{"id":307996,"date":"2018-03-26T16:11:47","date_gmt":"2018-03-26T16:11:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wdev.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent-dev\/2018\/03\/26\/this-headlinell-make-you-mad-mad\/"},"modified":"2018-07-21T10:47:10","modified_gmt":"2018-07-21T14:47:10","slug":"this-headlinell-make-you-mad-mad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/2018\/03\/26\/this-headlinell-make-you-mad-mad\/","title":{"rendered":"This Headline’ll Make You MAD, MAD!"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s fitting that I\u2019m writing this post about a book called Trick<\/em> as Stormy Daniels is on 60 Minutes<\/em>? This is one of the daily reminders that life is not books, and that books aren\u2019t as important as I make them out to be in my mind. Nothing matters, nothing makes sense. Guns and corruption are way more important than anyone\u2019s thoughts on Mr. Elena Ferrante\u2019s latest novel.<\/p>\n

More people watched Duke lose to Kansas (prompting some of my favorite tweets of the year, mostly about how Grayson Allen looks like he has a future in sweater vests and cubicles: \u201cGrayson Allen had three good opportunities\u201d \u201cAnd yet not a single person bought insurance from him. #NotACloser\u201d or \u201cDon\u2019t be sad, Grayson Allen. Nationwide is on your siiiide \u2014And hiring! #NCAA #ncaataunts\u201d) than will read a book in the next month.1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

That said, I feel like I owe it to myself to keep logging these weekly posts about 2018 translations, especially since I took the time to read Domenico Starnone\u2019s Trick<\/em> this week under what I thought were enough interesting conditions to prompt a fairly decent post. In the end, I\u2019m not sure that\u2019s true, but I\u2019ll give it my best for three-four bits and then go watch the pilot episode of Krypton<\/em> because it\u2019s Sunday and there\u2019s no baseball on.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Trick<\/em><\/a> by Domenico Starnone, translated from the Italian by Jhumpa Lahiri (Europa Editions)<\/b><\/p>\n

Last weekend, when I was working on that frigging<\/em> post, I alluded to writing about the newest Lispector and Will Self this week. Well. So. That Lispector book? DENSE<\/span> AS FUCK<\/span>. I\u2019m still planning on writing something about it, but it\u2019s ten thousand times smarter than I am and I don\u2019t know if I actually like it. So I want to save that for next week, when I\u2019ll write about it and \u201cwhat we want out of a review of a translation\u201d while watching Opening Day baseball all day.2<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

When I realized that I had no chance of finishing The Chandelier<\/em> in time to work on this, I scrambled for for another March translation to read. Michael Orthofer\u2014the most well-read dude in America?\u2014mentioned Starnone in an email this week, so I quickly went on Europa Editions\u2019s site and downloaded the first book of his I saw\u2014Ties.<\/i><\/p>\n

See, my idea was to read a book with as little background expectations as possible. I knew nothing<\/em> about Starnone or his books, didn\u2019t read the jacket copy, only glanced at the cover (out of necessity), and skipped the intro. I wanted to replicate the experience of listening to a new album from a band I know nothing about, or watching a new TV show with some innocuous name, like \u201cAnimal Kingdom\u201d or \u201cSearch Party,\u201d where there aren\u2019t any expectations brought to bear. What is it like to just read a book? Instead of \u201creading a book\u201d with a critical, \u2018I\u2019m gonna write about this\u2019 sort of opening?<\/em><\/p>\n

Halfway through Ties<\/em> I realized that this book came out in March 2017<\/em>. But! Starnone has a new book out this month as well! Trick<\/em>! Which sounds like Ties<\/em> and is also translated by Jhumpa Lahiri. (Whom I\u2019ve never read, although I should?3<\/a><\/sup>)<\/p>\n

So I quickly gave up on Ties<\/em> (which was fine, 100% a narrative with characters and plot), and downloaded Trick.<\/em> And read it over two days so that I could keep up my 2018 resolution.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m probably a little full of shit, but here are all the prejudices I had before reading this book:<\/p>\n

1) Thanks to Lori Feathers\u2019s post on this very site,<\/a> I became aware that Starnone4<\/a><\/sup> is married to Elena Ferrante.<\/p>\n

