James Greive Translator
I’ve been reading In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower all week, in the new translation from James Grieve. It’s a good translation, light without being too breezy, appropriate for the second section of the novel, which transitions between a kind of prolonged childhood (and a concern for a past not yet Marcel’s own), and a growing adulthood. I’ve yet to reach the parts about the young band , I’m not sure yet what Grieve calls them, but I’m looking forward to reading about them in this translation.
I’m more excited, though, to get my hands on a copy of the Grieve translation of Swann’s Way which was published in 1982 by the Australian National University. I just picked up a copy obtained through ILL. (I couldn’t find one for sale anywhere on the web). Of course, it’s library bound, but when you open it the cover is the same heavy cardstock that wrap Black Sparrow Press books. It’s strangely titled A Search for Lost Time/translated by James Grieve/Swann’s Way. When I picked it up I put it on the seat beside me, and at the first stoplight I picked it up and read the dedication:
This new Proust in English I dedicate to all those who once read him in the belief that he was abstruse; and to those who, in the same belief, never read him. JG
After that, I cradled the book in my lap all the way home.
- Swann's Way, Proust | Time: 12:30 am (UTC+8)
It astonishes me that there’s a book you can’t buy online. Do you know the reason?
Comment by language hat — October 1, 2005 @ 9:35 pm
I think it was published in a limited edition. I even asked an Australian acquaintance (PK) to have a look at specifically Aussie stores and he was unable to help. But it is strange.
Comment by Administrator — October 1, 2005 @ 10:52 pm
un site qui vous intéressera!
Comment by laurence Grenier — October 8, 2005 @ 7:34 am
Le Temps de Proust
Can you believe it? La Temps de Proust is a weblog about Proust (though one could wish it were updated more often) [via frykitty and dennoma]
Trackback by Miscellaneous Flotch — November 14, 2005 @ 5:41 pm