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Henryk Sienkiewicz, "The Trilogy" aka "With Fire and Sword"
bojyra
Apr 25, 2011 07:06PM
A Polish friend of mine suggested that I read the famous "trilogy" by Sienkiewicz. The first book is called With Fire and Sword.
He said that he didn't know a good translation, though. Apparently, he bought the book in Polish and bought an English version to read alongside it for comparison and was so disgusted with the English version that he said it wasn't worth reading.
This work is known for being very artistic and well written as well as being a great story, but my friend said this wasn't reflected in his translation at all.
Does anyone know of a translation that brings out the quality of both the story and the storytelling?
Thanks!
He said that he didn't know a good translation, though. Apparently, he bought the book in Polish and bought an English version to read alongside it for comparison and was so disgusted with the English version that he said it wasn't worth reading.
This work is known for being very artistic and well written as well as being a great story, but my friend said this wasn't reflected in his translation at all.
Does anyone know of a translation that brings out the quality of both the story and the storytelling?
Thanks!
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nothing constructive to say but oh. my. god. I hated this book so much it nearly destroyed my grade. Better read "The Knights of the Cross" and check if you can deal with his style.
I liked With Fire and Sword well enough [Kuniczak
translation] but it became a bit of a chore to finish the book. I never read the two sequels. However the movies of all three [in Polish, with English subtitles] were very good.
translation] but it became a bit of a chore to finish the book. I never read the two sequels. However the movies of all three [in Polish, with English subtitles] were very good.
The original translations were by Jeremiah Curtin, an American living in Costa Rica. He was not fluent in Polish and used Polish-English dictionaries to uneven effect. Those are the versions I read first in college 40 years ago. The Kuniczak version of is supposed to be superior; I acquired this version several years ago, and not knowing Polish can't comment on the differences; I did enjoy ready the trilogy both time.
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