If you'd read Murakami in the original then you'd know that ...
September 13, 2011 2:08 AM Subscribe
Are Haruki Murakami's books very different when read in Japanese?
I've read and liked a good bit of Murakami's work. Last Sunday I finished a short story of his that was published in the New Yorker, "City of Cats". It was pretty standard Murakami, beautifully written (as translated) and oblique though a little less than I expected. I thought this was a little odd, the relatively straightforward nature of the plot, and I wondered if I would have thought the same thing reading it in Japanese, or did this have something to do with the translator's efforts? (For what it's worth, I think almost all of the Murakami I've read has all been translated by Jay Rubin, a frequent translator of his.)
Has anyone read this story in the original? For that matter, any book of Murakami's in the original and then the translation and found a big variance?
I've read and liked a good bit of Murakami's work. Last Sunday I finished a short story of his that was published in the New Yorker, "City of Cats". It was pretty standard Murakami, beautifully written (as translated) and oblique though a little less than I expected. I thought this was a little odd, the relatively straightforward nature of the plot, and I wondered if I would have thought the same thing reading it in Japanese, or did this have something to do with the translator's efforts? (For what it's worth, I think almost all of the Murakami I've read has all been translated by Jay Rubin, a frequent translator of his.)
Has anyone read this story in the original? For that matter, any book of Murakami's in the original and then the translation and found a big variance?
Best answer: Haven't read 'em in English, but first off, I've heard that his massive tome "Wind-up Bird Chronicles" was truncated for the English translation: I'm not surprised that this was the case, because parts of the second volume are slow, somewhat irrelevant to the main plot, and distracting. (In a MeFi or AskMe thread from a while back, I believe that someone related the information that the Russian translation of "Wind-up" is complete).
People in Japan seem to be sharply divided on Murakami: They either love him or hate--well, dislike--him. Fans enjoy his languid writing style, magic realistic aspects and his English-influenced prose; detractors find him overly wordy and long-winded.
It's probably the case that most Japanese give him grudging respect for his prose innovations. When you read Murakami in Japanese, it's almost like he's translating his own writing from English. Especially in earlier works, he'll use the subjective "I" (generally boku) much more than other writers, and even when it's not needed. Also, he seems to like ending dialogue with "he said" or "she said" when most contemporary Japanese writers simply leave these out. These English influences may be partly due to his long history as a translator.
Also, Murakami's prose in Japanese tends to be more academic than literary when he deals with explaining conceptual matters. He reminds me of Paul Auster in this regard. Both shift gears when they move away from dialogue and plot to abstract topics, littering their prose with heavier terminology.
These are just a few impressions from having read five to seven of his books and a smattering of short stories and travel essays. My favorite is "What we talk about when we talk about running," which is brisk and autobiographical. I'd have to say that my least favorite is his new novel: 1Q84.
I made it through the first volume, but gave up on the second. Volume 2 seems to run out of steam toward the end and drift into endless repetition--another hallmark of Murakami that Japanese detractors disparage.
posted by Gordion Knott at 2:37 AM on September 13, 2011 [11 favorites]
People in Japan seem to be sharply divided on Murakami: They either love him or hate--well, dislike--him. Fans enjoy his languid writing style, magic realistic aspects and his English-influenced prose; detractors find him overly wordy and long-winded.
It's probably the case that most Japanese give him grudging respect for his prose innovations. When you read Murakami in Japanese, it's almost like he's translating his own writing from English. Especially in earlier works, he'll use the subjective "I" (generally boku) much more than other writers, and even when it's not needed. Also, he seems to like ending dialogue with "he said" or "she said" when most contemporary Japanese writers simply leave these out. These English influences may be partly due to his long history as a translator.
Also, Murakami's prose in Japanese tends to be more academic than literary when he deals with explaining conceptual matters. He reminds me of Paul Auster in this regard. Both shift gears when they move away from dialogue and plot to abstract topics, littering their prose with heavier terminology.
These are just a few impressions from having read five to seven of his books and a smattering of short stories and travel essays. My favorite is "What we talk about when we talk about running," which is brisk and autobiographical. I'd have to say that my least favorite is his new novel: 1Q84.
I made it through the first volume, but gave up on the second. Volume 2 seems to run out of steam toward the end and drift into endless repetition--another hallmark of Murakami that Japanese detractors disparage.
posted by Gordion Knott at 2:37 AM on September 13, 2011 [11 favorites]
I've heard that Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World gives a different impression in Japanese than in English because of that same issue Gordion Knott mentioned -- his use of "boku". Murakami uses "watashi" in the Wonderland parts and "boku" in the End of the World. "Boku" is the less formal way of saying "I", so the End of the World is supposedly more informal. However, I've found that in the translation I have, which I think is the Birnbaum, his translation convention (which I forget what it is, sorry!) is supposed to simulate that, but instead it makes me feel like I'm alone in silence, at the bottom of a deep well.