2) Europa Editions is the publisher, and, for me, their books fall into three categories: decent Latin American works (Gamboa), crime novels I would probably like, and book club books.<\/p>\n

3) Jhumpa Lahiri translated this after learning Italian and writing her last book in Italian. No judgements associated with that, but it was a fact that was hard to miss when buying this book.<\/p>\n

I had no idea what to expect when I started this book\u2014would it be a romance? a thriller?\u2014and just took it all as it came. Which was relieving.<\/em> It\u2019s gotten to the point in my life where I can barely read a book for enjoyment anymore. Everything\u2019s for class (read to teach), for publication (should we do this?), for these articles (how can I seem smart?), or for the general optics (I need to be seen on social media reading this). It\u2019s so stressful! Books are like pages to get through sometimes and that\u2019s not for the best.<\/p>\n

Instead of any of that self-imposed bullshit, I had a really good time reading Trick<\/em>. I wouldn\u2019t recommend it to my friends because my friends are filled with cynicism and indifference, but it\u2019s the sort of book my mom would read if she read books and wasn\u2019t exactly my mom. It\u2019s a book that makes you feel your age, but in a way that\u2019s not depressing or existential, and I appreciated that. I also appreciated not ever thinking about translation issues while reading it. I just read it, and mostly enjoyed the bits where the grandfather was a dick to his grandson because kids can be annoying and when I\u2019m old I\u2019m not going to want to put up with that shit either and here\u2019s a really bad role model who I can relate to.<\/p>\n

This is the sort of book for people who relate to characters in books. This is a neutral statement.<\/p>\n

Before I look at the jacket copy for real (I seriously haven\u2019t read it yet), here\u2019s my description:<\/p>\n

A famous illustrator is hired to draw some plates for a \u201cdeluxe edition\u201d of Henry James\u2019s \u201cThe Jolly Corner.\u201d5<\/a><\/sup> He does a couple, they suck, he\u2019s old, tired. Such is baseball, such is life. His daughter convinces\/forces him come watch his grandson for a few days while she goes to a math conference6<\/a><\/sup> with her husband, who is \u201cscrawneebly\u201d and jealous and kind of a penis. Grandfather finds grandson a bit spoiled and annoying\u2014because duh and or obviously, four year olds are\u2014and doesn\u2019t come off looking so good to the maid\/neighbors who see him. The climax takes place when his grandson \u201ctricks\u201d him by locking him on the balcony behind a defective door that won\u2019t open. In the rain. At seventy. While he should be working on his plates for the James story about a man who returns home and sees what his life could\u2019ve been . . .<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

An emotional rollercoaster for anyone who loves Erma Bombeck.7<\/a><\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

This is not what anyone wants from a review.8<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the official copy:<\/p>\n

Sharp, succinct storytelling and breathtaking prose combine in this new novel by the author of the New York Times<\/em> editor\u2019s pick, Ties.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Imagine a duel between an elderly man and a mere boy. The same blood runs through their veins. One, Daniele Mallarico, is a successful illustrator whose reputation is slowly fading. The other, Mario, is his four-year-old grandson. The older combatant has lived for years in solitude, focusing obsessively on his work. The younger one has been left by his querulous parents with his grandfather for a 72-hour stay. Shut inside an apartment in Naples that is filled with the ghosts of Mallarico\u2019s own childhood, grandfather and grandson match wits, while outside lurks Naples, a wily, violent, and passionate city whose influence is not easily shaken.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Trick<\/em> is a gripping, wry, brilliantly devised drama, \u201can extremely playful literary composition,\u201d as Jhumpa Lahiri describes it in her introduction, about aging, family, art, and reconciling with one\u2019s past.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

Far be it from me to shit on anyone\u2019s copy, but I\u2019m glad I didn\u2019t read that first. Hey, literary hipsters\u2014this book is fine.<\/em> Sure, it\u2019s no Kobo Abe, but fuck, man, sometimes it\u2019s fun to shut off and read a book that\u2019s just about being alive and knowing that you\u2019re going to be replaced by little shitheads you\u2019re not sure you like.<\/p>\n

