Nobel Prize Winners discussion

Please post your comments on The Tin Drum in this thread.

Hello, we can do three chapters a day starting tomorrow (Monday, August 13). Is that okay with everybody?

Here's my edition (translated by Ralph Manheim):

I'll have to sit out on this one. I'm overly committed for this month. I will be back for The Sound and the Fury.

Angus wrote: "Hello, we can do three chapters a day starting tomorrow (Monday, August 13). Is that okay with everybody?

Here's my edition (translated by Ralph Manheim):

"

Hi Angus,
Three chapters a day might be too much for some, can we reduce it to two chapters a day and see how people are getting on after a week?

Hi David, sure, I'm good with 2/day. I'm actually guilty of being behind (I had too much to do last night).

I was wondering if the members can confirm their commitment to reading the book here or are they just going to post their thoughts sporadically?

Angus wrote: "Hi David, sure, I'm good with 2/day. I'm actually guilty of being behind (I had too much to do last night).

I was wondering if the members can confirm their commitment to reading the book here or ..."

Well I'm reading it, or rather I'm re-reading it and I will probably re-watch the video of the film if I can remember how to work the VCR machine.

Hi David, thanks for rereading this. I'm both excited a little anxious since this is my first German novel.

On another note, I just found out that the translation I prefer is Breon Mitchell's. Can you please give me a couple of days so that I could check the local book stores if they have that? If they don't, then I'll just stick with my Ralph Manheim translation. I can catch up over the weekend. I should have finished 14 chapters by Sunday then, right?

I'll also try looking for the film adaptation so that I can watch it after reading. :)

The 1979 film version was great!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ewzWk...

Wow, that's really cool, Aloha. Thanks! The trailer just got me revved up. I really wish I could find Breon Mitchell's translation.

It's sold on Amazon in eBook and paper:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Drum-Danzig...

I have Breon Mitchell's translation in Audible audio just in case I decided to join in. I'm leaving that open for now.

I will start the book in German. Not sure how far along I will get.

Thanks, Aloha. As much as possible, I get my books locally. I just called one of our local book stores and they have Breon Mitchell's translation. I'll pick it up tonight and start on it once I get home.

Hi guys, sorry I've been away and sick for the past few days. I'll do my best to catch up on my reading.

I'm sorry to hear that you've been sick, Angus. I hope you're feeling back to your normal self.

Hi Aloha, thanks. It's not a major sickness, but it didn't allow me to read much. I feel bad about it because I've nominated this book and look, I'm so behind. I would really try my best to catch up. :)

Don't worry, Angus. This is Goodreads. We all have other books we're juggling. Please take your time and enjoy yourself. This discussion isn't going anywhere.

Angus wrote: "Hi Aloha, thanks. It's not a major sickness, but it didn't allow me to read much. I feel bad about it because I've nominated this book and look, I'm so behind. I would really try my best to catch u..."

No, not to worry Angus. I'm finding it very slow reading but absolutely compelling.

Hello friends, sorry for being out of the circulation. My job has been eating some of my time, but hey, I am now currently reading book. I'm halfway through Book One.

Q: What do you think of Oskar Matzerath as a narrator?

*BTW, if you are interested, I rambled something on my blog regarding translated works. It focuses on The Tin Drum and a bit on War and Peace. You can check it out here and we can discuss that as a supplement on this thread, if you want. :)

It's funny that you should mention about translation, since I seem to be repeating about that a lot lately. I'm in the middle of reading a great book Le Ton Beau De Marot: In Praise Of The Music Of Language about the fine art of translation. My favorite science author Douglas R. Hofstadter of the Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid fame has a love of languages and poetry. As a challenge he had colleagues translate one of Clément Marot's poem. He also did several variations himself. The differences were surprising.

I'm currently reading The Master and Margarita and there was a debate between the P&V and Burgin translation. I personally prefer the Burgin translation since it captures the whimsicalness of the book. I like Russian novels, but the way they're translated makes reading tedious.

