If This Be Treason: Translation and Its Dyscontents, A Memoir [Hardcover]

Gregory Rabassa (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 27, 2005

The long-awaited memoir and meditation on the art of translating by the most acclaimed American translator of Latin American literature.

Gregory Rabassa's influence as a translator is incalculable. His translations of Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude and Julio Cortázar's Hopscotch have helped make these some of the most widely read and respected works in world literature. (García Márquez was known to say that the English translation of One Hundred Years was better than the Spanish original.) In If This Be Treason: Translation and Its Dyscontents Rabassa offers a cool-headed and humorous defense of translation, laying out his views on the art of the craft. Anecdotal, and always illuminating, If This Be Treason traces Rabassa's career, from his boyhood on a New Hampshire farm, his school days "collecting" languages, the two-and-a-half years he spent overseas during WWII, his travels, until one day "I signed a contract to do my first translation of a long work [Cortázar's Hopscotch] for a commercial publisher." Rabassa concludes with his "rap sheet," a consideration of the various authors and the over 40 works he has translated. This long-awaited memoir is a joy to read, an instrumental guide to translating, and a look at the life of one of its great practitioners.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A delightful read for any word lover. -- East Bay Express, Nora Sohnen, 25 May 2005

A fine summing-up by the translator who brought...Márquez and Julio Cortázar to the attention of English-speaking readers. -- Kirkus Reviews, 15 February 2005

Aspiring translators, not to mention students of Spanish, will learn more here than in a year of language labs. -- New York Sun, Eric Ormsby, 30 March 2005

Clarity and anecdotes render it engrossing and accessible. -- Library Journal, Nedra Crowe-Evers, 1 May 2005

If translators are the anonymous heroes of contemporary literature, its anonymous superhero is Gregory Rabassa. -- New York Times, William Deresiewicz, 15 May 2005

Rabasa's book is better than memoir; it provides a swift gallop through Latin American literature. -- Cleveland Plain Dealer, Jennifer Gonzales, 26 June 2005

The best Latin American writer in the English language. -- Gabriel García Márquez

The leading US translator of Latin American literature. -- The Boston Globe

[A] wonderful introduction to some of the most brilliant minds of South American and world literature. -- Easy Reader, Bondo Wyszpolski

[The] intriguing memoir of one of the world's best-known translators. -- Deseret Morning News, Dennis Lythgoe, 19 June 2005

About the Author

Gregory Rabassa was born in Yonkers in 1922. He studied at Dartmouth, and in 1942 he volunteered for the Army, serving in the Office of Strategic Services. When he returned to the US after the war, he received a Ph.D. from Columbia. His English translations of works by such literary giants as Jorge Amado, Julio Cortázar, Mario Vargas Llosa, José Lezama Lima, and Gabriel García Márquez have become classics in their own right. He is presently a Distinguished Professor of Romance Languages and Comparative Literature at Queens College, New York.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation; First Edition edition (April 27, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811216195
• ISBN-13: 978-0811216197
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #847,214 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Witty, Fascinating Memoir By One Of My Literary Heroes., May 19, 2005

By 

Jana L. Perskie "ceruleana" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: If This Be Treason: Translation and Its Dyscontents, A Memoir (Hardcover)

Many years ago I read Gabriel Garcia Marquez' novel, "One Hundred Years of Solitude" for the first time. I was entranced by the tale of Macondo and its populace, the poetic elegance of the language, and the author's ability to turn the written page into a magic carpet. I was living in Latin America back then and just beginning to speak Spanish, so I read the novel in English. I didn't really credit the translator's work very much, sad to say. I was young. What did I know? However, the narrative was, and is, written in such an exquisite manner that I took note of the translator's name, Gregory Rabassa. A few years later, still living south of the border, my ability to speak the language had improved significantly - for which I am thankful! I reread Marquez' masterpiece, this time in Spanish, and remembering the English version I was struck at the accuracy of Mr. Rabassa's translation. Not only had he interpreted the author's text from Spanish into English with exactitude, (the words, their meaning, correct grammar, syntax, and idioms), he brilliantly communicated the culture of coastal Colombia, the author's writing style, in fact, his very voice. Most extraordinarily, however, he was able to capture the lilt, lyricism, and love of language. This ability to transcend linguistic and cultural borders, proves Gregory Rabassa is a gifted writer and poet in his own right. I'm a big fan!

