Notes

1. In what language should I read Russian authors since I do not speak Russian?

If there is one thing I know, it is the verbal caress of certain words in certain languages. Better, of certain books in certain languages.
        The first reflex of a literary translator has got to be of pride…, horror and despair. Translators who give up summer holidays, Sundays and evenings to the creation of recreating. Men and women who are the ghost ambassadors between planets (planet Proust, for instance, or planet Calvino) and the reader sitting in the subway. How many names of translators can you remember?
        I can’t read Serbo-Croatian, nor Portuguese, so I will make two important recommendations: read The Chronicles of Travnik (Ivo Andric) in French and Dona Flor and her two husbands, by Jorge Amado, in Italian. Do what I say and you will be very happy.
        Another suggestion, even if you have read it and adored it in the Italian original: the translation of Andrea Camilleri into French. Camilleri makes his usual suspects (Salvo Montalbano and his men at the police station of Vigàta) speak in his own brand of neo-Sicilian, rife with expletives, comedy and poetry. The translators of the French version have opted for a mix of Franco-Italian-Marseillais that will gladden the heart of any lover of the Mediterranean. Between moments of reader’s bliss, Camilleri’s commentary on Sicily, Italians and their governments hits all the more effectively because he has gained your trust by making you laugh.
        All this leaves me, as usual, with no answer to my initial question. Perhaps, since The Gambler in Italian has given me so much pleasure, I will never feel the need to find out. Or should I? Do let me know about your adventures in translation. (I am at twocities2003@yahoo.com)