14 Comments
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Dr Livci's avatar

Mad respect for such a well done remake, you gave genuinely pulled off a translation that is totally true to the original but also relatable for a modern English Speaking Reader. Having read the original in both Russian and a Standard English Translation I got the nihilistic, sarcastic vibe but your work here has actually made me see just how funny Notes actually is, thanks a lot for that.

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vāneçka's avatar

cheers! much appreciated, I'm myself is impressed haha

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Portia's avatar

And it's uncanny how Dostoevsky still speaks to us, even after 160 years.

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Portia's avatar

And I'd add that – with all due respect to Nabokov, whom I'm very fond of – Dostoesvky wasn't a third-rate author, after all.

Vanya, your translation is sublime, a hugely successful experiment. I wonder what your incandescent talent would make of Gogol'.

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E. Syla's avatar

Dostoevsky is one of the very best authors of all time. Nabokov was jealous that he didn’t have the substance and the profound psychological insights, hence worked hard to compensate with style.

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Portia's avatar

Or, better said, with Gogol'.

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vāneçka's avatar

thank you! I have a list of books I'd like to translate — might publish it soon — Gogol's not there yet but he might be at some point! After "Notes" I'd like to get something rather obscure, and maybe alternate it like that if I can sustain this as a regular thing hehe

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Portia's avatar

Great idea!

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Chen Rafaeli's avatar

Actually I agree with so much, makes me a bit suspicious.

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vāneçka's avatar

can relate

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Annie Hendrix's avatar

so fucking good

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Alphabeticalmno's avatar

Catching this by 4 in the morning 😂 time to feast

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Alphabeticalmno's avatar

Reading this and being awed by the great mastery of language and amazing use of comedy. Great work as usual

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Jeanne S's avatar

These are like a literary Advent calendar. A new prize every time...

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