Customer Reviews

Eugene Onegin: A Novel In Verse

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

James Falen's translation of this Russian classic is the best I have been able to find. Other translations by other Americans are nowhere near Falen's accuracy; on the other hand, Nabokov's rendition of the epic poem omits the most important part of Pushkin's masterpiece -- the iambic pentameter familiar to all Russians. James Falen combines the accuracy and the poetry to produce the best translation of Eugene Onegin available to an American reader.

MY OWN CLEver words for enjoyment
Of this Onegin, let me share.
For Douglas 'twas more than employment
This short tale, so simple, so bare.
Doug took time for this rendition
He used well his famed erudition;
He polished his verse, the rhymes all matched,
Though some lines were long to be hatched.
Above all, Pushkin's quick clever
Wit shines through from his age to ours.
Such fun reading it was, I never
Felt I had wasted those hours.
All in all I think this book fine
And as Doug ends his lines, I mine.

Hofstadter's translation of the great Russian poem "Eugene Onegin" deserves credit on two counts. First, it is a modern, lyrical, jovial and admittedly singsong (due to the author's strict adherence to the original iambic tetrameter) translation of Pushkin's masterwork. It is a translation to be read aloud, to be shared with one you love. Second, in its preface it holds a concise statement of Hofstadter's extensive thoughts (see "Le Ton Beau De Marot") on the art, whimsy, folly and beauty of translation itself. It has been mentioned that Hofstadter looks down on Nabokov's "translation", but this is not entirely without cause. Nabokov's stodgy literal gloss of "Onegin", eschewing meter and rhyme, serves as a dictionary and a deathblow. Pushkin's poem is vibrant and alive in Russian; Hofstadter boldly suggests that we english-speakers may also experience this life denied by Nabokov. This book will teach you something about poetry, something about translation, and hopefully give you a feel for what Pushkin's Russia might have been like.

Sure, Pushkin had fun with his Russian, and why shouldn't a translator carry that playfulness into his translation. But damn, I found it way too distracting. The introduction by Hofstadter was very interesting and conveyed his love and dedication to this novel; my hopes were high for an enjoyable ride. But I found the novel too dificult to follow, and the clever translation distracting. Hofstadter himself recommends a translation by Falen, and I concur, finding it much easier to follow.

This version is not that great, he fails to capture the music of the poetry and calls way to much attention to his own lack of beautiful writing. In his defense, this work is probably impossible to translate accurately not even Falen comes close, and you should probably just learn Russian. Cheers

For anyone who has read Le Ton Beau de Marot, this book is a must buy, if only for the introduction which fills in the background of how this translation came to be written. For readers of Hofstadter, it will also be fun to read Pushkin with clear Hofstadter twists, as his style pokes through time and time again. For those interested in a good read of the original, however, the translation of James Falen is the way to go (as Hofstadter himself writes). This one is quirky and playful, which makes for an enjoyable read, but does not attempt to match Falen in terms of faithfully reproducing the original.

Amazon recalled the book after it was not forwarded to our current address. It was ordered under my wife's name, but now I have my own account. If it had been sent by US Mail rather than by another courier,it would have been forwarded to our current address.
I read a copy from the library and found it be worth reading,for comparison with the Charles Johnston translation and for the author's citations and opinion of other translations.

Eugene Onegin is the pinnacle of Russian literature. This hundred-page poem is embedded in Russian brains. Imagine high school nerds repeating the "dead parrot" skit from Monty Python. Now imagine that for all Python skits, the whole population could do that. Eugene Onegin is ubiquitous in Russia. A tale of love and longing, fair maid Tatyana pursues her Romeo. "Romeo" is named Eugene Onegin and he is a decent enough playboy prince. The story is classic, particularly the sections of dialog between Tatyana and Eugene. School children should study their exchanges, which would fit neatly into a forty-minute class. Perhaps, in doing so, literature would score rare points over "Malcolm in the Middle". I read this poem out of admiration for Hofstadter, the translator, a cognitive scientist, Pulitzer Prize winner and all around Einstein. "Godel, Escher, Bach" (1979) earned Hofstadter immortality at a young age. If you wish to think deeply, let Hofstadter guide you with his science and philosophy. Hofstadter claims the definitive translation of Eugene Onegin is that of James Fallen. Thus, Hofstadter was liberated to translate liberally and with personal pinache. Admittedly, I haven't memorized the stanzas, so perhaps something was lost in translation. Nonetheless, I'll guarantee that you will finish this poem if you make it half way through. Shakespeare himself would not complain at losing a few days of English instruction to Russia's Pushkin, as the conclusion brings a smile to the dead.

Hofstadter's preface is an intriguing love story by a master of symbols and patterns who falls prey to compulsiveness and pounces on random coincidences. He gives in to love-for the poem, if only for the love of his wife, Carol. The question that anyone familiar with Hofstadter is; is this book Carol's symbol, his deceased wife living beyond her mortality? Ironically, the story line by the original author Sergeevich Pushkin, the godfather of Russian literature, is a love story as well. Hence you'll find two parallel themes in my review. First is the answer to the Hofstadter question. The second is a question to all of you. Pushkin's love story told in poetry is one of familiar refrain. I suspect love manifests itself in many ways and thrives on many different levels..

In Hofstadter's book I Am a Strange Loop, discussed in my review found here on Cigar Room of Books, he tells a touching true-life story of his wife's passing. In that story he eventually climbs out of the funk he found himself in. This translation project was his bridge. He provides a rationale of how the entwined life between himself and Carol became an entwined thought pattern. Thought being capable of transcending modalities, allows is wife Carol to live on through the people she was close to, and then through generations. In piecing together the story in Strange Loop and his preface in this book, I have come to conclude that the hidden power of love drove Hofstadter, to this project so that he could he could release his grief and find a higher plane to express his love for Carol. The most remarkable feat I this book is Hofstadter, already fluent in a few languages which are mere symbols of thought, flowing from the patterns of DNA, he translates a poem written in Russian, a language he is not fluent in by the most renowned Russian author ever and receives high accolades from Russians who say he captured the pure essence of Pushkin's heart and mind.

You find evidence in chapter 7 verse 23: to my summation...to read on, please do a keyword search for my blog using cigarroomofbooks.blogspot. There you find the evidence and my reaction to Hofstadter and Pushkin

Reading Eugene Onegin was my first taste of poetry outside of school. The experience was wonderful. Although the idea of deciphering a novel in verse was certainly somewhat daunting at first, especially with no guidance provided by a teacher, I discovered that I enjoyed Pushkin's poetry, which seemed so perfectly balanced even translated into English. I was sorry when it ended.