I cannot think of another who has had such an impact on Latin American literature. Through him English-speakers, worldwide, have been able to appreciate the works of such notable authors as: Octavio Paz, Miguel Angel Asturias, Julio Cortázar, Mario Vargas Llosa, Jorge Amado, Antönio Lobo Antunes, and, of course, Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

When I discovered that Mr. Rabassa had written a memoir, "If This Be Treason: Translation And Its Dyscontents-A Memoir," I couldn't wait to read it. I have done so, and enjoyed every page. Not only does he discuss his own fascinating life, he writes about so many talented authors, whose books I have loved, and his collaboration with them. His writing style is conversational, witty, and provocative in its honesty. One feels as if seated at the table with him, over a good cup of coffee or a bottle of wine, listening to tales of the people, anecdotes and incidents which have been so important in his life.

Also included are essays on the writers he has worked with and the books he has brought into English. These memoirs make for an excellent read - especially for those who have loved the novels Gregory Rabassa has translated. Kudos to the author!!
JANA

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Translation is NOT so Simple, May 31, 2005

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: If This Be Treason: Translation and Its Dyscontents, A Memoir (Hardcover)

I had always thought that translating a book would be a relatively simple manner for anyone who spoke two languages. After all, the author had done all the work, the translator merely took the written word and converted it, almost word for word into the new language.

It is only as I have grown older that I realize that the meaning behind the words or between the lines is as important as the words themselves. It is a skill all its own to take the writing of someone else and faithfully produce a new work with a meaning as close as possible to what the original author was trying to say.

This is compounded when the setting of the original work is so different than that of the intended reader. For instance the Spanish heritage in Latin America being translated to the world of the United States. Every aspect from life, from the law, from the history needs to be considered.

Perhaps the untimate compliment comes to the translator when the author says that the translation is better than the original - as Garcia Marquez has said of his book "One Hundred Years" as translated by Gregory Rabassa.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read for translators, November 18, 2010

By 

Patricia B. Fisher (Columbia, MD United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: If This Be Treason: Translation and Its Dyscontents, A Memoir (Hardcover)

I first learned of Gregory Rabassa's work when I was looking for a translation of "Cien años de soledad" to buy as a gift years ago. As soon as I read the first lines I knew he had gotten it, he really had gotten it. I skipped ahead to other passages, curious to see if he had translated certain things right (as a translator, I just couldn't help it, it's in the genes) and he had, quite right and very creatively. So it was with great anticipation that I bought his memoir, "If This Be Treason: Translation and Its Dyscontents" to discover his own writing and to see if he would share his trade secrets. Well, I was happy to learn that he struggled with the same issues that other translators from Spanish have struggled with and happy to see how he resolved them. I hope he finds the time to share more of the specifics in future writings. His approach to translating the title and the first lines of book is inspiring and, in my view, guarantees that human translators will be in business for years to come. No computer can possibly "think again", as he recommends, once the words in a simple declarative statement have been rendered into another language, to see if they -individually and collectively- convey the same sense, feeling, meaning, intent, purpose, and message of the original in the specific context they appear. By translating Cortázar, García Márquez, and other giants of Latin American fiction, Rabassa has given English language readers a real treasure, and by telling us now how he went about it, he has enriched our translator's toolbox as well. Rabassa's memoir covers a lot of ground and I can understand he might have been tired towards the end. I enjoyed this book, learned a lot from it, and I highly recommend it.