I'm about to participate in an all year reading with a Proust group for 2013, and there was also a comparison between translations. We decided that the Moncrieff translation captures best the rhythm and poetry of the French text. Sometimes it's best not to sacrifice the artistry of the original structure for a contemporary sound.

I still have not cracked The Tin Drum. I am swamped. I'm still hoping I can squeeze it in since we have until about the 10th.

Hmm, was your group bothered by the different translators published by Penguin?

Swann's Way (tr. Lydia Davis)
In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower (tr. James Grieve)
The Guermantes Way (tr. Mark Treharne)
Sodom and Gomorrah (tr. John Sturrock)
The Prisoner (tr. Carol Clark)
The Fugitive (tr. Peter Collier)
Finding Time Again (tr. Ian Patterson)

I might try this set for a change. It would be a radical read, I suppose. I'll read more reviews about it.

Another book that gives me a headache is Madame Bovary. There are two new translations that have been published in the last two years (Lydia Davis and Adam Thorpe). Which one? I'm initially inclined towards Lydia Davis, but reading this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/... makes me think that Thorpe's version might be the one that I'll like.

Yes. There was a comparison of sentences, and the Moncrieff maintained the rhythm and sense of the French words.

I read Madame Bovary years ago, but I can't remember what translation it was. In those days, I didn't notice such things as translations. You might want to consider taking a core sentence, using Google if you don't know the language, breaking down the words, to see how well the translator make note of things like rhythm and meaning. At the very least, it's a fun exercise to do.

Thank you for that article. I will have to reread Madame Bovary with Adam Thorpe's translation. Let's hope that his execution is as good as his sensitivity.

I just read the Kindle sample of the Adam Thorpe translation. It's really well-written and flows well, even in the context of American contemporary speech. That is taken care of. I'll have to get the book to check on all the sensitivity to the details of Flaubert's language that he spoke of.

Hi Aloha, the translation of Lydia Davis also seems at par with that of Adam Thorpe's. Now I don't mean to confuse you, but you might also want to check it out if you can get a Kindle sample. I don't have a Kindle so I will have to wait for your inputs. :)

Don't worry, I'm a naturally confusing person, or is that naturally confused? I'll sample the Davis translation. Thank you.

Angus wrote: Q: What do you think of Oskar..."

I am quite enjoying the narration of the book. It is quite unique, though at times the absurdity of it makes it confusing because I have to pause and think, wait, did I just read that? Or did that really happen? Or what is going on? You don't really quite know what to believe.

There are aspects of the book which for some reason make me think of Catch-22 I think in part it has to do with the nature of the humor in the book.

I did find it quite confusing at first the way in which Oskar seems to switch back and forth between referring to himself in the first person and referring to himself in the third person, but I am starting to get more used to it now.

Well, I've finally finished reading The Tin Drum and seem to be mentally exhausted. On the one hand it is a fine tale, brilliantly told. On the other hand it takes a lot of reading and the persistent switching from first to third person and back makes it a little more difficult. I'm reminded of Vargas Llosa and Marquez in the tendency towards fantasy and of Salman Rushdie in the craft of storytelling. Enjoyed it, and consider it well worth the effort of reading it. I don't really remember the Mannheim translation, I read it so long ago, but I have nothing but praise for the Mitchell.

Hi David, thanks for the update. Unfortunately (and I say this ashamedly), I am still stuck on Book Two. I've been busy with work and some books have successfully distracted me away from it. So what happens is that I read one chapter every couple of days.

You are right, it is a slow and laborious read. I don't know how I would like it as a whole, but I also don't think I will dislike it.

I don't think I'll be joining since I am deep in Dhalgren and Gravity's Rainbow. They are two demanding books that I'm trying to finish by the end of the month.

Hi Aloha, that's okay. I've been a lousy discussion leader for this book anyway. :D It's unlike the previous books that I nominated before. Next time, I will make sure to nominate only books around 200-300 pages so that I can manage them easily.

Aw, well. That's okay, Angus. I've been too busy to worry about it, anyway.

Angus I think you are doing a terrific job. The book is a great read. Wish I had more time to finish it. Keep chugging away on it though.