Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0010055, Tue, 13 Jul 2004 20:46:26 -0700

Subject
Dmitri Nabokov's Italian translation of Transparent Things,
plus his Translator's "Foreword"
Date
Body
MessageEDNOTE. Dmitri Nabokov, his father's best translator, not only translated much of his father's Russian work into English but also did the Italian translation of _Transparent Things_. The enclosed attachments provide selected pages illustrating how particular issues were resolved. NABOKV-L thanks DN for this material. I hope that one of our Italian speakers can provide a translation of the brief "Translator's Introduction."

----- Original Message -----
From: Dmitri Nabokov
To: 'D. Barton Johnson'
Sent: Monday, July 12, 2004 12:23 PM
Subject: TT in Italian


Dear Don (please post, with attachment, if you think it will interest the List),

It's been a busy week here. ....
Hence I have had time to do no more than follow the truly excellent discussion of TT, a thin volume that, on first sight, appears to some as Nabokov in decline, but that, upon a closer reading, reveals an extraordinary originality. My compliments to all. In case anybody is interested, I am attaching my mini-preface and the first two mini-chapters of the Italian translation, for which I take total responsibility (there was no Italianized Mr. N. looking over my shoulder). A couple of questions get answered along the way: for example, the translation of see-saw (altalena), the very deliberate momentary shift to the present tense ("Persona paga alacre autista"), and the best I could do to rescue the pun on another kind of shift. An even more entertaining pun awaits those who continue.

Cari saluti a tutti quanti,

DN