Sorry my input is only half-helpful, but I wanted to throw this out there because Murakami's one of my favorites, and I love your question and I've wondered myself for a long time. I would love to hear from people who've read HBW&EotW in particular in both English and Japanese because the sections are of the book are so stylistically different.
posted by lesli212 at 3:09 AM on September 13, 2011 [1 favorite]
Sorry my input is only half-helpful, but I wanted to throw this out there because Murakami's one of my favorites, and I love your question and I've wondered myself for a long time. I would love to hear from people who've read HBW&EotW in particular in both English and Japanese because the sections are of the book are so stylistically different.
posted by lesli212 at 3:09 AM on September 13, 2011 [1 favorite]
Damn, Gordion Knott beat me to it. Wind-up Bird Chronicles is indeed edited for the English publication, a whole chapter was left out, and parts of another. As in other questions about Murakami, I'll point out that my wife has said she didn't like his writing style, and basically quit reading after about two books. When I mention that I love his books, my Japanese co-workers are somewhat surprised, and usually make comments about how difficult his books are in Japanese, probably for many of the same reasons that GK mentions.
posted by Ghidorah at 3:10 AM on September 13, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Ghidorah at 3:10 AM on September 13, 2011 [1 favorite]
You can read Jay Rubin's own insights and observations on Murakami's writing in this book: Murakami and the Music of Words.
posted by xo at 5:42 AM on September 13, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by xo at 5:42 AM on September 13, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Jay Rubin was just interviewed for the New Yorker Out Loud Podcast. He discusses this very subject.
posted by cnanderson at 8:11 AM on September 13, 2011 [4 favorites]
posted by cnanderson at 8:11 AM on September 13, 2011 [4 favorites]
I've not googled the answer, and I'm assuming Murakami has answered it, but as an accomplished translator of fiction from English to Japanese, why doesn't Murakami translate his own books to English from Japanese?
posted by smitt at 8:17 AM on September 13, 2011
posted by smitt at 8:17 AM on September 13, 2011
I've not googled the answer, and I'm assuming Murakami has answered it, but as an accomplished translator of fiction from English to Japanese, why doesn't Murakami translate his own books to English from Japanese?
Presumably because he's not as competent at writing English as at writing Japanese? It's very rare for translators to be equally good at translating both ways -- in general translators translate into their native language, which makes sense. It's much easier to read and understand a sentence in English, than to actually write a good one (good by the standards of literary fiction, anyway).
posted by peacheater at 8:25 AM on September 13, 2011
Presumably because he's not as competent at writing English as at writing Japanese? It's very rare for translators to be equally good at translating both ways -- in general translators translate into their native language, which makes sense. It's much easier to read and understand a sentence in English, than to actually write a good one (good by the standards of literary fiction, anyway).
posted by peacheater at 8:25 AM on September 13, 2011
Response by poster: At one point in the Rubin interview he says, in response to the question "what about Murakami is untranslatable" and his answer is "everything". Well, what the hell? Is it how his books address Japanese culture? (which I can imagine as being untranslatable).
How is the experience different?
Over the last 20 years or so I've read four different translations of The Master and Margarita and it wasn't until the last one that I understood why he was thrown into jail shortly thereafter. And I went back and found the first copied I had read to see if I just hadn't been paying attention. So is it someting like this?
posted by From Bklyn at 12:06 PM on September 13, 2011
How is the experience different?
Over the last 20 years or so I've read four different translations of The Master and Margarita and it wasn't until the last one that I understood why he was thrown into jail shortly thereafter. And I went back and found the first copied I had read to see if I just hadn't been paying attention. So is it someting like this?
posted by From Bklyn at 12:06 PM on September 13, 2011
I think any book coming from an unfamiliar culture will be "untranslatable" in some ways. For instance, if you come from the US where we only have one way of saying "I", any translator-trick that tries to make up for the watashi/boku textual issue is going to be glossing over not only the words watashi and boku, but all the attached cultural baggage regarding identity/etiquette/formality.
There are some ideas that are hard to understand if you haven't lived them.
posted by hungrytiger at 12:31 PM on September 13, 2011
There are some ideas that are hard to understand if you haven't lived them.
posted by hungrytiger at 12:31 PM on September 13, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by ouke at 2:27 AM on September 13, 2011 [5 favorites]