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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A conceptual and metaphorical tale of contemporary Greek literature, May 8, 2006
This review is from: The Jasmine Isle (Paperback)
Creatively authored by Ioanna Karystiani and expertly translated by Michael Eleftheriou, The Jasmine Isle is a conceptual and metaphorical tale of contemporary Greek literature. Mina Saltaferou forcibly weds her eldest daughter Orsa in spite of a love her daughter already feels for another. In a classic style and with a particularly vivid depiction of memorable characters, The Jasmine Isle narratively embodies the truths and barriers of women and men as set by society's predetermined constructs. Especially recommended as a work of exceptional talent, The Jasmine Isle is very highly recommended reading for its intricate and intimate telling of a deep tale, persistently focused on the unjust social constraints felt by so many.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fine Greek fiction in English, May 6, 2006
This review is from: The Jasmine Isle (Paperback)
Well, having enjoyed Mikra Anglia in Greek when it came out several years ago, and having seen its forthcoming English translation advertised here on Amazon a couple of months ago, my interest was piqued: how would the translator approach what seemed a virtually untranslatable work? A work that rested on a distinct and distinctive use of the Greek language, of highly localized vocabulary, of an almost stream-of-consciousness style far from common in the annals of Greek literature?
Well, having read the book, I can say the translator did a jolly good job! The translation reads like an original, and succeeds in a flowing style of its own, especially in Part Three which, if you will excuse the hyperbole, reads a lot like the Greek work Dylan Thomas never quite got round to writing!
I heartily recommend this work to both those familiar with the original and with Karystiani's oeuvre, and to those who simply want to read an expertly-structured and written tragedy with a focus on the women the men of a seafaring isle left behind to fend for themsevles year in year out in the years between the two world wars. Of course, for those familiar with the charming island of Andros, as I am, this is a MUST.
Joanna Kkais,
Nicosia
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Lost in Translation, June 29, 2011
This review is from: The Jasmine Isle (Paperback)
I tried to read two of Karystiani's novels: The Jasmine Isle and Swell. In both cases, I was astounded by the terrible quality of the English translations. Karystiani is an accomplished novelist in Greece, but you would never know it reading the translated works. The narrative in both books is nearly incomprehensible. I found myself re-reading the same sentences and paragraphs multiple times trying to decipher their meaning. Eventually, I just gave up. It's such a disservice to the author. I wonder if she's even aware of the issue. I would give the book a 1-star rating, but that would be unfair to the author since the translation is out of her control. I'll let the text speak for itself. Here are excerpts from both novels:
The Jasmine Isle:
The Aden-Bombay it was back then, saltpeter, the Indian Ocean had whipped itself into a frenzy, standing the Theomitor on its end, four days and nights bartering with Charon, goners for sure, twenty-two men heading for the bottom, and God knows, with the fury spent and the steamer on an even keel again, the captain was out of his mind, desperate to get the secret off his chest. More than half the crew from back home, but Saltaferos kept his distance at sea for the sake of discipline. He couldn't find the way, the courage -- "go on, Christos, fry me up a couple of eggs sunny side up" -- to tell the cook, who had a similar story himself in Chile, dipping into the yolk to tell the tale, every gross detail, someone should know, to cover every eventuality, so why not Christos, a good man, not wanting to put himself out, the card, and softhearted to boot, mother and daughters, the Chilean women in Valparaiso, he called Frosso, Tassoula, Vengelio, just like the others back in the Aegean.
Swell:
That night, the next, the one after that and the six yet that followed till Japan, were spent by Avgoustis in his tiny living room, sleepless, right across from the closed door of the ship-owner's bedroom, the quarters, on and off, of the cats and of every Maritsa, since only once, at the very beginning, did any boss rest among its sheets, what with old Chadzimanolis having had his fill of the ocean and the son keeping his fond distance ever since 1979 when he made his first, and last, trip.
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