The art of translation is a complex and fascinating process, as discussed in a recent conversation between Russ Roberts and Robert Chandler on the EconTalk podcast. Chandler, a renowned author, poet, and translator, shared insights into his experience translating the works of Vasily Grossman, particularly his novels “Stalingrad” and “Life and Fate.”
Chandler highlighted the meticulous research and preparation involved in translating a lengthy book like “Stalingrad,” which spans nearly 900 pages. He explained how he navigated the challenge of working with multiple versions of the novel, each reflecting different degrees of censorship imposed by Soviet authorities. By studying the differences between these versions, Chandler gained a deeper understanding of Grossman’s intentions and the impact of censorship on his writing.
The process of translating “Stalingrad” was a laborious and enlightening journey for Chandler, who spent over two and a half years immersed in the project. In contrast, the translation of “Life and Fate” presented a different set of challenges. Chandler recounted a pivotal moment when he received a financial incentive from Harper & Row to expedite the translation process. Motivated by the offer of a bonus, Chandler isolated himself in a seaside cottage in Cornwall, where he dedicated four months to completing the translation at an accelerated pace. The result was a successful and efficient translation that earned him the monetary reward.
As Roberts and Chandler delved into the intricacies of translation, they reflected on the immersive experience of reading Grossman’s novels. Chandler’s dedication to preserving the essence of Grossman’s work through translation underscores the importance of linguistic nuance and cultural context in conveying the author’s intentions to a broader audience.
In conclusion, the conversation between Roberts and Chandler shed light on the artistry and challenges of translation, particularly in the context of Soviet literature. Chandler’s meticulous approach to translating Grossman’s novels exemplifies the dedication and skill required to bridge language barriers and bring important literary works to new readers.
It’s a fascinating insight into the world of translation and the challenges that come with it. Robert Chandler’s experience of spending time with Grossman’s characters and stories is truly unique. The intensity of translating Grossman’s work, such as the harrowing accounts of the Treblinka article and the terror famine in “Everything Flows,” must be emotionally taxing. However, Chandler finds solace in the fact that Grossman is not out to hurt the reader but rather to tell important stories that need to be heard.
Chandler compares Grossman to a wise guide, leading readers through difficult subjects like Dante’s Virgil through Hell. Despite the pain and suffering depicted in Grossman’s work, Chandler is able to navigate through it with a sense of purpose and clarity.
When it comes to the actual process of translating, Chandler recalls the days when research material was scarce, and he had to rely on the help of others for accuracy. With limited resources like Russian-English dictionaries, Chandler had to rely on his own knowledge and expertise to ensure a faithful translation.
Today, with the help of online forums and communities like Seelang’s, Chandler has a wealth of resources at his disposal to aid in his translations. The support and knowledge sharing from fellow translators and Russianists have made the process much easier and more efficient.
One of the challenges Chandler faced during the translation of “Life and Fate” was keeping track of the multitude of characters in the novel. With around a hundred names listed in the back of the book, Chandler had to develop a system to keep the different story threads organized. By translating each character’s chapters separately, Chandler was able to maintain consistency and clarity throughout the translation process.
Overall, the experience of translating Grossman’s work is both rewarding and challenging. It requires a deep understanding of the source material and a dedication to capturing the essence of the original text. Chandler’s insights into the world of translation shed light on the complexities and nuances of the craft, highlighting the importance of preserving the integrity of the author’s voice while making the work accessible to a new audience.
However, he was pushing at the boundaries in that he was actually talking about the mismanagement of the war, the faults and the errors that were being made. And this was not at all what was expected of a journalist. And then, later on, in the early 1950s, he was writing a film script which was never made about the Holocaust, about Babi Yar. I mean, this was hardly the act of a conformist. So, it’s not simply that he suddenly turned critical. He was always critical.
But I think the thing that perhaps is most important is the scale of the Soviet system. I mean, it was such a vast and all-encompassing system. It was almost impossible to be entirely outside it. I mean, you could be thrown out of it. And this is what happened to Grossman. But, as long as you were inside it, you were in some way complicit. And this is what makes Grossman such an interesting writer, because he was, on the one hand, he was an insider. He was a Soviet writer. He was a war correspondent. He was a journalist. He was a loyal Soviet citizen. But, on the other hand, he was always pushing at the boundaries.
So, I think, in a way, he’s always a very, very interesting figure because he represents so much of the complexity of Soviet society. He’s not a straightforward dissident. He’s not a straightforward loyalist. He’s all of these things at once.
Russ Roberts: Yeah, it’s fascinating how individuals navigate those kinds of systems. And it’s always easy from the outside to say, ‘Oh, I would have done this. I would have done that.’ But when you’re in it, it’s a very different story.
