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A review by zabeishumanish
Translating Myself and Others by Jhumpa Lahiri
informative
reflective
3.0
I found narration shifts between the segments read by Jhumpa and those read by the narrator to be jarring enough that I no longer valued getting to hear the author's words in her voice.
An abridged version of my review of the digital edition:
I am endlessly fascinated by writing about writing and writing about literature, but despite speaking two languages I have never considered myself interested in translation and translating. After reading this book, I do find myself incredibly interested in the nuances of translation, but much less interested in what Jhumpa has to say on the topic. I typically think that if I have left a non-fiction book with a longer book list than I had when I began reading, I have engaged with an impactful thought-provoking read. In the case of this book though, any additional reading you may find yourself wanting to do would just be to find the essays comprehensible. As is, a reader has to wade through copious amounts of hyper-specific literature references to find the kernels of meaning and reflection within the pages. It is possible to read without knowing everything Jhumpa is referencing, but exhausting. In its current form, this book is too smart for me. I'm not ashamed to admit my shortcomings there but it is frustrating because a few edits, imbedded author's notes, and literary context would make this readable for non-academics. Quite frankly those changes should have been made when converting these disparate essays into a single book.
An abridged version of my review of the digital edition:
I am endlessly fascinated by writing about writing and writing about literature, but despite speaking two languages I have never considered myself interested in translation and translating. After reading this book, I do find myself incredibly interested in the nuances of translation, but much less interested in what Jhumpa has to say on the topic. I typically think that if I have left a non-fiction book with a longer book list than I had when I began reading, I have engaged with an impactful thought-provoking read. In the case of this book though, any additional reading you may find yourself wanting to do would just be to find the essays comprehensible. As is, a reader has to wade through copious amounts of hyper-specific literature references to find the kernels of meaning and reflection within the pages. It is possible to read without knowing everything Jhumpa is referencing, but exhausting. In its current form, this book is too smart for me. I'm not ashamed to admit my shortcomings there but it is frustrating because a few edits, imbedded author's notes, and literary context would make this readable for non-academics. Quite frankly those changes should have been made when converting these disparate essays into a single book.