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2021 F2Fs: Author Blind Spot a.k.a. "Why Haven't We Read This Author Before?"
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Hello again everyone!I am Bennard, your moderator for January 2021. We will be discussing Nobel Laureate Alice Munro's short story collection, The Beggar Maid: Stories of Flo and Rose which is also called Who Do You Think You Are?. If you need a copy of the ebook, just let me know by sending me a PM.
Our F2F will be at January 23 at 1 PM, Philippine time.
Happy reading!
Hello folks!For the information of everyone interested, the January F2F has been moved to January 30, same time, upon popular request. This means more time to read for
Hello everyone! :)I will be your moderator for the February 2021 book, which is Anne Rice's
This is the first book in her Vampire Chronicles and I think is the "entry level" work if you want to read Anne Rice. Virtual discussion will be on February 27, Saturday. If you want to join the discussion or just read the novel, PM is the key :D
See you all soon!
Hello fellas! I will be the Ted's wingman for our June book of the month, Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie.Virtual discussion will be on June 26, Saturday, 2PM. This post will be updated to include the link to the Google Meet room. Thanks and hope to see you there!
Hi! I’m Grazie and together with Meliza, we will be the moderators for this August. This month, we chose Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore. This book is often categorized as a magical realism fiction.
We hope you can join us in our discussion, which is going to be online, on August 22, Sunday (tentative date). You can send us a message if you want a digital copy. That's all. Enjoy reading!
Hi Folks! Sharing this here:https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-should...
I haven't finished the book yet, too. So for those having doubts reading it, this might help you decide.
We're looking forward to see you (or hear you if you're camera shy) on the book discussion this month!
P.S. You can attend the book discussion even as a silent listener. *wink*
Hi, all! Just confirming that the virtual discussion for Kafka on the Shore will be on Sunday, August 23, at 2:30pm. If you want to join, feel free to send me a message for the Zoom link. See you!
Mabuhay!Hankering for a classic? Interested in reading about handsome, tortured men? Did you, by any chance, murder a pawnbroker for the vibes? Well, the September book of the month, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, is just the book for you! And just in time for Dostoevsky's 200th birthday in November!
Choose the translation that best suits you; it really depends on your preference. A reader accustomed to Victorian novels might prefer Constance Garnett's translation. For readability, I suggest Oliver Ready's translation. I will update this thread with a comparison of the translations I have on hand, for which you can request a copy.
One significant hurdle in reading this is the Russian names, which have first names, patronymics, surnames, and pet names. You'll soon get the hang of it. The main character in the book is named Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov. His patronymic is Romanovich, which signifies his father is named Romanov, while his pet names are Rodka and Rodya. (view spoiler)
If you so choose to listen to an audiobook, there are four different recordings from LibriVox.
Virtual discussion will be on September 25, Saturday, 2 PM. I'll send a link to it beforehand.
Stay safe!
Translation Comparison of Crime and Punishment
The passage chosen is devoid of spoilers.
1. Constance Garnett (1914):
"So he tortured himself, fretting himself with such questions, and finding a kind of enjoyment in it. And yet all these questions were not new ones suddenly confronting him, they were old familiar aches. It was long since they had first begun to grip and rend his heart. Long, long ago his present anguish had its first beginnings; it had waxed and gathered strength, it had matured and concentrated, until it had taken the form of a fearful, frenzied and fantastic question, which tortured his heart and mind, clamouring insistently for an answer. Now his mother’s letter had burst on him like a thunderclap. It was clear that he must not now suffer passively, worrying himself over unsolved questions, but that he must do something, do it at once, and do it quickly. Anyway he must decide on something, or else..."
Warning: Please note that the unrevised Garnett uses the derogatory n-word at least once.
2. Jessie Coulson (1980):
"Thus he teased and tormented himself with his problems, and even found a kind of pleasure in doing so. The problems were not new, however; they did not confront him unexpectedly, but were an old and painful story. It was a long time since they had begun to lacerate his feelings. Long, long ago his present anguish had first stirred within him, and it had grown and accumulated until of late it had come to a head and concentrated itself into the form of a wild, fantastic and terrible question, that tortured his emotions and his reason with its irresistible demands to be answered. Now his mother's letter had struck him like a thunderbolt. It was clear that now the time had come, not to languish in passive suffering, arguing that his problems were insoluble, but to act, to act at once and with speed. He must decide on something or other, come what might, or..."
