professional expertise required.

[soulfilms]

i know that shatzy is a big fan of camus. so i ask you, is there a definative version of the stranger/the outsider that is better than the rest that i should read? there are so many versions of it, even with different titles published by the same publishing house. i want to read it and have never gotten around to it because i didn't want to waste my time, but rather, wanted the definative version - like Milan Kundera's THE JOKE. (the fifth version is the only truly DEFINATIVE version).

thanks.

[SHATOUSHKA]

my absolute favorite version of THE STRANGER
is the 1946 copyrightby alfred a. knopf...
translated by stuart gilbert (the best!!!).
ISBN # -- 0-394-70002-3

i actually have 5 copies of this particular
version alone... (please do not bother with the
1989 version... its gawd-awful).

i'm also linking you directly to the 1946
version titles from half.com

THE STRANGER!!!

they are pretty cheap... and i never really feel
that an initial reading is determined by cover art
or torn bindings. [img]tongue.gif[/img]
(get it cheap!!!)


and although i never thought i'd hear myself
utter these words to ANYONE --

i'd gladly send you a copy, soulfilms.

[SHATOUSHKA]

for the sake of argument... i'm going to post this again.
i cannot STAND that 1989 version. i have read
reviews of it -- people touting matthew ward as
'redefining camus'... *shudder*

ok, yeah... he redefined him, alright. and i
guess its all up to interpretation of the
translations... but shit! gilbert took camus
words and layered them with such sweet, poetic
fervor... and ward comes along and slaps a big
pink flamingo in it (er... that's trailer trash).

i am only OBLIGATED to offer a comparison example.
don't worry, SF, i have no doubt that you are
fully aware of the contents of the book... but
i MUST post the two versions of my favorite part,
just to show everyone what i mean (again):

___________________________________________

1946, gilbert version, p. 76 --

"... The everything began to reel before my eyes,
a firey gust came from the sea, while the sky
cracked in two, from end to end, and a great sheet
of flame poured down through the rift. Every nerve
in my body was a steel spring, and my grip closed
on the revolver. The trigger gave, and the smooth
underbelly of the butt jogged my palm. And so,
with that crisp, whipcrack sound, it all began.
I shook off my sweat and the clinging veil of light.
I knew I'd shattered the balance of the day, the
spacious calm of this beach on which I had been
happy. But I fired four shots more into the inert
body, on which they left no visible trace. And
each successive shot was another loud, fateful rap
on the door of my undoing."


___________________________________________

1989, ward version, p. 59

"...Thats when everthing began to reel. The sea
carried up a thick, fiery breath. It seemed to me
as if the sky split open from one end to the other
to rain down fire. My whole being tensed and I
squeezed my hand around the revolver. The trigger
gave; I felt the smooth underside of the butt;
and there, in that noise, sharp and deafening at
the same time, is where it all started. I shook
off the sweat and sun. I knew that I had shattered
the harmony of the day, the exceptional silence
of a beach where I'd been happy. Then I fired
four more times at the motionless body where the
bullets lodged without leaving a trace. And it
was like knocking four quick times on the door
of unhappiness."

__________________________________________

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! is matthew ward in 10th grade or what?!?!?!?
its like he uses too many prepositional phrases
whereas gilbert condenses his sentences in a
picturesque, cognitive whole.

all i hafta add is, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[TastinGood]

"You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life."

It isnt very long. You could read several versions in no time.

<font color="#6699FF" size="1">[ January 08, 2003 12:58 AM: Message edited by: TastinGood ]</font>

[soulfilms]

thank you for that.

even though camus' novels are not very long, i don't seem to be able to finish them very quickly, i guess because it's more dense than other novels i read. dense but oh so concise.

the copy of THE OUTSIDER i have with me right now is 1982 joseph laredo translation. i picked it up from my tiny local library (which i've recently become a member). there were quite a few copies and so i picked the one with the ribbon in the middle (because i am oh so shallow) and thought i wouldn't have to worry about bookmarking it. although i have heard about the matthew ward version, i don't think i even checked who the translators were.

for some reason, i prefer my local library (actually i'm quite enamoured with it at the moment) to the massive university library. the local library's whole fiction section is barely the size of a normal large room. the place doesn't even have detector things to see if you're stealing books. it's so damn cozy with a beautiful garden next to it, a gorgeous little beach with a pier around it, a pool, etc. a totally relaxing place, especially to read.

university's main library - fisher library (there's 22 libraries) is a fucking 9 storey affair. i think it is supposedly the largest library in the southern hemisphere. but there's no room to just browse.

and i'm a browsing girl.

[soulfilms]

ok. sorry to drag this topic from the dust ...


but i FINALLY finished it. so good. sooo good.

AND

i did the unfathomable. i read matthew ward. i will read the gilbert version.

by the way... thank you shatzy for offering to send me a copy. that is such a compliment! (yes i know this was a long time ago and your sentiments may have changed but i didn't thank you before.)

[SHATOUSHKA]

my sentiments have yet to change.

just let me know if you need one [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

[soulfilms]

DISASTER!

i cannot find said edition in local or uni libraries.

will venture into bookshops in the quest.

[SHATOUSHKA]

SURELY THE BOOK SHOPS WOULD HAVE ONE!!!! [img]eek.gif[/img]

its such a popular edition... they must.

but again..... just let me know. you can have
it in about a week's time (i'm good at getting
things shipped!)

and i'm no weirdo.... so don't feel gay about it.


*realizes she could go on and on posting silly
things to make SF feel better about it... but
also realizes that she's somewhat begging*


ok ok....... enough gay [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[soulfilms]

i have absolutely no doubts that you're no weirdo shatzy.


i just don't think it's right to deprive another being of a book (the high value i place on books of worth).