Translations of Borges

Hi all,

I hope you guys don't mind this query, but you seemed like the best bet to have opinions :-)

I'm reading my first Borges at the moment (Ficciones) and I think it's fantastic. I was nosying around on Amazon and noticed that for his Collected Fictions, some people are very down on Hurley as a translator.

So I was wondering about trying to avoid Hurley for my next purchase, but wanted some opinions - what do you think about the various translators? Is there anyone you'd really recommend?

Thanks!

The only way to decide which translation suits you best is to browse several, instead of relying on everybody else's opinions.

I recommend forgetting the reviews and getting the Collected Fictions - one of the best books you'll ever own. You can always pad your Borges library later with other translations or the original Spanish works.

Existenai: I realise this is entirely true (recently with The Tale of Genji for example), but I also find it's interesting and useful to hear what other people have to say about translations.

Frustratingly, the Collected Fictions are out of print as far as I can tell, at least on this side of the pond. (It also doesn't help that I'm on a severe book-buying embargo, otherwise I might have got it already!) I think I'll put it pretty high on the books to be bought list though!

Hi LizT-

I have read much of Hurley's translations and have never found them to be a "distraction" from the pleasure of exploring the world of Borges. There is a nice Penquin ClassicsEdition in paperback.

I pulled from my shelf a few other volumes- Labyrinths by NewDirectionsPress is a compilation of seberal translators and then there is also A Universal History of Infamy and The Book of Sand translated by Norman T. DiGiovanni.

I have read most or all of Borges' work in English in various translations (initially in the Penguin Classics translations by Norman Thomas di Giovanni and Borges.) Though I don't speak Spanish and tend to be critical of translations (for my own pleasure and not in order to enforce a standard text) I find - despite minor differences between texts - Borges himself always comes through as a clear presence.

Whatever you choose, at this time, with so much attention paid to Borges and to translations of popular works, it is impossible to state (within reason, and minus hyperbole) there are "bad" translations of his books. Some not to your taste, maybe, which you can only decide yourself. But nothing that will prove an obstacle to enjoying Borges.

With older or more obscure classics, you still have to be careful sometimes, especially when you buy stuff like $2/£1 editions - they republish very old translations, or very hurried ones. Sometimes a translation is intended to be purely functional, merely for the sake of having a translation until something better comes along, but again - this usually just applies to little known books. There's too much fretting (whether on LT, on Amazon, or elsewhere) over which translation to buy when it comes to well-known books or authors, where a Penguin or Oxford or similar label will usually be more than adequate.

It's more of a problem if you are reading poetry in translation, and if you cannot browse any of the published translations in a store to compare, in which case a library might be a good resource, unless it doesn't carry the newer editions or translations. Either wait it out in those cases or take a risk.

Thanks for both your thoughts, they're helpful.

Existenai: re your comment on "well-known books or authors, where a Penguin or Oxford or similar label will usually be more than adequate", this is what I've usually assumed, but got stung by an Oxford edition of The Three Musketeers, which had a rather disappointingly bowdlerised Victorian era translation in it, a couple of years ago. Ever since then I've been a little more wary of translations!

Before buying a book, cross-check names of translators and copyright pages (which usually contain information about the name of the translator and date of the translation) on Amazon.com, through their 'Look Inside' feature. Sometimes a classic will also have a section after or within the introduction titled "Note on the translation" or "Note on the text", which will contain further information about abridgements, excisions, previous versions and so on. Failing which, again, you can try to browse books in-store and compare; bookstores also allow you to order a copy with no obligation to purchase, in case they don't have a title in stock and you want to look at it - although generally speaking, if I order a copy, I feel obliged to buy either that or some other book, so I usually rely on the internet or second hand bookstores.

You might also be interested to read Norman Thomas di Giovanni's memoir of his years with Borges, The Lesson of the Master. Di Giovanni worked with Borges for many years on translations and new works, and his book gives some very interesting insights into problems of translating in general and translating Borges in particular. Di Giovanni is critical of some earlier translators of Borges for not understanding some Argentinian idiomatic expressions, or for not understanding some of Borges' autobiographical allusions.

Not that Di Giovanni's translations are the last word, but it is worth noting that some of his translations of Borges' work were personally approved by Borges himself.

The book has been widely remaindered in both hardcover and paperback, so it's very cheap.