3. David McDuff (1991):
"With these questions he teased and tormented himself, even deriving a certain amount of enjoyment from them. Actually, none of them were new or unexpected questions; they were all old, painful ones of long standing. It was a long time since they had begun to lacerate his heart, and it was positively an age since his present sense of anguish and depression had come into being, having grown, accumulated and, of late, matured and taken concentrated form, assuming the guise of a terrible, monstrous and fantastic question that had begun to torture his heart and mind and inexorably demanded resolution. Only now his mother's letter suddenly struck him like a thunderbolt. It was clear that now was not the time to feel miserable, to suffer passively with the thought that the questions were not capable of resolution; no, instead he must do something, and at once, as quickly as possible. Whatever happened, he must take some action, or else..."
4. Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (1992):
"He kept tormenting and taunting himself with these questions, even taking a certain delight in it. None of the questions was new or sudden, however; they were all old, sore, long-standing. They had begun torturing him long ago and had worn out his heart. Long, long ago this present anguish had been born in him, had grown, accumulated, and ripened recently and become concentrated, taking the form of a horrible, wild, and fantastic question that tormented his heart and mind, irresistibly demanding resolution. And now his mother’s letter suddenly struck him like a thunderbolt. Clearly, he now had not to be anguished, not to suffer passively, by mere reasoning about unresolvable questions, but to do something without fail, at once, quickly. Decide at all costs to do at least something, or..."
5. Constance Garnett revised by Julia Salkovskaya and Nicholas Rice (2007):
"So he tortured himself, taunting himself with such questions, and finding a kind of enjoyment in it. And yet all these questions were not new ones suddenly confronting him, they were old familiar aches. It was long since they had first begun to grip and rend his heart. Long, long ago his present anguish had its first beginnings; it had waxed and gathered strength, it had matured and concentrated, until it had taken the form of a horrible, wild and fantastic question, which tortured his heart and mind, clamoring insistently for an answer. Now his mother’s letter had burst on him like a thunderclap. It was clear that he must not now languish and suffer passively, in thought alone, over questions that appeared insoluble, but that he must do something, do it at once, and do it quickly. He must decide on something no matter what, on anything at all, or..."
6. Oliver Ready (2014):
"He taunted and tortured himself with such questions, and even found some pleasure in doing so. These questions were not new, though, and they didn't come from nowhere; they were old, ancient sources of pain. They had begun tearing at his heart long before and had torn it to pieces. All his current anguish had taken root in him in the far distant past, grown and accreted, until now it had ripened and distilled into the form of a dreadful, wild, fantastical question which had worn out his heart and mind, demanding to be solved. Clearly, now was not the time for agonizing and passive suffering, for mere deliberation about the fact that the questions permitted no solution; something had to be done, the sooner the better. He had to decide at all costs on something, anything, or else..."
Mabuhay muli!This is to remind all y'all that this September 25, Saturday, 2 PM, we will have our virtual discussion via zoom.
The Zoom meeting ID is 815 9047 8225. You can message me for the passcode and other bookish concerns. If you haven't joined the Viber GC yet, let us know~
As usual, prepare your favorite quotes from the book. And if you want more Crime and Punishment, there are several film adaptations to choose from. "Norte, The End of History" is a four-hour Filipino adaptation directed by Lav Diaz. (Jessica Zafra is one of the producers. Just saying.)
Stay safe! See you!
Hi TFG Friends!Just want to invite everyone on Saturday Oct. 30, 2pm for our monthly F2F. We will be discussing My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult via Discord.
Let me know if you're interested so we can send an invite. See you! :)
The Filipino Group
Books mentioned in this topic
Crime and Punishment (other topics)Midnight’s Children (other topics)
Interview with the Vampire (other topics)
The Beggar Maid: Stories of Flo and Rose (other topics)
Who Do You Think You Are? (other topics)
More...
I'm sure I'm not the only one eager to leave 2020 behind. Though the struggle under COVID will continue. a new year brings fresh hope.
And, of course, 2021 also brings us new books to read and discuss.
Here are the moderators and some of the books for 2021:
JANUARY
Bennard
Alice Munro
The Beggar Maid: Stories of Flo and Rose
FEBRUARY
Monique
Anne Rice
Interview with the Vampire
MARCH
Rhena
APRIL
Maria
John le Carre
MAY
Mawi
Toni Morrison
JUNE
Angus/Ted
JULY
Ronnie
Muriel Spark/PG Wodehouse
AUGUST
Meliza / Graziela
Haruki Murakami
SEPTEMBER
Elaine
OCTOBER
Abdul / Dyan
NOVEMBER
Dyan / Abdul
DECEMBER
Aaron