A review by jenniferkowash
After Babel: Aspects of Language and Translation by George Steiner

3.0

This book is a great philosophical take on many theories and aspects of translation and just language in general. It covers ideas ranging from what translation is and if it's always possible to why human languages are so different from each other. Each idea is thoroughly tossed around in such a way that the reader is able to form their own opinions about it easily. However, this styling also can make the book dizzying as it can feel like it takes quite a bit of mental gymnastics to understand a part if the reader is not primed on the topic at hand. The ample use of French, German, Latin and Greek also can make the reader feel as though they are missing out if not well versed in these languages, but that may be altogether unimportant to some. As long as the reader is prepared to spend longer than normal studying this book and has a strong interest in translation or language it should be a worthwhile read!