tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post112680787945554373..comments2024-03-18T16:55:31.971+00:00Comments on This Space: Houellebecq: any possibility of a literary review?Stephen Mitchelmorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01658772259307446873noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-1129168712059139742005-10-13T02:58:00.000+01:002005-10-13T02:58:00.000+01:00Steve, I'm so sorry. I think I had Michael Silverb...Steve, I'm so sorry. I think I had Michael Silverblatt on my mind when I was dropping you the note!Leora Skolkin-Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05473112234328021183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-1129111645969937392005-10-12T11:07:00.000+01:002005-10-12T11:07:00.000+01:00Yes, I know, but you addressed your comment to a '...Yes, I know, but you addressed your comment to a 'Michael'. My name's Steve.Stephen Mitchelmorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01658772259307446873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-1129111501732986662005-10-12T11:05:00.000+01:002005-10-12T11:05:00.000+01:00Oh, "Michael" Silverblatt is an American radio int...Oh, "Michael" Silverblatt is an American radio interviewer in California.Leora Skolkin-Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05473112234328021183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-1128855564588805632005-10-09T11:59:00.000+01:002005-10-09T11:59:00.000+01:00Thanks. Yes, he does seem to like EVERYTHING. But ...Thanks. Yes, he does seem to like EVERYTHING. <BR/><BR/>But who's 'Michael'?Stephen Mitchelmorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01658772259307446873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-1128855169839188662005-10-09T11:52:00.000+01:002005-10-09T11:52:00.000+01:00Michael, you might want to try this interview on "...Michael,<BR/><BR/> you might want to try this interview on "Bookworm" of Houellebecq's recent book. Though I have serious reservations about the host, Michael Silverblatt who is too often false (to me) and but the interview will, at least, give you Houellebecq in his own words<BR/>http://www.kcrw.com/cgi-bin/db/kcrw.pl?show_code=bw&air_date=9/1/05&tmplt_type=ShowLeora Skolkin-Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05473112234328021183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-1127135631382195012005-09-19T14:13:00.000+01:002005-09-19T14:13:00.000+01:00You should read Les Particules élémentaires Steve....You should read Les Particules élémentaires Steve.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-1126953877301690182005-09-17T11:44:00.000+01:002005-09-17T11:44:00.000+01:00Brady, go for 'Concrete'. It was my first Bernhard...Brady, go for 'Concrete'. It was my first Bernhard and is one of my favourites. Also has one of the funniest closing lines ever.<BR/><BR/>And Blanchot is best in the essay collections - Faux Pas, The Work of Fire, Friendship, The Book to Come.Stephen Mitchelmorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01658772259307446873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-1126945582517626482005-09-17T09:26:00.000+01:002005-09-17T09:26:00.000+01:00I should add the reason I am now intrigued by Bern...I should add the reason I am now intrigued by Bernhard is that even though I have a lot of problems with Blanchot as a philosopher (his book with Foucault was - most regretably, my first exposure to him), I often pick up one of his works to read a page or two of prose to give a jolt to my brain.Brady Westwaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00324741206315152948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-1126944810930042522005-09-17T09:13:00.000+01:002005-09-17T09:13:00.000+01:00So is it possible that Houellebecq's prose is as b...So is it possible that Houellebecq's prose is as bad in French as it is in English? I find that hard to imagine, if only because I do not wish to live in a world where that could be true.<BR/><BR/>Now agreed, you make an excellent point in saying that Bernhard's prose is in a difficult dialect to translate, but that it still, nevertheless, translates, well. I , however, prefer to cling to the hope that Houellebecq might prove to be the exception. <BR/><BR/>His prose is just such a... mess.. for a lack of a better word, that I can only assume that he must be an attempting to create in prose the rhythm of contemporary French speech patterns of a certain social group. <BR/><BR/>I offer as a very desperate example the potential problems of translating into German a novel about surfer dudes in Malibu, with the novel's prose style modeled on their speech patterns.<BR/><BR/>This, then, finally, comes back to my original quest. Finding a review of the literary - and prose - qualities of Houellebecq that includes the differences between the French and English editions.<BR/><BR/>In closing, since I am not familiar with Bernhard other than having read a few essays about him - which of his books would you recomend to a novice?Brady Westwaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00324741206315152948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-1126890187100505802005-09-16T18:03:00.000+01:002005-09-16T18:03:00.000+01:00If I can mention Bernhard again (will I ever stop?...If I can mention Bernhard again (will I ever stop?), I'm told he writes in Austrian dialect and cannot be translated without great loss. Yet his books in translation are still extraordinary. In French the same could be said for Blanchot. <BR/><BR/>Recently I've reviewed two translated novels. The prose in each was seriously awful (the Christa Wolf in particular). In both cases I held off judgement until I'd looked at other translations of earlier works. Yet they were just as bad despite having different translators. They read like the same author. So, I think the translation issue is probably over-played as mitigation.Stephen Mitchelmorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01658772259307446873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-1126889283986355272005-09-16T17:48:00.000+01:002005-09-16T17:48:00.000+01:00I was aware the review was of the French edition w...I was aware the review was of the French edition which is why your mention of the lack of an evaluation of the literary qualities was even more pertinent.<BR/><BR/>This is why I suggested I would like to see a discussion of his literary qualites and prose style - by someone who has read his work in both languages. It seems to me, any way, that the ... casual... way he appears to use language has a Gallic uniqueness that simply does not translate well into English prose.Brady Westwaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00324741206315152948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-1126855647388136962005-09-16T08:27:00.000+01:002005-09-16T08:27:00.000+01:00Brady, the TLS review was of the French edition. H...Brady, the TLS review was of the French edition. He doesn't mention the quality of the prose style. It's another thing that is taken for granted so what is (apparently) being said 'by Houellebecq' can be discussed.Stephen Mitchelmorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01658772259307446873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8470094.post-1126852029959278552005-09-16T07:27:00.000+01:002005-09-16T07:27:00.000+01:00"Yet one thing is missing: the overwhelming local-..."Yet one thing is missing: the overwhelming local-level joy of reading Bernhard's unique prose is not mentioned." <BR/><BR/>I would like to read an overall review of Houllebecq's work by someone who has read him in French and in English to see if the translations might be the problem.<BR/><BR/>I can read almost anything, but I have never been able to wade through more than a few chapters of his books due to the "unique prose".Brady Westwaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00324741206315152948noreply@blogger.com