Vasily Grossman, the renowned Soviet writer, was known for his bold and challenging approach to his writing. One particular incident that stands out is when the editor of Red Star, David Ortenberg, commissioned Grossman to write an article titled “Tsaritsyn—Stalingrad.” The city of Tsaritsyn, now known as Volgograd, was renamed Stalingrad in honor of Stalin’s defense of the city during the Civil War. Ortenberg expected Grossman to draw parallels between Stalin’s defense of Tsaritsyn in 1919 and the Red Army’s defense of Stalingrad in 1942. However, Grossman wrote the article without mentioning Stalin, much to the editor’s dismay.
Throughout his career, Grossman faced challenges from the editors at Red Star, who often added ultra-patriotic elements to his articles. Despite his ambivalent feelings towards the Soviet system, Grossman remained a part of that world, as evidenced by his enjoyment of singing patriotic Red Army songs at social gatherings. The complexity of Grossman’s emotions towards the regime is evident in his work, particularly in his masterpiece “Life and Fate.”
In “Life and Fate,” Grossman explores the parallels between the authoritarian systems of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. The dialogue between the SS officer Liss and the old Bolshevik Mostovskoy is a powerful example of this exploration, highlighting the shared elements of oppression and control in both regimes. The emotional weight of certain passages in the novel, such as Viktor’s mother’s letter and the scenes of violence and suffering, is a testament to Grossman’s ability to convey deep and profound emotions through his writing.
As a translator of Grossman’s work, Robert Chandler grapples with capturing the emotional power and poetry of the original text. Some passages, such as the terror-famine chapter in “Everything Flows,” are straightforward to translate due to their stark and unambiguous nature. However, other passages that carry significant emotional weight require careful attention to detail to ensure that the essence of Grossman’s writing is preserved.
Overall, Grossman’s work continues to resonate with readers around the world for its profound exploration of human experience in the face of oppressive regimes. His ability to convey complex emotions and moral dilemmas through his writing makes him a literary giant whose legacy endures to this day. It was emotionally overwhelming, but it was actually very easy to translate because it was so simple and clear. The text in question was from a novel by the renowned Russian writer Vasily Grossman, known for his powerful and poignant storytelling. The passage in question captured the essence of the character’s struggles and internal conflicts, making it a truly moving piece of literature.
The absolute opposite to that in the same book is the equivocations of the main character, the scientist who is looking back on his past. And he is constantly sort of trying to be honest, and then running away from being honest. He’ll be saying–he keeps using the word–instead of, ‘I saw,’ it’s ‘Kazalas,’–‘It seemed.’ ‘It seemed to me.’ Then he was, ‘Oh, did it really seem to me?’ And, ‘It had seemed.’
Getting the tense right was terribly difficult in English, because in Russian, they actually only have present, future, and past. So, sometimes when you’re translating you have to think a lot, whether it should be ‘it seemed,’ ‘it had seemed,’ whatever.
So, those kind of equivocations were–which Grossman was very, very skilled at in other chapters as well where he says something and then he kind of backtracks or his character backtracks. So, those are the ones that are difficult to translate.
“Everything Flows” is a much shorter Grossman novel, for those listening. It’s imperfect, but it’s still an extraordinary read. Well, maybe we’ll talk about it a little more later. It deals, as you mentioned, with the famine and the deaths of the kulak–of millions of kulaks–over just an unbearable time of human history, just the cruelty of it. And, Grossman captures it in a very, very powerful way.
I want to turn to “The Road,” and bring it back to “Life and Fate.” “The Road” is a short story of Grossman’s, and it’s the title as well of an edited volume that you did of his shorter writings. So, it includes short stories; it includes essays. The two most extraordinary essays in there for me were “The Hell of Treblinka,” which we’ve already spoken about, and a rather remarkable essay, which I alluded to and I mentioned briefly in the previous conversation with Tyler Cowen, “The Sistine Madonna.” And then some other short stories.
But the other thing that makes the book special is that you’ve written many sections of biographical material about Grossman and the writings–the stories and the essays. In particular I’d like you to talk a little bit about Grossman’s relationship with his mother.
As I mentioned, in “Life and Fate” there’s a letter from Viktor’s mother that is presumably the letter that Grossman himself imagined his mother could have written to him. But we also have two letters that he wrote to his mother, in the book, “The Road,” that Grossman wrote to his mother after her death–nine years after her death, 20 years after her death. Two letters.
He dedicated “Life and Fate” to his mother. He believed very strongly that she was still alive in the form of the book in some sense.
