Archit Joshi
asked:
Which translation would be the best? There seem to be a no. of them in the market.
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The Brothers Karamazov,
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Andrew
P&V for life! I've loved their translations, and while I've only had a few opportunities to briefly compare them to others, I've found the others wanting (what I believe to be awkward syntax, perhaps some irksome lexical differences). I'm not literate in Russian, but I believe it when critics say P&V capture the spirit of the Russian language in their translations.
Megan McInnis
I agree without question that the Pevear/Volokhonsky translation is best by far.
Sasha
Pevear & Volokhonsky are generally considered solid default translators for basically the whole Russian canon. They do a good job here.
Cameron Hill
I'd rank the English translations I've read as follows: 1. Katz, 2. Avsey, 3. P/V, 4. McDuff, 5. Garnett.
Though, for a first read of The Brothers Karamazov the Oxford World Classics Avsey would be better than the Katz as it has a useful plot outline chart and list of character names and diminutives at the start for reference, which is very useful.
Though, for a first read of The Brothers Karamazov the Oxford World Classics Avsey would be better than the Katz as it has a useful plot outline chart and list of character names and diminutives at the start for reference, which is very useful.
Ravi lobo
I fins P&V pedantic and choppy. Like driving with breaks on. Highly recommend Ignat Avsey translation.
Lucy Day Werts
The two most popular and well-known translations seem to be the Garnett translation and the one by Pevear & Volokhonsky.
Garnett is fine if you don't mind English text that sounds old-fashioned, and the original is in the public domain, so you can download a legitimate ebook for free. Or you can get an improved version in paperback from Signet or Norton.
For a more authentically Russian reading experience (or possibly a more frustrating one) try Pevear and Volokhonsky.
If you're not a fan of old-fashioned English or translations that don't flow naturally in English, try the Avsey translation, a looser translation written in idiomatic modern English, published by Oxford.
For a complete list of translations, with cover images, extracts for comparison, ISBNs, pagecounts, and links to informative articles (including articles about the heated debate about the P&V translation), visit We Love Translations: World Literature in English.
What's the Best Translation of The Brothers Karamazov?
.
Garnett is fine if you don't mind English text that sounds old-fashioned, and the original is in the public domain, so you can download a legitimate ebook for free. Or you can get an improved version in paperback from Signet or Norton.
For a more authentically Russian reading experience (or possibly a more frustrating one) try Pevear and Volokhonsky.
If you're not a fan of old-fashioned English or translations that don't flow naturally in English, try the Avsey translation, a looser translation written in idiomatic modern English, published by Oxford.
For a complete list of translations, with cover images, extracts for comparison, ISBNs, pagecounts, and links to informative articles (including articles about the heated debate about the P&V translation), visit We Love Translations: World Literature in English.
What's the Best Translation of The Brothers Karamazov?
.
Jeanne King
This reviewer (Bradburn) argues for the McDuff version because he is most careful with the Russian use of names to indicate degree of familiarity and other such conventions:
https://wanderingink.wordpress.com/20...
In this post, Bradburn provides some general guidelines for deciding on any translation of a literary classic. Good general advice.
https://wanderingink.wordpress.com/20...
https://wanderingink.wordpress.com/20...
In this post, Bradburn provides some general guidelines for deciding on any translation of a literary classic. Good general advice.
https://wanderingink.wordpress.com/20...
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