Three observations, then the fun stuff:<\/p>\n

1) The best part of this book is that the story ends, and then there\u2019s an illustrator\u2019s afterword\/epilogue (I bought the book and fuck you if you think I\u2019m going to actually play with my Kindle to figure out the real name of this section) in which the grandfather expresses\u2014in first person diary\u2014his creative struggles with the James commission and his thoughts on life, alone, physically removed from his daughter and family. There are actual artworks in this bit. It is not what you\u2019d expect to find in a B&N best-seller.<\/p>\n

2) The best part of this book is the idea that Lahiri expresses in which the text swings back and forth from one sort of book to another. The grandfather\u2019s reactions to his grandson are loving one second, then aggressive, then resigned. The book feels like one thing (a story of a domestic falling apart), then another (death is right there and will happen through an accident you won\u2019t be prepared for) line by line. I don\u2019t think I would\u2019ve gotten into this had I picked up this book knowing anything<\/em> about.<\/p>\n

3) The best part of this book is that the main event\u2014the grandfather locked on the balcony\u2014wasn\u2019t treated in expected ways. It could\u2019ve been a joke, a bit of sketch comedy to drive home the overall idea of the book. It could\u2019ve been more<\/em> heavy handed. It could\u2019ve been dumb. But if you\u2019re a \u201cidentify with the character\u201d sort of reader, it was probably just scary. Dying through accident is scary.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/center>I\u2019ve got nothing more to say about Trick<\/em>. If you\u2019re the sort of person who reads things, then you can read it. And if you\u2019re the sort of person who enjoys identifying with characters, you\u2019ll get all that rush. Someone you sympathize with who\u2019s also a dick, but old and feeble, and there\u2019s so much to mull over.<\/p>\n

Hey look, ambassadors from a bunch of countries recommended books!<\/a> They each recommended a book to read before visiting their country and, well, these descriptions don\u2019t make me believe in the future . . .<\/p>\n

About Nordic Ways<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt came out last fall and is representative of all five Nordic countries. It describes life in the North from different perspectives.\u201c\u2014H.E. Bj\u00f6rn Lyrvall<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If a politician isn\u2019t good at tautologies they\u2019re not much of a politcIan. YOU<\/span> HAVE<\/span> MY VOTE<\/span>, LYRVALL<\/span>!<\/p>\n

About TransAtlantic<\/em> by Colum McCann, the pick for Ireland. Repeat: Ireland<\/i>:<\/p>\n

H.E. Anne Anderson recommends Colum McCann\u2019s TransAtlantic<\/em>, which tells the intertwined stories of the first non-stop transatlantic fliers in 1919; the visit of Frederick Douglass to Ireland in 1845\/46; and the story of the 1998 Irish peace process.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Uh. Yeah. Like. Wait. So. Wait. I know Colum. We\u2019ve shared Guinness. I love Colum. He\u2019s talented! Incredibly so. But. Ireland. There are options.<\/em> And if you want to choose this book, then blurb<\/em> it. (\u201cChad W. Post, president of nothing, recommends The Crying of Lot 49<\/em>, a book about mail.\u201d) LAME<\/span>. NO VOTE<\/span> FOR<\/span> YOU<\/span>, ANDERSON<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Just gonna let this stand on its own:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Man Who Spoke Snakish<\/em> is an exploration of alternative history by a well-loved contemporary author.\u201d \u2014H.E. Eerik Marmei<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cBook is book about book and people book love book.\u201d What is this, a promotion for Patterson\u2019s \u201cBookShots\u201d? ALL<\/span> THE<\/span> THINGS<\/span> THAT<\/span> ARE<\/span> NOPE<\/span>. NO VOTE<\/span>.9<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

One more, one more!<\/p>\n

Malta<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

H.E. Pierre Clive Agius recommends Immanuel Mifsud\u2019s In the Name of the Father (And of the Son)<\/em>, which won the 2011 European Union Prize for Literature and tells the story of a man reading a diary his father kept during his days as a soldier in World War II, which subsequently pushes him to re-examine the personal relationship he had with his father.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

