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Montaigne: Complete Essays Hardcover – May 5, 1992

by Michel de Montaigne (Author), M. A. Screech (Translator, Introduction)

130 customer reviews

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Product details

Hardcover: 1344 pages
Publisher: Viking Adult; Third printing edition (May 5, 1992)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0713990724
ISBN-13: 978-0713990720
Product Dimensions: 20 x 20 x 20 inches
Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
Average Customer Review: 130 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,112,093 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1130 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > European > French
- #5040 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Essays & Correspondence > Essays
- #59920 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Literary

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About Versions: Physical Copy, Kindle, and Translation

December 20, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Montaigne's Essays are one of the more enjoyable massive tomes of renaissance writing available, and if reading in English, one has two major modern choices of translation, Screech and Frame.

To start with Translation: Both major translations are excellent in their own way, but some differences are of note. When a translation is done, usually the translator will translate the major language of the text, French in this case, and leave quotes by the author from other languages, mostly Latin in this case, untranslated. The translator will provide a note with the translation of the quote, and preferably the source of the quote.

This is where Screech and Frame differ considerably. Screech does what should be done, and Frame just translates everything into English with no significant notations other than the person quoted. This means, however, that one may prefer one translation over the other based on this alone. For example, one that wishes to take a more scholarly look will likely use Screech (or the original), and one that simply wants to read for pleasure may have no problem using the translation by Frame. Also, Screech is British and Frame is American, so one may have other preferences for style.

As for the Physical Copy:

The physical copies of Frame's translation (Stanford and Everyman's) are vastly superior to the Penguin Classics Screech version. The Penguin paperback is thick, but in keeping with the generally small form factor, the print is terribly small, and the paper is of a horrible quality, which is the reason I also purchased the Kindle version.

As for the Kindle version:

The Penguin Classics Kindle file is much more pleasant to read and deal with than the paperback alternative. However, there are many errors in the Kindle version that are not present in the paperback version. It appears some items get corrected occasionally, but still, it is not nice to charge so much for the Kindle version, and not have it completely proofread and ready for primetime.

This actually lead me to have a conversation with a Penguin representative about the quality of the Kindle version, and in that conversation, I learned something I had not realized before. Penguin does not produce the Kindle version. Amazon does. So, all of the quality issues I have noticed in the past about Kindle versions essentially are the fault of Amazon rather than the publisher listed. I suppose the publisher only sells Amazon license to produce the Kindle file and sets price limitations, and Amazon does the rest. This needs to change, because there needs to be more quality control.

***EDIT 02/01/2016: SEE COMMENT BELOW BY RAFA. APPARENTLY, IT IS THE PUBLISHER'S FAULT, NOT AMAZON'S.***

However, because of the limitations of the Penguin paperback, I would still recommend the Kindle version if one is to read Screech.

Five stars for Montaigne's Complete Essays, regardless of which version one chooses to read.

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KO6JW

Excellent translation.

July 16, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I have three translations of Montaigne - Cotton, Frame (this one) and Screech (no kidding). The Cotton translation was done in the late 18th century and is some what difficult to read. Frame was done in the 1950's and is very readable. Screech is more recent and is also quite readable. Frame simply translates Montaigne's frequent Latin quotes whereas Screech presents the Latin along with the translation. While this may be more scholarly, it is distracting if you don't read Latin.

The Frame volume includes other works by Montaigne such as his travel journals. Thus, it is more complete than either Cotton or Screech. This volume is over 1300 pages and is not very portable. Still I recommend it as being more complete and a little more readable.

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reader

GREAT BOOK! Montaigne-- Essay Collection's Difficulty, Screech, Omissions, Help for Students

April 4, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Full Review- Book, Montaigne, Differences Between Two translated Version & Photos

GREAT & CELEBRATED BOOK (difficult read), fast shipping, came exactly as described. This is the ONE for those who are ready to dive into the deepend. This is the serious one. Every essay is different and wonderful. I am attaching photographs of THIS version (Screech) so that you can see what you are diving into. My copy has been noted as I have been teaching him.

MONTAIGNE
The writer to publish the first personal essay, and most essays are short and intriguing in that they use psychology to communicate his messages. This is done through poetry, historical references, linguistics, theology, imaginary scenarios and intriguing language. every essay is a paradox. You do not need to know that, hence the enjoyable aspect. Montaigne has influenced writers/figures like Eliot, Freud, Shakespeare, Descartes and more.

SCREECH’S INTRO
It's important only if you are interested (or are required) in understanding the translation process. Screech dives into the history that influenced Montaigne's essays. His introduction tells you a bit about Montaigne, but it is not that long and can be skipped. He also explains how he went about translating his version of this collection.

OMISSIONS OF WORKS IN SCREECH’S BOOK
There's stuff missing in a bunch of the collections because he has written so much. If you are looking for something rare or specific, you should look which book it is before purchasing. All of them are available on Amazon..

HELP FOR STUDENTS
Some college professors are adamant that only this book be read. You might need to write papers with citations. This book is very different than the other books. Screech's is better for students and scholars. It includes citations and the very short Latin and French quotes that he uses, though all of it is translated into English for you. The Latin and French line/quotes/references are usually very short. The translations are right next to quotes in parenthesis. If you purchase a different collection, you will have a very difficult time with writing papers because of the varying translations.

Overall, this is a phenomenal read produced by a prolific and prominent man. Screech does a great job. This is the best book of the collections that I have purchased, though it is the most difficult to understand. Again, this collection is more for scholars and academics. Montaigne is studied to this day, nearly as much as Shakespeare because of the sheer difficulty of the paradoxes presented, but, they are enlightening and enjoyable. In terms of literature, Montaigne is one of the "trickiest" reads (he calls himself tricky-- it is a bit of his trademark).

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Leon A Le Leu

Unrestrained de Montaigne

June 8, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

De Montaigne, in his chateau tower (his wife occupied the other tower), felt complete freedom in writing whatever he thought about anything. He was not restrained by religion, popular ideas on decency, or anything much. Hence most of his writing is as refreshing as it may have been the day it was written. It would be trite to call him a thoroughly modern man but you feel that as he is "speaking" to you over more than four and a half centuries. Yet he would have little time for much of what is covered by the word "modern" these days. It has been one of my better purchases over the last few months.

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