Customer Reviews

Bug-Jargal

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Did the author of the one-star review read the book, or even carefully inspect it? Contrary to what he or she claims, the translation is Bongie's own, not a reprint of an old one. We get both the original short story and the expanded later version, with annotations pointing out which passages from the short story are retained within the novel, and where. Bongie's footnotes explain who the historical persons in the novel are and how Hugo used other accounts of the events. He provides a substantial introduction placing the novel in the context of Hugo's career and other early writing on the Haitian Revolution. He adds English translations of Hugo's known sources, which are not readily available.

I have just finished teaching a course called "Writing the Haitian Revolution," and the students found Bongie's supplemental material quite valuable. Bug-Jargal is a hard novel to read from a twenty-first century perspective, and Bongie's editorial work helps reconstruct the cultural codes that make its dated discourse (especially concerning race) intelligible.

Far from being a cynical rehash of available materials, this is a highly conscientious scholarly edition.