75 years of Penguins

This year sees the 75th anniversary of the Penguin book publishers. Simple designs, quality production, classic and modern books, all at a reasonable price ... who hasn't got shelves and shelves of these little black and white book-lovers?

Here is an interesting article from the BBC.

La Plaça del Diamant / The Time of the Doves

La Plaça del Diamant / The Time of the Doves, was written by Mercè Rodoreda in 1962. An English translation by David Rosenthal was published in 1981 by Graywolf Press. This “powerfully written story of a naive shop-tender during the Spanish Civil War and beyond is a rare and moving portrait of a simple soul confronting and surviving a convulsive period of history”.

La novel·la La Plaça del Diamant de Mercè Rodoreda va ser publicada en anglès a l’any 1981 amb traducció de David Rosenthal. Així comença ...

Here are the opening lines in both languages ...

La Julieta va venir expressament a la pastisseria a dir-me que, abans de rifar la toia, rifarien cafeteres; que ella ja les havia vistes: precioses, blanques, amb una taronja pintada, partida en dues meitats, que ensenyava els pinyols. Jo no tenia ganes d’anar a ballar ni tenia ganes de sortir, perquè m’havia passat el dia despatxant dolços i les puntes dels dits em feien mal de tant estrènyer cordills daurats i de tant fer nusos i agafadors. I perquè coneixia la Julieta, que a la nit no li venia de tres hores i tant li feia dormir com no dormir. Però em va fer seguir vulgues no vulgues, perquè jo era així, que patia si algú em demanava una cosa i havia de dir que no. Anava blanca de dalt a baix: el vestit i els enagos emmidonats, les sabates com un glop de llet, les arracades de pasta blanca, tres braçalets rotllana que feien joc amb les arracades i un portamonedes blanc, que la Julieta em va dir que era d’hule, amb la tanca com una petxina d’or.

Julieta came by the pastry shop just to tell me that, before they raffled off the basket of fruit and candy, they’d raffle some coffeepots. She’s already seen them: lovely white ones with oranges painted on them. The oranges were cut in half so you could see the seeds. I didn’t feel like dancing or even going out because I’d spent the day selling pastries and my fingertips hurt from tying so many gold ribbons and making so many bows and handles. And because I knew Julieta. She felt fine after three hours’ sleep and didn’t care if she slept at all. But she made me come even though I didn’t want to, because that’s how I was. It was hard for me to say no if someone asked me to do something. I was dressed all in white, my dress and petticoats starched, my shoes like two drops of milk, my earrings white enamel, three hoop bracelets that matched the earrings, and a white purse Julieta said was made of vinyl with a snap shaped like a gold shellfish.

Camí de sirga / The Towpath

Having an interest in Catalan literature as well as the world of translating, from time to time we will enclose extracts from Catalan novels alongside their published English translations.
Camí de sirga /The Towpath, was written by Jesús Moncada in 1988. An English translation by Judith Willis was published in 1994 by Harvill Harper Collins. The flooding of a small Catalan town to create a reservoir on the river Ebro is the starting point of this novel which leads us through Catalonia’s recent tragic history.

La novel·la Camí de Sirga del Jesús Moncada va ser publicada en anglès a l’any 1994 amb traducció de Judith Williams. Així comença ...

Here are the opening lines in both languages...

Pilans i parets mestres van esberlar-se bruscament; una fragor eixordadora en la qual es barrejaven el cruixir de jàsseres i bigues, l’ensulsiada d’escales, trespols, envans i revoltons, l’esmicolament de vidres i la trencadissa de maons, teules i rajoles, va retrunyir per la Baixada de la Ferradura mentre la casa s’esfondrava sense remei. De seguida, un núvol de pols, el primer dels que havien d’acompanyar la llarga agonia que començava aleshores, va elevar-se per sobre de la vila i es va esfilagarsar a poc a poc en l’aire lluminós del matí de primavera.
Anys després, quan la malesa encetada aquell dia del 1970 era memòria llunyana, temps amortallat amb teranyines de boira, una crònica anònima va aplegar un feix de testimonis colpidors sobre l’esdeveniment ...

