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A review by versmonesprit
Byobu by Ida Vitale
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
I want to begin my review by saying I believe the majority of the fault to be on the translation, because the majority of the book sounded very unnatural in English. I rarely, if ever, say this of a book as I acknowledge and respect that a good writer be possessed of a good vocabulary, but it sounded like someone replaced every word they could using a thesaurus. To the point it felt like that scene in Friends when Joey was writing a recommendation letter for Chandler and Monica, and using a thesaurus to sound smart, he changed his own name to “baby kangaroo”.
I don’t believe Vitale did that at all. I believe she must have sounded lyrical. Which leaves the sole conclusion: this must be due to the translator.
And unfortunately when the language fails, all else does so as well. There were shining moments of hilarity and beauty and compassion, but they were quickly buried among more writing that tried to sound smart but said not a whole lot. I expected a philosophical book — needless to say that’s not what I got.
I don’t believe Vitale did that at all. I believe she must have sounded lyrical. Which leaves the sole conclusion: this must be due to the translator.
And unfortunately when the language fails, all else does so as well. There were shining moments of hilarity and beauty and compassion, but they were quickly buried among more writing that tried to sound smart but said not a whole lot. I expected a philosophical book — needless to say that’s not what I got.