22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Worth the Wait!, March 31, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Kiki's Delivery Service (Paperback)
Given the popularity of the Harry Potter books and the glorious animated film version by Hayao Miyazaki, I'm amazed that it's taken this long for this book to appear in English. Eiko Kadono's "Witch's Delivery Service" (Majo no Takkyubin) also deals with the education of a witch child; in this case, a rite of passage for a witch named Kiki. She has to spend her thirteenth year on her own in a witchless town, making a living by her witch craft. The book is a celebration of the independent spirit of its protagonist and the changes she goes through at this pivotal time of life.
I'd like to give this book the full five stars, but I have a couple of caveats. One is the cover illustration by Irvin Cheung, showing a robust, rosy-cheeked Euro-witch. Somehow, it totally misses the warm and evocative line-drawings by Akiko Hayashi, which fortunately are included in the book.
Translating is one of the world's most thankless job. If the translation is really fine, the reader shouldn't even notice it. The irregularities should be smoothed out, the oddities of one language seamlessly patched with the oddities of another.
Lynne E. Riggs has created a mostly complete, very readable English version of Kadono's book, but there are a few quintessentially Japanese touches that got missed. At one point, just before she leaves home, Kiki tells her mother, "Anata no musume wo, shinjinasaittara, shinjinasai. Mou yooi wa dekitemasu." Riggs's reading of this ("You should trust your own daughter more! Believe me, I'm already ready to go.") is literate and understandable. However, one of my Japanese teachers pointed out that this is an old Japanese song. A Japanese reader would certainly pick up on this, while a Westerner would not. My attempt at translation would cue a Western reader by preserving the rhythm:
"I'm your daugh-ter, o mother dear,
Just trust in me, I say,
Have faith in me.
I've got plans, I'm al-read-y pre-pared..."
Nitpicking? Maybe, but also an illustration of the pitfalls awaiting the translator.
As I said above, though, this is a fine translation of a fine book, long overdue in English.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Being half a witch has its problems., October 10, 2006
This review is from: Kiki's Delivery Service (Paperback)
Kiki is turning 13 and it is time for her to leave home and find her own way in the big, wide world for a year. Off she goes with her broom, her black cat and some food to find a new city, a city she can call her own. Once she gets to the city, one by the ocean, she has to find food, a place to live and a job that she can do. In the end, having no other skill but that of flight, she starts a delivery service.
This story, a Japanese novel turned into a Japanese anime, seems somewhat too short. Don't worry, to my knowledge there is already a total number of four novels, so there should be more on their way to America.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
recommended for those who are very eager for more of Kiki, June 20, 2006
This review is from: Kiki's Delivery Service (Paperback)
to reiterate, the movie is based on the book... so, it was nice to find that a translation of the book existed. for those who are very interested to read more about Kiki and glean some more depth, this book is indeed quite worthy of purchase.
however, i do have some criticisms... first, perhaps least significant, the cover is indeed horrendous. the illustrations inside are quite wonderful and you wonder why the ridiculous cover was made. second, i found an obvious typo in the book which makes me wonder if there was an editor... which leads to the third criticism, the translation is quite awkward. it is overly difficult and unnecessarily complicated. i am not looking for a dumbed-down translation, but, reading the text is often a chore. there are moments of elegant prose, but they are far outweighed by the clumsiness of the rest of the book.
so, in my opinion, this book is for the more dedicated. (unless you are truly determined to learn japanese and read the original).
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