Columns and supporting walls suddenly gave way; as the house came toppling down, Horseshoe Hill reverberated with the thunderous roar of rafters and beams creaking, stairways, ceilings, coves and partitions collapsing, glass shattering and bricks and tiles smashing. And then a cloud of dust, the first of many which were to accompany the long agony that lay ahead, rose up above the town and slowly dispersed in the bright spring morning air.
Years later, when the tragedy that began that day in 1970 had become a dim memory, time shrouded in cobwebs of mist, an anonymous chronicle collated a number of moving personal accounts of the event ...

Dos llibres

Últimament hem llegit dos llibres que parlen de llibres i el món de la literatura, que podem recomanar.

La societat literària i de pastís de pela de patata de Guernsey, de la Mary Ann Shaffer, explica com un grup de gent de l’illa de Guernsey va poder sobreviure i aguantar l’ocupació alemanya durant la segona guerra mundial gràcies al club literari que van organitzar.

El Cas Jane Eyre de Jasper Fforde és una història de detectius però amb la peculiaritat que passa en un món alternatiu al que tenim, on la literatura i el respecte per ella té més o menys la mateixa importància que el futbol té per a nosaltres avui dia! Per això hi ha policies especialitzats en crims contra la literatura. La protagonista, Thursday Next, és una d’aquestes detectius i en aquest llibre ha d’investigar el segrest d’un personatge d’algun llibre clàssic.

Fahrenheit 451 - an extract

As everyone - parents, teachers and politicians - are once again talking about education, or rather schools, today we include a short extract from Ray Bradbury’s nightmarish vision of the future, Fahrenheit 451.

"I plunk the children in school nine days out of ten. I put up with them when they come home three days a month; it's not bad at all. You heave them into the 'parlour' and turn the switch. It's like washing clothes; stuff laundry in and slam the lid." Mrs. Bowles tittered. "They'd just as soon kick as kiss me. Thank God, I can kick back!”.

Ya que todo el mundo - padres, profesores y políticos - vuelven a hablar de la educación, o más bien dicho, de las escuelas, hoy adjuntamos dos líneas del libro Fahrenheit 451 donde Ray Bradbury nos pinta un futuro de pesadilla.

Tengo a los niños en la escuela nueve días de cada diez. Los aguanto cuando vienen a casa tres días al mes. No es completamente insoportable. Los pongo en el salón y conecto el televisor. Es como lavar ropa; meto la colada en la máquina y cierro la tapadera. – Mrs Bowles rió entre dientes-. Son capaces de besarme como de pegarme una patada. ¡Gracias a Dios, yo también sé pegarlas!

Wuthering Heights - an extract

A short extract from one of our favourite books in English. Though perhaps not the easiest novel for learners, it is a fine example of how the English language was used 150 years ago. The opening lines of Wuthering Heights (Cims Borrascosos) by Emily Brontë ...

I have just returned from a visit to my landlord -- the solitary neighbour that I shall be troubled with. This is certainly a beautiful country! In all England, I do not believe that I could have fixed on a situation so completely removed from the stir of society. A perfect misanthropist's heaven: and Mr. Heathcliff and I are such a suitable pair to divide the desolation between us. A capital fellow! He little imagined how my heart warmed towards him when I beheld his black eyes withdraw so suspiciously under their brows, as I rode up, and when his fingers sheltered themselves, with a jealous resolution, still further in his waistcoat, as I announced my name.

'Mr. Heathcliff?' I said.

A nod was the answer.

'Mr. Lockwood, your new tenant, sir. I do myself the honour of calling as soon as possible after my arrival, to express the hope that I have not inconvenienced you by my perseverance in soliciting the occupation of Thrushcross Grange: I heard yesterday you had had some thoughts ----'

'Thrushcross Grange is my own, sir,' he interrupted, wincing. 'I should not allow any one to inconvenience me, if I could hinder it -- walk in!'

The 'walk in' was uttered with closed teeth, and expressed the sentiment, 'Go to the Deuce:' even the gate over which he leant manifested no sympathising movement to the words; and I think that circumstance determined me to accept the invitation: I felt interested in a man who seemed more exaggeratedly reserved than myself.