Eugene Onegin: A Novel in Verse

Rating:
Summary: Hofstadter can do no wrong
Review: Eugene Onegin is the pinnacle of Russian literature. This hundred-page poem is embedded in Russian brains. Imagine high school nerds repeating the "dead parrot" skit from Monty Python. Now imagine that for all Python skits, the whole population could do that. Eugene Onegin is ubiquitous in Russia. A tale of love and longing, fair maid Tatyana pursues her Romeo. "Romeo" is named Eugene Onegin and he is a decent enough playboy prince. The story is classic, particularly the sections of dialog between Tatyana and Eugene. School children should study their exchanges, which would fit neatly into a forty-minute class. Perhaps, in doing so, literature would score rare points over "Malcolm in the Middle". I read this poem out of admiration for Hofstadter, the translator, a cognitive scientist, Pulitzer Prize winner and all around Einstein. "Godel, Escher, Bach" (1979) earned Hofstadter immortality at a young age. If you wish to think deeply, let Hofstadter guide you with his science and philosophy. Hofstadter claims the definitive translation of Eugene Onegin is that of James Fallen. Thus, Hofstadter was liberated to translate liberally and with personal pinache. Admittedly, I haven't memorized the stanzas, so perhaps something was lost in translation. Nonetheless, I'll guarantee that you will finish this poem if you make it half way through. Shakespeare himself would not complain at losing a few days of English instruction to Russia's Pushkin, as the conclusion brings a smile to the dead.

Rating:
Summary: An Enjoyable Translation And More
Review: Hofstadter's translation of the great Russian poem "Eugene Onegin" deserves credit on two counts. First, it is a modern, lyrical, jovial and admittedly singsong (due to the author's strict adherence to the original iambic tetrameter) translation of Pushkin's masterwork. It is a translation to be read aloud, to be shared with one you love. Second, in its preface it holds a concise statement of Hofstadter's extensive thoughts (see "Le Ton Beau De Marot") on the art, whimsy, folly and beauty of translation itself. It has been mentioned that Hofstadter looks down on Nabokov's "translation", but this is not entirely without cause. Nabokov's stodgy literal gloss of "Onegin", eschewing meter and rhyme, serves as a dictionary and a deathblow. Pushkin's poem is vibrant and alive in Russian; Hofstadter boldly suggests that we english-speakers may also experience this life denied by Nabokov. This book will teach you something about poetry, something about translation, and hopefully give you a feel for what Pushkin's Russia might have been like.

Rating:
Summary: An Enjoyable Translation And More
Review: Hofstadter's translation of the great Russian poem "Eugene Onegin" deserves credit on two counts. First, it is a modern, lyrical, jovial and admittedly singsong (due to the author's strict adherence to the original iambic tetrameter) translation of Pushkin's masterwork. It is a translation to be read aloud, to be shared with one you love. Second, in its preface it holds a concise statement of Hofstadter's extensive thoughts (see "Le Ton Beau De Marot") on the art, whimsy, folly and beauty of translation itself. It has been mentioned that Hofstadter looks down on Nabokov's "translation", but this is not entirely without cause. Nabokov's stodgy literal gloss of "Onegin", eschewing meter and rhyme, serves as a dictionary and a deathblow. Pushkin's poem is vibrant and alive in Russian; Hofstadter boldly suggests that we english-speakers may also experience this life denied by Nabokov. This book will teach you something about poetry, something about translation, and hopefully give you a feel for what Pushkin's Russia might have been like.

Rating:
Summary: A Translator with a Colossal Ego
Review: It is unprecedented in my experience to find a classic novel so poorly served by a translation. In fact, I don't feel that I even read the book properly since I was so distracted by Hofstadter's neon "Me Me Me" signs flashing on every page. The edition includes a translator's prefix that rivals the text in length and which tells you more than you ever wanted to know about the man including details of his personal life, where he was when he wrote certain passages, and so on ad nausea. Hofstadter approaches the text with all the sensitivity of a crossword puzzle enthusiast, sacrificing meaning at every turn for a clever bend of phrase or neat graphic trick, like starting every line of a stanza with the same letter. He further has the gall to dismiss Nabokov's translation out-of-hand for being, God forbid, too literal to the original and for sacrificing rhyme scheme to accuracy to the Russian. Sounds like a good approach to me. Hofstadter also admits that University of Tennessee professor James Fallen's translation in verse if far superior and closer to Pushkin's tone than his own, which raises the question: what exactly did you hope to achieve? If my review focuses too much on Hofstadter and not enough of Pushkin, then that alone is symptomatic of the problems with this edition. By all means, read Eugene Onegin, in Russian, in English, in verse or not. By all means, avoid this book.

Rating:
Summary: Too Clever and Too Obscure
Review: Sure, Pushkin had fun with his Russian, and why shouldn't a translator carry that playfulness into his translation. But damn, I found it way too distracting. The introduction by Hofstadter was very interesting and conveyed his love and dedication to this novel; my hopes were high for an enjoyable ride. But I found the novel too dificult to follow, and the clever translation distracting. Hofstadter himself recommends a translation by Falen, and I concur, finding it much easier to follow.

Rating:
Summary: Too Clever and Too Obscure
Review: Sure, Pushkin had fun with his Russian, and why shouldn't a translator carry that playfulness into his translation. But damn, I found it way too distracting. The introduction by Hofstadter was very interesting and conveyed his love and dedication to this novel; my hopes were high for an enjoyable ride. But I found the novel too dificult to follow, and the clever translation distracting. Hofstadter himself recommends a translation by Falen, and I concur, finding it much easier to follow.

Rating:
Summary: How he do dat?!
Review: Well done, Hofstadter! I find your translation amusing and fun to read, much like the original Russian text. Definitely better, more alive, than the Penguin Classics translation. But I guess "na vkus i svet tovarishi net!"
Check out his book _Le Ton Beau du Marot_. Very good read, on translation.

Rating:
Summary: How he do dat?!
Review: Well done, Hofstadter! I find your translation amusing and fun to read, much like the original Russian text. Definitely better, more alive, than the Penguin Classics translation. But I guess "na vkus i svet tovarishi net!"
Check out his book _Le Ton Beau du Marot_. Very good read, on translation.