Which translation to read?

[mtk12345]

My book club is reading W. & P. this summer but we don't know which translation to choose. I've looked into Garnett, Edmonds and Briggs, but it's hard to determine which would be the best choice. I also heard there's a new translation coming out in Nov. '07 and maybe we should wait for that one. I'd really appreciate some advice. Thanks.

[blank_frackis]

I guess it's a hard question as the amount of people who have read more than one of these translations in their entirety is bound to be limited. I won't pretend that I've read all three, but I have read the Briggs version and I thought it was excellent. The prose was very fluid and managed to capture many subtle elements which are often lost in translations. I remember thinking to myself that Tolstoy must have been a god if he could top some of the passages on display, because a lot of it is very impressive - the battle of Schoengraben springs to mind. Again, it's difficult to say how it stacks up against the original Russian or the other translations when I haven't read them, but for what it's worth I certainly wasn't disappointed with Briggs.

[mtk12345]

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my question. My book club did choose the Briggs translation, which I'm finding to be very understandable and enjoyable.

[chaplin]

Tolstoy said that the Maude translations were the best of his works. The Maudes knew Tolstoy well, and knew his artistic and philosophical characteristics and nuances well. I also enjoy Edmonds translations very much. Garnett is really better with Chekhov than with Tolstoy or Dostoevsky, mostly because of their similarities in style. For me, Briggs is probably the least attractive to me, however, I see you chose his. Really most translations are going to be adequate, otherwise they wouldn't be published.

[mtk12345]

Thanks Chaplin. It's interesting to hear your opinion. I'm only on pg 259 and I have so many questions. I have to say I am really surprised at how "easy" it is to read Brigg's translation. I expected War and Peace to be a difficult read. I expected it to be very "cut and dried" and almost stern-sounding, and difficult to follow. As a "neophyte", I am surprised at Tolstoy's wordy, descriptive style, sometimes bordering on "flowery". Thoughts anyone?

[JBI]

Thanks Chaplin. It's interesting to hear your opinion. I'm only on pg 259 and I have so many questions. I have to say I am really surprised at how "easy" it is to read Brigg's translation. I expected War and Peace to be a difficult read. I expected it to be very "cut and dried" and almost stern-sounding, and difficult to follow. As a "neophyte", I am surprised at Tolstoy's wordy, descriptive style, sometimes bordering on "flowery". Thoughts anyone?

Funny, I thought it very much like a soap opera in style.

[chaplin]

I have to say I am really surprised at how "easy" it is to read Brigg's translation. I expected War and Peace to be a difficult read. I expected it to be very "cut and dried" and almost stern-sounding, and difficult to follow. As a "neophyte", I am surprised at Tolstoy's wordy, descriptive style, sometimes bordering on "flowery".

I wouldn't call his style "flowery", mellifluous perhaps, but it is very flowing and really draws you on. His style, that simple yet deep and complex quality, is really one of the best in world literature.

The Briggs translation is probably the easiest translation to read simply because it is a new translation and thus in newer, easier to read, language and form.

[nastjenka]

I read Tolstoj's masterpiece in Italian, re-reading my favourite passages in original. Now I wanted to compare a couple of English translations, but up to now I managed to find only the Maudes' translation, which seemed quite accurate to me (their acquaintance with Tolstoj is certainly a remarkable advantage!).

According to the Enclyclopedia of Literary translation into English (Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, London – Chicago, 2000), however, the best translation should be Dunnigan's. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find it, yet. Does anyone of you maybe know where can I find it (even just some chapters) on the net?

Nastjenka - Italy

[sivvy]

Im reading the translation, new, by Richard Pevear, and Larissa Volokhonsky (Kindle Edition - Jul 29, 2008).

Seems great already - supposed to the newest and best.

Anyone read this one entirely?

[Melisande]

I'm preferring Pevear and Volokhonsky.

[Velvetmeds]

hi! new here

instead of creating another topic i thought my question would fit in here;

is the everyman's library hardcover version good? the one that has 3 books in a box. it's a maude translation, which apparently is good but i also wanted to know about the rest of the product's quality! like the cover, paper, letters etc... i'm picky about this stuff strangely.

appreciate any input, haven't ever read the novel so this will be my first. also my first tolstoi

[Gurov]

Among English translations, I have read only the Maude's one, and I find it not bad at all. Also, I have read (20 or 30 times!) War and Peace in Russian (I am Russian and moscovite) and once in French. So, Maude's translation seems to be very close to the original Tolstoy's text: I feel Tolstoy when I read it.