BORING<\/span>. NO VOTE<\/span>.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/center>So the other week, Will Self gave an interview<\/a> for the Guardian<\/em> that ended up with the title \u201cThe Novel is Absolutely Doomed.\u201d<\/p>\n

This made me so excited! I felt like there might be a date in the future where I would spend more time with my newborn than with printed words. But alas, all Self (a fantastic<\/em> writer) had to say was this:<\/p>\n

You\u2019re not awfully optimistic about the future of the novel, are you?<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I think the novel is absolutely doomed to become a marginal cultural form, along with easel painting and the classical symphony. And that\u2019s already happened. I\u2019ve been publishing since 1990, so I\u2019ve seen it happen in my writing lifetime. It\u2019s impossible to think of a novel that\u2019s been a water-cooler moment in England, or in Britain, since Trainspotting<\/em>, probably.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s frequently said that that\u2019s partly because narrative has migrated to box sets. Is there any truth in that?<\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The relationship between the novel and film in the 20th century was like the relationship between Rome and Greece. Film depended upon the novel, at least in its infancy and youth. The problem is that now that film itself is being Balkanised \u2013 carved up, streamed, loaded on to DVD<\/span>s, watched on people\u2019s phones \u2013 it no longer needs its Greece, it no longer needs the novel lying behind it. It\u2019s a disaster for the novel, actually \u2013 I think the novel is in freefall.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

How many of you have read Will Self? Probably not any of the people who were quoted in this random \u201cit\u2019s not \u2018Cat Person,\u2019 but it\u2019s almost<\/i> a meme\u201d article:<\/a><\/p>\n

Self\u2019s comments drew some criticism on Twitter from the literary community. Irish writer [Ian? No, sorry, Colin] Barrett, currently based in the US, tweeted: \u201cAs a writer, I\u2019d be embarrassed to ever say there\u2019s been no good contemporary writing\/no good books in X number of years etc, because more than anything it just reveals the poverty of your own appetite for engagement.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[Roxane] Gay, a writer and commentator also based in America, said: \u201cWhite men love to declare an end to things when they no longer succeed in that arena. The novel is fine.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Essex Serpent author Sarah Perry asked: \u201cAlso: who cares if the novel is doomed, anyway? Storytelling is as old as time and the novel is revising for its GSCE<\/span>s.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

My first question is \u201cwhat are GSCEES<\/span>?\u201d and my second is \u201cdid they read the interview or just the headline?\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, CSCEES<\/span> are a typo but GSCE<\/span>s are \u201cGeneral Certificates of Secondary Education,\u201d which must be some British in joke. (I just finished reading Troubles<\/em> today and am not British-sympathetic. At all.)<\/p>\n

But did they read the whole statement?<\/p>\n

Everyone jumps on me for making fun of Buzzfeed (again, more next week, and you will love it) and clickbait headlines for being \u201cdangerous.\u201d THIS<\/span> IS EXACTLY<\/span> HOW<\/span> THEY<\/span> ARE<\/span> DANGEROUS<\/span>. Without \u201cThe Novel is Absolutely Doomed\u201d this article goes unnoticed. With it? THE<\/span> WORLD<\/span> IS ENDING<\/span> AND<\/span> WE MUST<\/span> TAKE<\/span> DOWN<\/span> WILL<\/span> SELF<\/span> FOR<\/span> HIS<\/span> LIES<\/span>!<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/center>I will always choose a Self book over a Barrett\/Gay\/Perry one, because I think Self does more interesting things with language and structure than any of these other three do\/can. They\u2019re all good writers! But we all have favorites, for better or because you only have so much time to read and watch Grayson Allen sell insurance.<\/p>\n

Did Self merit this response? According to one friend, \u201che said dumb shit in the past,\u201d which, fine?, sure?, but doesn\u2019t dumb shit make the world go round? Where would Twitter be without people saying dumb shit and flipping out all the time?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the novel is absolutely doomed to become a marginal cultural form\u201d is, to me, something about culture, not about the novel as a form. \u201cIt\u2019s impossible to think of a novel that\u2019s been a water-cooler moment in England, or in Britain, since Trainspotting<\/em>, probably\u201d because NO ONE<\/span> GIVES<\/span> A FUCK<\/span> ABOUT<\/span> NOVELS<\/span>. How is this not a rallying cry? Why are you attacking Will Self for pointing out that 100X more people talk about Game of Titties<\/del> Thrones<\/em> than they do about a narrative in a book. (Yes, I know it was a book first, but what do you think the ratio between viewers and readers is? Does 500:1 sound plausible?)<\/p>\n

