Loosed in Translation discussion

Robert Walser is an extremely gifted and eccentric German language Swiss writer of mainly short stories, and fiction but also a little bit of poetry. He died in 1956, and has been very influential to writers such as Kafka, Hesse, and WG Sebald.

I think Walser's work is really funny, dark, and unique. His work has been mainly translated by Christopher Middleton (Speaking to the Rose, Selected Stories, and Jakob Von Gunten) and Susan Bernofsky (pretty much everything else). I think they are both great translators, but I know some people who prefer Susan's translations.

I've read Jakob Von Gunten, The Assistant, Selected Stories, and Microscripts and liked them all.

Any other Walser fans in here?

Yes, I've read everything in print except for Speaking to the Rose (is there any overlap with Selected Stories?) and Microscripts (which is sitting on bookshelf unopened). I'll get to that one in the fall, it doesn't seem right to read Walser in the summer.

On Bernofsky's website, she lists a new NYRB for 2011:

Berlin Stories by Robert Walser (New York: New York Review Books, 2011)
http://www.susanbernofsky.com/news.html

I also thought she was working on a biography, but I don't see mention of that anywhere.

There is also a very interesting film by the Quay Brothers - Institute Benjamenta - which is based on Jakob Von Gunten. For me it has a completely different tone than the book. The movie is very lush and dreamlike, and is sometimes so oversaturated that it induces sleep. And although Walser seems to exist in his own personal dreamworld, there's always a sense of melancholy, not being at ease in the world, and subversiveness that suggests and more firm relationship to reality.

I don't think there is any overlap between Speaking of the Rose and Selected Stories. I have both, but I haven't read Speaking of the Rose yet.

The Quay brothers movie is really interesting, moody, beautiful.

Also, check out this website dedicated to Walser: Wandering With Robert Walser

I really liked this interview with Bernofsky. Major rock star translator in my opinion. According to the interview she IS working on a biography. Can't wait.

She also makes an appearance on Bookworm and blows our translator-loving minds by reading beginning of Middleton's translation of Jakob Von Gunten. When I first heard it I had just finished reading The Assistant, which I loved, but it was that reading that made me an insta-junky

Yes, I've listened to that interview. She's awesome. She also translated one of my other favorite books this year Visitation by Jenny Erpenbeck.

I have both, but I haven't read Speaking to the Rose: Writings, 1912-1932 yet. -- me

I've read it now, and it's fantastic. It's mostly later stuff, so the style is a bit different, you have to read it more slowly to get all the subtleties but definitely worth it. And no overlap with the other book, that I can recall.

Yes, Berlin Stories is releasing in November. I haven't read them yet but am super excited. And yes, it is translated by Susan Bernofsky--not only superstar translator but co-chair of the PEN Translation Committee.

Nick

I just picked up a copy of the microscripts. I confess, I've never read any Walser before this, and I'm sure that it's a strange, possibly wrong, place to start. The microscripts are stunning, though. In the sense that they actual stun you, take your breath away, and make you feel like you've been hit over the head. I love them, so far. Savoring.