A great many of Grossman’s works do bring in the theme of maternal love. He repeatedly manages to find maternal love, occasionally, but different versions, sometimes reversing the generations in the most terrible situations.
He’s constantly finding those kind of situations. He’s finding those relationships in the most ghastly situations.
There’s a very touching article by Grossman’s daughter, Katia, who didn’t write a great deal about her father; but she wrote an article about the story called “A Mama.” And she points out that there are about, I think, eight or nine kind of mothers and adoptive mothers and nurses playing a maternal role. So, different substitute mothers of one kind or another.
So, at one level, it’s a very bleak story centered on the family of Yezhov, the chief, the head of the NKVD [Narodnyy komissariat vnutrennikh del, People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs] at the height of Stalin’s purges in the late 1930s. So, it’s at one level about this evil figure, Yezhov, and also it is about maternal tenderness. There are a huge number of tender maternal figures in it.
One of the other striking things about the relationship with a mother is that, I mean, Grossman clearly felt a huge weight of guilt that in the very first weeks of the war, he could have traveled to Byadichev and fetched his mother and brought her back to relative safety in Moscow. She couldn’t do that on her own. She was partly disabled. And in any case, at that point, people didn’t realize how quickly the Germans were going to advance.
Grossman didn’t fetch her partly because his wife didn’t want that–which was later a cause of bitterness between husband and wife. But anyway, however much Grossman may have blamed his wife, he certainly blamed himself, and he did. Usually guilt is a fairly incapacitating feeling. In his novel “Life and Fate,” Vasily Grossman manages to turn the weight of guilt into a positive force, which is quite unusual. The character of Shtrum, after being blessed by Stalin and finding himself in a fortunate position, feels deep shame when he capitulates and signs a letter criticizing Jews. In a moment of weakness, he prays to his mother for strength, seeing her as a source of support. This portrayal of a character grappling with his conscience reflects Grossman’s own struggles with morality, especially in his personal life.
Grossman’s own marriage was tumultuous, much like the relationships depicted in his work. However, in “Life and Fate,” the character of Shtrum makes different choices than Grossman did in real life, perhaps idealizing how he wished he had behaved. Despite the challenges in his personal life, Grossman’s wife played a crucial role in typing out his manuscripts, showing tremendous support even in the face of his infidelities.
For readers who may be intimidated by the length and complexity of Grossman’s epic novel “Life and Fate,” there are other works that offer a taste of his writing. “The Road,” a collection of essays and short stories, provides a more accessible entry point into Grossman’s world. One of the standout stories in this collection is “The Road,” which humorously follows an Italian mule transporting artillery shells to Stalingrad. Through this tale, Grossman condenses the themes of “Life and Fate” into a smaller, more digestible form.
Another captivating story in “The Road” is “The Dog,” which explores the emotional attachment between a scientist and a mongrel dog sent into space. This story blends humor with poignant reflections on human relationships and the mysteries of the universe. Additionally, “Mama” delves into the innocence of a child and her nanny living in the household of an NKVD boss, offering a unique perspective on the dark political landscape of the time.
Overall, Grossman’s ability to weave complex moral dilemmas with moments of lightness and humor sets him apart as a master storyteller. By exploring his shorter works, readers can appreciate the depth and range of his writing without feeling overwhelmed by the sheer scope of his larger novels. “Forgotten Lightness and Humor in Vasily Grossman’s Work”
Vasily Grossman is often remembered for his grim subject matter, such as his depictions of the atrocities of Stalingrad and Treblinka. However, it is important to note that there is also lightness and humor present in much of his work. Despite this, the weight of his themes can sometimes overshadow the brighter aspects of his writing.
One such example of the lighter side of Grossman’s work can be found in his short story, “The Dog.” The story follows the life of a stray dog living on the streets of a city. Despite her difficult circumstances, the dog finds moments of joy and happiness in her surroundings. Grossman beautifully captures the innocence and playfulness of childhood in the dog’s experiences, showing that even in the darkest of times, there can be moments of light.
As the seasons change and winter arrives, the dog must adapt to the challenges of city life. She learns to navigate the dangers of traffic and technology, displaying a remarkable survival instinct. Grossman’s portrayal of the dog’s resilience and intelligence is both heartwarming and thought-provoking, offering a glimpse into the inner world of an animal living on the margins of society.
Grossman’s affinity for animals is evident throughout his work, and “The Dog” is a prime example of his ability to empathize with creatures of all kinds. The story serves as a reminder of the interconnectedness of all living beings, urging readers to consider the perspectives of those often overlooked or marginalized.
