Discussion Forum > The Carpet Makers by Andreas Eschbach
Hi Devon
I concur. It is an excellent read and really entertained and challenged my brain. KUDOS, AndreasE!
I concur. It is an excellent read and really entertained and challenged my brain. KUDOS, AndreasE!
August 20, 2014 at 17:40 |
learning as I go
learning as I go
And for those like me who can read French but not German, most of Andreas' books appear to have been translated into French.
http://www.amazon.fr/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?__mk_fr_FR=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Andreas%20Eschbach
http://www.amazon.fr/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?__mk_fr_FR=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Andreas%20Eschbach
August 20, 2014 at 18:53 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
I am flattered to discover this thread …
@Deven:
Doryl did a tremendous work on the book, reworked his translation several times, discussing every single sentence with other translators etc. etc. – with the result that when I read it in English, I myself have the impression that this must be the original version ;-)
(Publishers demand – for good reasons – that translations are made by native speakers. Even if not, I wouldn't dare to translate my novels myself. Forum posts are one thing, a novel a completely different one …)
@Mark Forster:
About half of my novels are translated into French, yes. The only language in which ALL of my novels have been translated is, BTW, Russian.
Meanwhile, I may report that two other novels have been published in English translation:
"Lord of all things" (by Amazon Crossing)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lord-All-Things-Andreas-Eschbach/dp/1477849815
"One Trillion Dollars" (eBook only, by initiative of my German publisher Bastei Lübbe – but of course translated by a native speaker)
http://www.amazon.com/One-Trillion-Dollars-Andreas-Eschbach-ebook/dp/B00LLBBXSA
This is one of my real longsellers; the novel appeared in 2001 (on september 11, to be precise :-( ), and it still sells well.
@Deven:
Doryl did a tremendous work on the book, reworked his translation several times, discussing every single sentence with other translators etc. etc. – with the result that when I read it in English, I myself have the impression that this must be the original version ;-)
(Publishers demand – for good reasons – that translations are made by native speakers. Even if not, I wouldn't dare to translate my novels myself. Forum posts are one thing, a novel a completely different one …)
@Mark Forster:
About half of my novels are translated into French, yes. The only language in which ALL of my novels have been translated is, BTW, Russian.
Meanwhile, I may report that two other novels have been published in English translation:
"Lord of all things" (by Amazon Crossing)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lord-All-Things-Andreas-Eschbach/dp/1477849815
"One Trillion Dollars" (eBook only, by initiative of my German publisher Bastei Lübbe – but of course translated by a native speaker)
http://www.amazon.com/One-Trillion-Dollars-Andreas-Eschbach-ebook/dp/B00LLBBXSA
This is one of my real longsellers; the novel appeared in 2001 (on september 11, to be precise :-( ), and it still sells well.
August 27, 2014 at 9:35 |
AndreasE
AndreasE
Brilliant, Andreas!
I shall start reading one of your books as soon as I have finished the "Water Margin" (currently on chapter 73 of the 120 chapter version!)
My books have only been translated into languages I can't read (Chinese Simple & Trad, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Swedish, Portuguese) so I have no idea how well or otherwise they have been translated.
I shall start reading one of your books as soon as I have finished the "Water Margin" (currently on chapter 73 of the 120 chapter version!)
My books have only been translated into languages I can't read (Chinese Simple & Trad, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Swedish, Portuguese) so I have no idea how well or otherwise they have been translated.
August 27, 2014 at 20:05 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
Andreas, I'm curious if the publishers would allow you to do the first translation to English, as a draft that other translators could build on. Or if you'd even want to. (I could see myself getting sucked into edit and rewrite mode rather than translation mode.)
August 29, 2014 at 1:45 |
Cricket
Cricket
Cricket:
Yes, my experience with translating, such as it is, is that one spends far more time getting the English right than understanding the source language.
Yes, my experience with translating, such as it is, is that one spends far more time getting the English right than understanding the source language.
August 29, 2014 at 16:25 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
Cricket:
They sure would allow it, but actually I'd prefer writing the next novel … ;-)
They sure would allow it, but actually I'd prefer writing the next novel … ;-)
August 30, 2014 at 21:20 |
AndreasE
AndreasE
AndreasE:
I've just finished "One Trillion Dollars" (I didn't wait until I'd finished The Water Margin). Wow! Quite some book - I really couldn't put it down. The number of ideas in it is astonishing.
On a more mundane note, the translation is excellent, but (at least in the Kindle version) the proof-reading leaves a lot to be desired.
I've just finished "One Trillion Dollars" (I didn't wait until I'd finished The Water Margin). Wow! Quite some book - I really couldn't put it down. The number of ideas in it is astonishing.
On a more mundane note, the translation is excellent, but (at least in the Kindle version) the proof-reading leaves a lot to be desired.
September 2, 2014 at 9:27 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
Mark:
Thanks for your kind words, I'm glad you liked it. I'm not so glad about what you say concerning the proof-reading; this shouldn't happen. I will talk about it with the head of the digital department at my publisher (which happens to be my editor with whom I worked on this novel 14 years ago …).
Thanks for your kind words, I'm glad you liked it. I'm not so glad about what you say concerning the proof-reading; this shouldn't happen. I will talk about it with the head of the digital department at my publisher (which happens to be my editor with whom I worked on this novel 14 years ago …).
September 3, 2014 at 14:02 |
AndreasE
AndreasE
AndreasE:
The bad proof-reading seems to be more in the early chapters of the book. I didn't notice it so much later on.
On another subject, I'd be very interested in what routines you have for writing books - I want to give some examples of writers' routines in the book I'm currently writing. If you're happy to share you can either do it in public here, or alternatively drop me an email (mf@markforster.net).
The bad proof-reading seems to be more in the early chapters of the book. I didn't notice it so much later on.
On another subject, I'd be very interested in what routines you have for writing books - I want to give some examples of writers' routines in the book I'm currently writing. If you're happy to share you can either do it in public here, or alternatively drop me an email (mf@markforster.net).
September 3, 2014 at 15:15 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
http://markforster.squarespace.com/forum/post/2037791
In it, AndreasE mentioned in passing that he had written a book (originally in German) which had been translated to English. Out of curiosity, I checked my local library (in Cincinnati, Ohio) and discovered that they had two copies, so I placed a hold on it, thinking it might be interesting to read something written by someone on this forum. I was quite interested to see that the foreword was written by Orson Scott Card (one of my favorite authors), but I didn't get around to opening the book until this week. After that, I had trouble putting it down!
I just finished reading the book, and I must say, this is an incredible book. Very well-written, and well-translated also. It's a fascinating story with many twists and turns that I never saw coming. I don't want to spoil the book, but I would highly recommend it to any sci-fi fans.
Andreas, a couple questions come to mind, should you care to answer them...
* Doryl Jensen's translation was excellent; it comes across as if it was originally written in English by a native speaker. Only once did a phrase strike me as awkward and remind me that this was a translated work, and now I can't even recall what that instance was. So I have no complaint whatsoever about the translation, but I was wondering -- why didn't you translate the book yourself? You seem to be quite fluent in English, judging by your posts on this forum...
* Nillian's fate seems likely obvious, yet uncertain. Was the reader intended to assume it?
* Piwano's fate is a complete mystery. While Opur enters into the story again, Piwano does not. What happened to him? Loose thread or intentional mystery?
Thanks for mentioning this book, Andreas. It was a great read, and I look forward to reading other novels of yours, as long as they're available in English! :)