Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion

Is anyone else finding it difficult to discern which translation of certain list books to choose? The research I do seems to go in circles, and I can find great deals on used versions, but don't know if they are trusted. I figure we can all help each other out with the choices here, by asking about certain books and answering the questions of others.

I'll start. What translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses would you recommend? What version did you read, and did you find it enjoyable?

I read Michael Simpson's The Metamorphoses of Ovid, which I found really easy to read. It's a prose translation, and I'm not normally in favour of those, preferring a poetic version, but I enjoyed this one. Another advantage if you are at all interested in exploring the background of the myths, is Simpson's notes, which are nearly as long as the translation itself. Naturally it does make for a bigger book and put the price up, but the staggering amount of detail on matters of literary structure and allusions in Ovid (of which there are many) make it worth it.

The other translation I have on my shelves, but have not read in its entirety is by A.D. Melville in the Oxford World's Classics series. The passages I have read have been well translated, and if you want a poetic translation would be my recommendation. I will probably read this version when I next tackle the poem.

Thanks David! I'll add your recommendation to my spreadsheet. Looking up the Simpson translation, it appears to be exactly what I am looking for.

I liked the Mandelbaum verse translation: The Metamorphoses of Ovid

Does anyone have a recommendation for The Iliad? I had previously heard that the Lombardo translation was good, but we are group reading this over on Constant Readers, and most of the members there seem to have the Fagles translation.

I think there's four "main" Iliad translations. Lattimore, Lombardo, Fitzgerald and Fagles.

I read a Fitzgerald translation of The Oddysey and that was pretty good.

I can't stand Lattimore at all. It's supposed to be about as accurate as you can get in comparison to the original Greek but I found it really, really dry.

I've heard that Lombardo uses modern slang, which I know would drive me crazy... But it's recent enough that the slang shouldn't be too dated yet, I think, so if slang doesn't bug you, it's otherwise supposed to be good.

I've heard great things about the Fagles translation, but I've never read it. I've heard he does take a bit of liberty from time to time with the translation just to make the meter work properly. So it's not going to be 100% accurate.

(The Iliad isn't on the list, so maybe shouldn't be part of this discussion)

Melanti wrote: "I can't stand Lattimore at all. It's supposed to be about as accurate as you can get in comparison to the original Greek but I found it really, really dry. "

I completely agree about Lattimore. It is the go-to scholarly translation par excellence, and for detailed close reading of selected passages I wouldn't want anything else, but when it comes to reading the whole thing, it is rather dry. I'm reading through it at the moment and finding it quite a slog. I think I'll switch to Fagles for the Oddyssey

I guess this is an example of where you want different translations for different purposes. And the Iliad is rich enough to justify having several versions to hand.

yep! If I were trying to make some sort of scholarly point or if I were trying to learn Greek and wanted an English translation to help me out on the more difficult passages, Lattimore would be ideal.

Fitzgerald is also somewhat scholarly - which is probably why it was the assigned translation in school.

Lombardo and Fagles are supposed to be the "fun, leisure reading" style translations.

David wrote: "(The Iliad isn't on the list, so maybe shouldn't be part of this discussion)

Sorry, it never occurred to me that it wouldn't be on the list. I didn't realize we were that picky on this board.

Deborah wrote: "David wrote: "(The Iliad isn't on the list, so maybe shouldn't be part of this discussion)

Sorry, it never occurred to me that it wouldn't be on the list. I didn't realize we were that picky on t..."

We're not, we're not! :-) But it's good to note a book that isn't on the list so people are fooled.

There are quite a few translations of War and Peace. If you've read it, do you think the translator made a difference in your enjoyment? Which did you read and if you thought you would ever read it again, would you choose the same - or different - translation?

A lot of people praise the Pevear translation. I haven't read any yet.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "There are quite a few translations of War and Peace. If you've read it, do you think the translator made a difference in your enjoyment? Which did you read and if you thought you would e..."

I found this review which speaks to the quality of the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation and includes a short comparison to Constance Garnett. I have read Garnett translations of other works and find her quite readable. I think if I am compelled to trip over words such as "Theotokos" (P&V translation) it might be off-putting.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Hopefully, others will chime in.

I took a few Russian lit and culture courses in college, and both professors, fluent in Russian, praised Pevear and Volokhonsky. I've read their translations of War and Peace (with a class) and Anna Karenina (on my own) and found them easy to follow and engaging. I do not feel the need to stray from the P&V translations if, and when, I read them again.