tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726429560999358758.post4177744866817622111..comments2023-12-16T05:23:25.816-08:00Comments on sri lankan books: Uprooted by Martin WickremesingheUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726429560999358758.post-58857834737066370002012-12-27T04:12:46.527-08:002012-12-27T04:12:46.527-08:00Do you think Chinaman is the great Sri Lankan nove...Do you think Chinaman is the great Sri Lankan novel?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726429560999358758.post-33703374289394320942010-06-03T11:47:07.206-07:002010-06-03T11:47:07.206-07:00Nah not really. I guess I sound weird, but what I ...Nah not really. I guess I sound weird, but what I feel is that there are certain things that can be joked about and certain things that can't. Great authors belong to the "can't" category!Rizvannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726429560999358758.post-14988579336712543362010-05-20T22:23:53.869-07:002010-05-20T22:23:53.869-07:00So Willie Shakis Perera won't cut it with you:...So Willie Shakis Perera won't cut it with you:)?eggheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01096249641253328077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726429560999358758.post-6286125119730320232010-05-08T19:12:39.039-07:002010-05-08T19:12:39.039-07:00Oh and another thing I wanted to say, which I forg...Oh and another thing I wanted to say, which I forgot in the earlier comment...don't you think calling him Martin "Wicks" is kind of disrespectful? I've heard many people do this and it never ceases to get on my nerves.....after all , you wouldn't call Charles Dickens "Chuck Dickens would you? or Charlotte Bronte "Lottie" Bronte? So why Martin "Wicks"?Rizvannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726429560999358758.post-50676586611861606492010-05-08T19:09:22.286-07:002010-05-08T19:09:22.286-07:00True...both thakshi and malinda....and egghead, gl...True...both thakshi and malinda....and egghead, glad to see you've agreed. personally, I think Martin Wickremasinghe totally deserves being called a great (even a VERY great) author. Gamperaliya is one of the best books I've read in my life, and YES there IS a difference when it comes to the translation. No matter how well it's translated, it can never capture the very SPIRIT of the original, is my belief.Rizvannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726429560999358758.post-71048171918073165582010-05-06T22:37:57.717-07:002010-05-06T22:37:57.717-07:00Thakshi and Malinda - you are both right. Thanks f...Thakshi and Malinda - you are both right. Thanks for setting me straight on not judging a book on translation. I remember when I read Taslima Nasreen's Lajja I was apalled thinking she wrote badly, then a year later I realised the translation was bad. So point taken. <br />Malinda, I am ashamed to admit that my Sinhalese is shaky and yes it is appalling. But I am trying to improve. So give me time and actually it is irrelevant what ethnicity I am - we should all know the three languages that exist in our country.<br />On another note, Malinda, I have liked your creative writing work when I have heard it read out. Have you published a book where I can read more?eggheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01096249641253328077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726429560999358758.post-9451312534591488732010-05-06T22:07:47.338-07:002010-05-06T22:07:47.338-07:00Firstly, yes I think Thakshi's comment was spo...Firstly, yes I think Thakshi's comment was spot on. A translation, however good, should not be the basis of judging a writer.<br /><br />Secondly, what I am about to say to you will NOT be relevant if you're a Sri lankan Tamil. <br /><br />The comment is this : If you're a Sri Lankan Sinhalese, then you should be ashamed to admit that your Sinhala is "shaky". In another review of yours about Thisuni Wanniarachchi's book, you've expressed your distaste at her "audacity" to admit that she doesn't like reading. In my opinion , you're no better.<br /><br />Personally, I feel that if you had better limit yourself to reviewing books written originally in English because this sort of judging through translations is just simply immature and lowers the standard of your whole blog. If you're determined to judge translations, however, then you had better bring yourself to read the original and the translation BOTH, and then talk.Malinda Seneviratnenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726429560999358758.post-4779625269408045432010-05-06T21:20:58.953-07:002010-05-06T21:20:58.953-07:00I agreed with most of your reviews...but I really ...I agreed with most of your reviews...but I really can't agree with this one, for the simple reason that you can't really comment on an author's work by reading a translation of it. You say "Firstly the translation cannot be faulted". But how can you REALLY say this when you haven't read the original? <br /><br />That would be like looking at a fake of one of Picasso's work which was reasonably good, and saying "it's just as good as the original " without ever seeing the original.<br /><br />Sometimes, translating the story beautifully is not enough. It's the subtlety of the language itself that makes a book great.Thakshinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726429560999358758.post-70485174914164269992010-03-22T22:56:30.538-07:002010-03-22T22:56:30.538-07:00We are still waiting for that great Sri Lankan nov...We are still waiting for that great Sri Lankan novel...eggheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01096249641253328077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8726429560999358758.post-17139937179760284872009-10-31T15:05:02.981-07:002009-10-31T15:05:02.981-07:00My goodness, I totally agree with you!
Just a nice...My goodness, I totally agree with you!<br />Just a nice tale, that's all. Is this one of the greatest pieces of literature that can come out of Lanka?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com