone who'd read the Chinese ...
posted by Cindy Carter
Hi Cindy,
I bought the book when in came out in Taiwan in late 2006 but didn't get to read it until this year. I've heard lots of good things about Chi Zijian and Bruce's translation of ...
posted by Gray Tan
on Han Han's speech at Xiamen University
The Contemporary Chinese Writers Project at MIT has just launched a website devoted to Can Xue that you can find at--
http://web.mit.edu/cbbs/ccw/can-xue/
Regards,
Jon Griffith Contemporary Chinese Writers Project, MIT
posted by Jon Griffith
on NYT gives a big wet one to Han Han
"The only thing [Party leaders] have in common with young people is that like us, they too have girlfriends in their 20s, although theirs are on the side.” Hilarious.
posted by Cindy Carter
Han Han's magazine pays much higher rates than other Chinese literary magazines, so it's possible they'll attract better contributors. The key will be the magazine's editorial policy. With higher rates for writers and a strong editorial ...
posted by Cindy Carter