Translations: A Play (Faber Paperbacks) [Paperback]

Brian Friel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 16, 1995 | Series: Faber Paperbacks

The action takes place in late August 1833 at a hedge-school in the townland of Baile Beag, an Irish-speaking community in County Donegal. In a nearby field camps a recently arrived detachment of the Royal Engineers, making the first Ordnance Survey. For the purposes of cartography, the local Gaelic place names have to be recorded and rendered into English. In examining the effects of this operation on the lives of a small group, Brian Friel skillfully reveals the far-reaching personal and cultural effects of an action which is at first sight purely administrative.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Translations is a modern classic. It engages the intellect as well as the heart, and achieves a profound political and philosophical resonance through the detailed examination of individual lives, of particular people in particular place and time."--Daily Telegraph

"This is Brian Friel's finest play, his most deeply thought and felt, the most deeply involved with Ireland but also the most universal: haunting and hard, lyrical and erudite, bitter and forgiving, both praise and lament."--Sunday Times

About the Author

Brian Friel was born in Omagh, County Tyrone (Northern Ireland) in 1929. He received his college education in Derry, Maynooth and Belfast and taught at various schools in and around Derry from 1950 to 1960. He is the author of many plays that have taken their place in the canon of Irish Literature, including Philadelphia, Here I Come! (1964), Lovers (1967), Translations (1980), The Communication Cord (1982), and Dancing at Lughnasa (1990). In 1980 he founded the touring theatre company, Field Day, with Stephen Rea.

Product Details

• Paperback: 72 pages
• Publisher: Faber & Faber; First Thus edition (March 16, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0571117422
• ISBN-13: 978-0571117420
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 4.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,848 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #24 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Drama > British & Irish
  • #44 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Irish

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beauty Translates Itself, April 1, 2001

By 

Arthur from Brooklyn (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Translations: A Play (Faber Paperbacks) (Paperback)

I felt moved to add a review of Translations after reading several of the reviews other readers have left. Brian Friel has a feel for language that is nothing short of miraculous. This play in particular is a delicate and wonderful portrait of the universality of human experience. If you care enough to read these reviews you owe it to yourself to read this play. I am a long time admirer of Mr. Friel and I saw a remarkable production of this play in London several years ago. There are times - rare times - when a person leaves a theater and doesn't feel the ground under his feet because of the transport of the experience. That was one such performance, and this is that fine a play.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars That Good, I Directed the Play, November 28, 1999

By 

Natasha Martin (London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Translations: A Play (Faber Paperbacks) (Paperback)

Over the past few nights I have directed this play at my college. I am studying the book as part of my English 'A' Level course, and you'd think I'd get bored of it, but no, I love this book. Being Irish, I feel that it captures the very essence of Irish culture, and the hatred portrayed by Manus toward the English soldiers, is caught so well by Friel. Definitive and Encapsulating, I love this story. Tragedy or no, it's one of the best books I have read about the fall of one's culture through Language. It challenges the typical stereotype of the Irish, and shows how pompus the English could be! BUY IT!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Incisive, May 5, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Cork, Ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Translations: A Play (Faber Paperbacks) (Paperback)

What a wonderfully light read for such a potentially heavy topic.

As a native of Ireland that is constantly reminded of the legacy of the crass 'Anglosizing' of our country, I found this a very incisive read. It is a wonderful snapshot of a period in our history which has scarred our language and lanscape forever. An example would be a town built on the site of an old monastery 'Mainstir na Fir Maoi' or The Monastery of the Yellow Men was translated to Fermoy, a meaningless name with no relevance to the look or history of the area. Or even the fact that I am more comfortable writng this review in English than in Gaelic.

Yet this is not a bitter book but a clever 'fly on the wall' account of the subtle changes being stamped on Ireland. This book of the play has developed wonderful characters which give us a great insight to what it must have been like for all the people who lived through that time.

There is no agenda in this book. It is a nicely humorous account of the times from an accomplished playwright and author.

If ever you plan to visit Ireland or if you live here and have wondered where places like Donegal got their names then this is book will give you enlightenment woven subtly into a wonderful story.