Michel recommended Desert, by J.M.G. Leclezio when we were discussing Nobel prize winners in autumn. He found the writing beautiful and poetic, having read it in French twice and once in English. His concern about whether the English translation was able to capture the language’s beauty was debated throughout the evening. Caroline, who very much appreciates Leclezio, also found the language beautiful, but did not think this was his very best novel. Robin enjoyed the book but did not think the English translation was very beautiful, as the language seemed flat to her and noted that he often reused the same word several times in the same description. She did, however, think many of the descriptions were wonderful (e.g., the boy who died running from the police after stealing from cars). Clare took on the challenge of the French version and absolutely agreed that the language was very poetic. Mark initially found it difficult to get into the book, then felt the stories began to carry themselves, making the reader feel as if he were with the characters in the two main story lines. Essentially that the writing made the reader feel what the characters felt, and gave a strong appreciation of people living under that type of stress. He did believe that the English translation maintained a good degree of the beauty of the language (e.g., the blind warrior walking away from the sheik after having been “cured”). Cynthia felt that the English version was perhaps longer than it needed to be (perhaps because of the translation) but that it was extremely well done, with vivid descriptions of the lives of everyone in both stories. And yes, she was thirsty reading the desert stories!
Regarding the two intertwined stories, we were not sure precisely how they were related. It was stated that Lalla was a descendent of the blue men, but how? Was it the sheik’s wife, also named Lalla, who was the connection? Also it bears noting that there were two confusing elements, perhaps the price one pays for the poetry. First, what was the relationship between Nour and the sheik? And his father? We felt it was not clear whom Nour was following early on in the book. Secondly, the notion of time seemed a bit off. The sudden move of Lalla to Marseille, the aunt already being established there, Lalla’s mastery of French and her subsequent return all took place within 9 months?! That didn’t seem realistic to most of us.
Indeed more than the words were different between the two translations; even the physical page layout was different. In the French version, one story had the narrower column on the page and the other the full page. The English version presented the two stories identically on the page. I’m not sure if this would have made a difference had we known.
The setting and the era in history was also an interesting part of the discussion, and some related movies/exhibitions were suggested:
- Suggested movies
The Wind and the Lion (Sean Connery/Candace Bergen) and
Fort Saganne (Gerard Depardieu/Catherine Deneuve)
- Suggested exhibition
Indigo exhibition in Paris at the library: http://www.paris-bibliotheques.org/expositions/indigo/
Cynthia
