Comments on: They lost me at ‘an icy shiver ran down his neck’.

By: triviabuff

triviabuff — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:29:50 +0000

That certainly explains the odd bits – I did wonder why phrases kept popping up to jar otherwise flowing prose. Considering how much time and work it takes to translate fiction properly, I still think Steve did a great job – even more so now that he’s explained that the editors fiddled with his text a wee bit too much. The French publishers were in a great hurry to bring out the books, and “slapdash” is too charitable an adjective for the results.

Unfortunately this happens all too often, a situation that sticks in my craw – the well-meaning but unqualified client or editor makes changes without notice, even though the manuscript is in the translator’s name, and then all cock-ups are blamed on the translator.

By: jessicazafra

jessicazafra — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 11:14:12 +0000

Hi Steve. Good decision, using a pseudonym. Alright, I don’t blame you for the clunky bits. What do you think, triviabuff?

Jessica

By: bloozshooz

bloozshooz — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 05:51:03 +0000

Hi Jessica et al. This is Steve Murray aka Reg Keeland. Now I see yet again why I took a pseudonym for these books. I have searched my original manuscript of TGWTDT (Men Who Hate Women) and could find neither of those phrases, so I must attribute it to the editor, who made thousands of such changes to my original American translation. There was no occurrence of “blood” in conjunction with “flow” anywhere. There was no “icy shiver,” but the closest I did find was in chapter 17: “She waved and was gone. Mikael stood on the platform, feeling baffled as he watched the train head north. Not until it vanished around the bend did the meaning of her parting remarks sink into his consciousness, and an icy feeling filled his chest.” A bit better, don’t you think? (if it’s the same passage). I couldn’t read any farther than to page 140 out of 721 in the MS and I’m glad I didn’t. Too bad for Stieg, he’s a much better writer than he’s been represented by the “version” that wound up in print. Don’t blame me for the clunky bits, please.

By: triviabuff

triviabuff — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 11:18:13 +0000

(good job = giving readers a great idea of what author would have sounded like had he written in English). And yes, it is a good tale if you can get past the clunky bits.

By: triviabuff

triviabuff — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 11:15:43 +0000

Not that it’s any consolation, but the French translation is at least ten times worse. Larsson’s prose was described by Swedish readers as having a dreary journalistic tone with fits of sensationalism, and it seeps through in translation. Reg Keeland actually did a good job with this one.

By: theOrbiter

theOrbiter — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:28:05 +0000

truly, it’s Knowing Me, Knowing You, A-ha!!! no question about it