Hofstadter's Eugene Onegin
The other evening, arujei, fafner88, and I were around Kepler's, and Arujei mentioned that he had a gift certificate for there that he wanted to use before he moves to Minnesota. So in we went, and we wandered around for a bit before ending up in the poetry section. I glanced around semi-randomly, and my eye fell on a copy of Eugene Onegin. I remembered how much Douglas Hofstadter had loved it and written about it in Le Ton beau de Marot, so I picked it up, only to discover that it was Nabokov's rendering. The insanely literalist, really ugly version.
I put it back, but then my eye fell on a small red book next to it -- a different edition of Eugene Onegin. And, lo and behold, it was translated by Hofstadter! I didn't know he'd done one! Wow! I acquired it without further ado. I said to Arujei, "Well, you know what a Hofstadter fan I am," while he mulled over Heaney collections.
I spent a good bit of time last night and this afternoon reading it, and I got throug the preface, chapter 1, and part of chapter 2. The preface was really fun, though a lot of it was stuff I already knew from reading Le Ton beau.
Reading the poem is really fun. It definitely doesn't feel 'stuffy' or 'literary'-in-a-bad-way. There are a lot of moments for which the word "cute" would not be misapplied. It's playful, and poignant, and...hmmm. There are places where it doesn't quite flow right -- meter awkwardness, mostly -- but that's arguably a feature rather than a bug. It keeps calling attention to the 4th wall, so I can remember to appreciate the translation as well as the story. Of course, that's not always a good thing. But it's fun.
I don't know if it makes a difference that I know Hofstadter's writing and translating style, but his Onegin feels very 'him'. By which I mean, it feels a lot like the versions of Ma Mignonne where he wasn't purposely trying to do some weird stylistic thing, just letting it flow naturally.
At the point I've gotten to, the main characters are still being introduced and the plot hasn't gotten started yet, so I can't comment on that. But Pushkin really has a way with the snarky-or-poignant inserting-his-own-commentary. Yay. (That, too, calls attention to the 4th wall, so it's not all the fault of poetic restrictions.)
Squee.
I put it back, but then my eye fell on a small red book next to it -- a different edition of Eugene Onegin. And, lo and behold, it was translated by Hofstadter! I didn't know he'd done one! Wow! I acquired it without further ado. I said to Arujei, "Well, you know what a Hofstadter fan I am," while he mulled over Heaney collections.
I spent a good bit of time last night and this afternoon reading it, and I got throug the preface, chapter 1, and part of chapter 2. The preface was really fun, though a lot of it was stuff I already knew from reading Le Ton beau.
Reading the poem is really fun. It definitely doesn't feel 'stuffy' or 'literary'-in-a-bad-way. There are a lot of moments for which the word "cute" would not be misapplied. It's playful, and poignant, and...hmmm. There are places where it doesn't quite flow right -- meter awkwardness, mostly -- but that's arguably a feature rather than a bug. It keeps calling attention to the 4th wall, so I can remember to appreciate the translation as well as the story. Of course, that's not always a good thing. But it's fun.
I don't know if it makes a difference that I know Hofstadter's writing and translating style, but his Onegin feels very 'him'. By which I mean, it feels a lot like the versions of Ma Mignonne where he wasn't purposely trying to do some weird stylistic thing, just letting it flow naturally.
At the point I've gotten to, the main characters are still being introduced and the plot hasn't gotten started yet, so I can't comment on that. But Pushkin really has a way with the snarky-or-poignant inserting-his-own-commentary. Yay. (That, too, calls attention to the 4th wall, so it's not all the fault of poetic restrictions.)
Squee.