10/5 Reading

    I found many interesting statements in "Jumping Into the Pond," starting off with Carpenter's comment that one translation can make you dislike an author's work, while another can make you enjoy their work. I'd like to try reading an entire book translated by two different authors to see if this statement is true. I also agree with Carpenter's comment that translating humor is difficult. I can barely understand humor in English, so translating humor from another language would be extremely difficult. I agree that you should show your translations to a willing reader. My first draft of 「夜のくもざる」was a mess, but with help, it became succinct and understandable. I really enjoyed Carpenter's analogy to a painting that someone drew because it's really true. There are studios where you recreate an artist's work as closely as you can, but in the end it will never be the same. I've always wanted to try it out, and even though my work will not be identical to the original, my creativity will be shown through my painting. I was confused when Carpenter said you have to be a child in some ways to translate, but I understood when Carpenter said we have to be the child reading the book, or the parent reading it to their child. Always make it clear and succinct.

    Carpenter was once asked what would happen if a translator read until the end of a book and find that the killer isn't who they thought it was gonna be, and whether that would force the translator to change the translation. Carpenter says she would never translate a mystery without knowing first who did it, so I wonder if there are some translators who translate without having read the book. Is the general rule that you read the book before translating?

    Regarding the interview with Carpenter, I enjoyed reading about the process of translating and collaborating with Minae Mizumura. I'm shocked that it took 3 years tho! I do enjoy the title A True Novel.