That second statement is hard to puzzle out . . . in some ways. Here\u2019s my attempt at unpacking this: For basically ever, novels were the source for narrative ideas and structures. The medium allows creators so much flexibility, and their exploration\u2014of character-building, of plotting, of narrative structures\u2014served as the building blocks for so many movies, TV shows, etc. Creators in the visual realm looked to novels for ideas of what to explore and how.<\/p>\n

But things have advanced. Sure, there are still movies being made that are based on books, but I think Self is getting at something much more fundamental than simply talking about intellectual properties. Entertainment has become so fragmented over the past few years, with kids growing up in an environment in which they rarely\u2014if ever\u2014watch complete TV shows, and instead only want YouTubers and clips. The narrative structure that appeals to a lot of\u2014most?\u2014people today isn\u2019t one based in Victorian principles of the novel, but on ideas that have developed from within the visual medium itself. In this sense, the TV shows\/films that everyone talks about aren\u2019t really pinned to the novel<\/em> per se, but to larger ideas in culture and the art of filmmaking.<\/p>\n

Again, I may be misreading this and giving Self more credit than he deserves, but I think this idea is really interesting and posits a sort of challenge to all of us in the book industry\u2014is there a way for novels to regain a central space in the general conversation? If so, then how? If not, does it matter?<\/p>\n

I also want to admit that I rarely talk about books I\u2019ve read to people who aren\u2019t already in this world. Like, say, my hairdresser. I\u2019m a million times more likely to talk to her about a podcast or movie or TV show, but never a book. In part because we read very different things (but have both seen Black Panther<\/em>), but also because the other art forms dominate pop culture. The closest thing books has to a pop culture phenomenon is Elena Ferrante.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/center><\/p>\n

1<\/sup> Not scientifically valid. But it almost is.<\/a><\/p>\n

About a quarter of American adults (24%) say they haven\u2019t read a book in whole or in part in the past year, whether in print, electronic or audio form.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

2<\/sup> More people watch baseball on Opening Day than . . . never mind.<\/p>\n

3<\/sup> I really wonder what professional Italian translators think of her suddenly getting a lot of work. I know that I\u2019m an envious man with a lot of shortcomings and self-esteem problems, so maybe none of them actually care. But, if I were betting, I would put some cash on \u201cprobably have mixed feelings.\u201d<\/p>\n

4<\/sup> I always want to type \u201cStarcherone\u201d when writing his last name. In honor of Starcherone Books,<\/a> pronounced \u201cstarch-yer-own,\u201d one of the wittier small presse out there. And I still can\u2019t remember Ferrante\u2019s \u201creal\u201d last name. Then again, who gives fucks. She\u2019s a really good writer and we can leave it at that.<\/p>\n

5<\/sup> This is a real story that I wish wasn\u2019t real. The book is way more interesting if you\u2019re trying to puzzle out the fuck this imaginary ghost story about opportunities pissed away might be.<\/p>\n

6<\/sup> Can I have a book of the math conference?<\/p>\n

7<\/sup> You have no idea how many misspellings it took to get to that joke.<\/p>\n

8<\/sup> See next week\u2019s post.<\/p>\n

9<\/sup> This book is AWFUL<\/span>. Top ten of terrible. Sorry not sorry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s fitting that I\u2019m writing this post about a book called Trick as Stormy Daniels is on 60 Minutes? This is one of the daily reminders that life is not books, and that books aren\u2019t as important as I make them out to be in my mind. Nothing matters, nothing makes sense. Guns and corruption […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":292,"featured_media":364976,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67486],"tags":[66836,67336,12416,8886,1646,67356],"class_list":["post-307996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-2018-translations","tag-domenico-starnone","tag-elena-ferrante","tag-europa-editions","tag-review","tag-trick"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/292"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307996"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":365266,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307996\/revisions\/365266"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/364976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}