In a conversation with translator Robert Chandler, Grossman’s admiration for Chekhov and Tolstoy is mentioned, highlighting his appreciation for the work of other Russian writers. Chandler also shares his own love for Andrei Platonov, a writer who, like Grossman, delved into complex themes with a unique and innovative approach to language.
While Grossman may be best known for his somber portrayals of war and suffering, it is important to recognize the depth and diversity of his literary talent. Through stories like “The Dog,” Grossman invites readers to explore the nuances of human experience and the beauty that can be found even in the darkest of times. His work serves as a poignant reminder of the power of storytelling to illuminate the complexities of the human condition and inspire empathy and understanding.
Reading the works of writers like Grossman and Platonov is not just an act of literary appreciation, but a homage to their courage, resilience, and enduring legacy. Grossman, with his powerful and evocative prose, shed light on the darkest corners of history, bringing to life the stories of those who suffered and perished in the atrocities of war and oppression. His ability to capture the humanity and resilience of individuals in the face of unimaginable horror is a testament to his skill as a writer and his empathy as a human being.
Platonov, on the other hand, pushed the boundaries of language and form, creating a unique and unconventional style that challenged readers to see the world in a new light. His experimental prose and poetic sensibility opened up new possibilities for storytelling and expression, paving the way for future generations of writers to explore the limits of language and imagination.
Both Grossman and Platonov faced immense challenges and obstacles in their lives, both personally and professionally. They navigated the treacherous waters of Soviet censorship and repression, risking their careers and even their lives to speak truth to power and bear witness to the suffering of others. Their dedication to their craft and their commitment to the truth are an inspiration to us all.
As readers, we have a responsibility to honor the legacies of writers like Grossman and Platonov by engaging with their work, by immersing ourselves in their stories and their words, and by reflecting on the lessons they have to teach us about the human experience. In a world that is increasingly fractured and divided, their stories remind us of the enduring power of empathy, compassion, and the written word to bridge the gaps between us and connect us to our shared humanity.
So let us continue to read, to learn, and to grow from the wisdom and insight of writers like Grossman and Platonov. Let us carry their stories with us, as a reminder of the resilience of the human spirit and the enduring power of art to transcend the darkest moments of history. And let us never forget the sacrifices they made and the courage they showed in the face of adversity, for their words are a beacon of light in a world that is often shrouded in darkness.
Let us honor their memory, their work, and their legacy by continuing to read, to write, and to speak truth to power, for it is through our words and our stories that we can create a better world for ourselves and for future generations to come.
Vasily Grossman, a renowned Russian writer, was known for his works that focused on remembering people. He had a deep respect for individuals, from well-known historical figures to ordinary cooks and nurses, and he always made an effort to include their names in his writings. Grossman believed in the power of remembrance and the importance of honoring the forgotten individuals who played a role in shaping history.
In one of his essays, “The Hell of Treblinka,” Grossman highlighted the tragedy of the unnamed and unremembered victims who perished in the Nazi concentration camps. He emphasized the humanity of these individuals, contrasting them with the inhumanity of their oppressors. Grossman’s writing elevated the victims to the status of human beings, emphasizing their inherent dignity and worth.
In “Life and Fate,” Grossman included a manifesto by a character named Ikonnikov, who reflects on the power of senseless kindness in the face of evil. This concept of senseless kindness, as described by Grossman, is portrayed as a force that transcends the brutality and darkness of fascism. It is a reminder that even in the most dire circumstances, human qualities like kindness and compassion endure and hold immense power.
The passage from Ikonnikov’s manifesto speaks to Grossman’s belief in the resilience of human goodness in the face of evil. It conveys a sense of desperate optimism, a steadfast belief that acts of kindness, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, have an enduring impact on the world. Grossman’s writing is imbued with a sense of hope and a belief in the potential for humanity to triumph over evil.
Robert Chandler, a literary translator and expert on Grossman’s works, acknowledges the profound impact of passages like the one from Ikonnikov’s manifesto. He notes that Grossman’s moral philosophy, once overlooked, is now gaining recognition and appreciation in the realm of moral philosophy and literature. Grossman’s writings, with their emphasis on the power of kindness and resilience in the face of adversity, continue to resonate with readers and scholars alike.
In conclusion, Vasily Grossman’s works serve as a poignant reminder of the importance of remembering and honoring the individuals who have been forgotten by history. His writing celebrates the enduring power of human kindness and resilience, offering a message of hope and optimism in the face of darkness. Grossman’s legacy lives on through his profound insights and unwavering belief in the goodness of humanity. The world of technology is constantly evolving, with new innovations and advancements being made every day. From artificial intelligence and machine learning to virtual reality and augmented reality, there are countless new technologies that are shaping the way we live and work.
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