As soon as I started reading Michael Solot’s translation of The Odyssey, I felt instantly connected to the text. It felt so alive, so “modern,” so contemporary, so immediate. It was like reading Homer composed in my native English. Solot uses a conversational register yet it is replete with both elevated and ordinary language with a wide, dynamic range. The story was not only clearly understandable, it was compelling, urging me onward to read to the next chapter. I have never read 400 pages so quickly!
Tag: translation
A review of On the Smell of An Oily Rag by Ouyang Yu
Ouyang Yu is a poet who works the gap between languages, looking closely at our linguistic assumptions, etymologies, and correspondences. His latest book is a nonfiction created in a pen-notes style (biji xiashuo) inspired by ancient Chinese fiction.
A review of Mouse or Rat by Umberto Eco
Serious enough to engage its target audience of translation students, but entertaining and broadly focused enough to also interest the serious reader, this is a book which belongs on the bookshelf of anyone who is interested in the creation of…