It was a busy weekend and I can’t even account for why. All I know is I didn’t get much time to read. That doesn’t mean I didn’t read at all, however. I began digging in to Aeschylus’ Orestia. I’m halfway through the first play, Agamemnon.
The play itself is good so far. But I got a different translation than the first four Aeschylus plays I read and I am sort of having second thoughts. The Orestia translation I got from the library is done by Robert Fagles. I like Fagles’ work on Homer. His translation so far is fine, though it is less poetic than Carl Mueller’s which is disappointing. I can live with that though.
What is presenting the most difficulty is the notes. They are at the back of the book and there is no indication in the text that there might even be a note. So I find my reading constantly interrupted as I flip back and forth because I can’t remember if the next note is at line 429 or 449. The Mueller translation had no notes at all, it was just the play, take it as it is. Both the Fagles and Mueller introductions are extensive. But I liked Mueller better. Fagles writes on Orestia in the whole context of literature, quoting Keats and others in a standard literary essay.
Mueller, in his introductions to the other plays I read did not place them in literary history, he tried to place them within the culture of Greece at the time of their performance. He quoted extensively from the plays in the intros. At first I found it annoying, but then when I got to those segments of the play I remembered what was said about them in the intro and there was no need for notes to explain the passage or give a line-by-line gloss on the text.
I decided last night to give up on the notes in Fagles. But I am wondering if I should get the Mueller translation from the library and ditch the Fagles. Heck, why am I waffling? I’ll request the Mueller from the library, make a side-by-side comparison and that will be it.
Now, on to the blogiversary celebrations. In case you missed what’s going on, Sunday, October 12th is my five-year blogiversary. To celebrate I am giving away a book every day this week and a “grand prize” on Sunday. Everyone is eligible and you can play as often as you like.
The answer to yesterday’s giveaway question is, as you all figured out, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Everyone’s name went into a bowl and the winner of the ARC of Every Book Its Reader is Melanie of Indextrious Reader!
Today’s giveaway is a copy of Nancy Pearl’s Book Crush, a whole book of lists of books for kids and teens. But let me just say, quite a lot of the books in here have adult interest too. To be entered to win this one all you have to do is mention the title of your favorite children’s or YA book in the comments. Drawing is tomorrow night.
A Wrinkle in Time was one of my favorites when I was a kid.
One of my favorite books when I was growing up was “Summer of My German Soldier.” I read it over and over again.
My two favorite books when I was a child: The Little Lame Prince, and The Borrowers. And, of course, Little Women!
When I was a kid, it was the Little House series and Black Beauty. Now I’d have to add the first several books from the Series of Unfortunate Events.
The side by side comparison sounds like the best plan. End Notes are a scourge. Footnotes forever!
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett was one of my childhood faves.
If you go back to my youth (the mid-fifties) it was definitely Robert Louis Stevenson’s TREASURE ISLAND. If you talk about more recently (my mid-fifties) it would certainly be LOOKING FOR ALASKA by John Green. The book you’re giving away would be a good one for me to share with my wife. She teaches junior-high English in the same classroom that my ex-wife used to teach English.
A pox on publishers of endnotes!!!
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith for sure! I remember staying up on a school night finishing it around 4 am.
Ooh aren’t those notes infuriating? It’s funny how much difference something like that can make to the experience of reading.
My favourite YA book is Meg Rosoff’s How I Live Now. It’s just so powerful.
Just to throw another name out there, I read the Orestia translated by George Thomson and thought it was quite nice…no notes at all, just a nice intro. Although after your description I think I would have enjoyed the Mueller as well.
Congrats to Melanie!
And, ooh I want that Book Crush book
Favorite YA author – definitely Judy Blume. I loved all of her books but my fave was “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret”.
I love Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner. The Best books for kids ever.
Thanks for the interesting thoughts on translations. I’m about to start The Illiad for the first time and I think I’m going to read two translations side to side for the first bit of it at least just to see how they compare.
Wow, I’m so thrilled! Can’t wait to read it. Thanks!
How did I miss this? I know it’s too late, but here are some favorites:
Little Women
any John Bellairs books
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
Any Lois Duncan
Such wonderful books you all pick!
Sylvia, a pox is right. Publishers have to know that readers prefer footnotes so why do they persist with endnotes? Grr.
Litlove, it makes a huge difference. But then maybe the end note writers are expecting that people aren’t reading for pleasure or are expecting that the book will be read more than once.
Verbivore, thanks for the additional translation recommendation. I checked my library and unfortunately they only have a book he wrote about Aeschylus and not his translations.
Rebecca, I read the Fagles and listened to Fitzgerald of the Iliad. both were good but they were very different.
Daphne, nice additions!
Why would anybody do notes that way!?!?! Endnotes are bad enough, but not to indicate in the text where they are — that makes no sense whatsoever! Okay, calm down now …