In the Soviet Union, only things critical of the capitalist system could be translated – such as 60s SF, which ended up being very important. Thus the 20th Century Russian translators' meme: "Kurt Vonnegut loses a lot in the original".
This is legit a sentiment I've heard from my parents ;) (Also about Jack London, O.Henry, and several other authors. In some cases, I even agree :P)
But, actually, it's a topic that endlessly fascinates me. For example, the first time I read Brave New World, it was in Russian translation. It was a VERY different book, purely through the choices made by the translator: scathing indictment of capitalism, with the communist roots of the dystopia swept completely under the rug. When I read it in the original later, I was very much "Wait... what?" I definitely think the original is the better book, but it's a very different book nevertheless.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2017-08-20 18:42 (UTC)This is legit a sentiment I've heard from my parents ;) (Also about Jack London, O.Henry, and several other authors. In some cases, I even agree :P)
But, actually, it's a topic that endlessly fascinates me. For example, the first time I read Brave New World, it was in Russian translation. It was a VERY different book, purely through the choices made by the translator: scathing indictment of capitalism, with the communist roots of the dystopia swept completely under the rug. When I read it in the original later, I was very much "Wait... what?" I definitely think the original is the better book, but it's a very different book nevertheless.