Village Bells

[Anne Doggett]

It seems strange that someone wants me to justify my statement that  
Village Bells was well translated. This was my own opinion, backed up  
by some rather un-academic evidence. If it means anything, I have  
studied French to the level of being able to read it reasonably well.  
I read the book in English first, and later I had the opportunity to  
read some sections in the original French. In these sections the  
English translation is true in meaning and literary style to the  
original. The English text reads well and I believe Thom achieved a  
pretty sound balance between the ‘beautiful’ and the ‘faithful’  
translation. But of course anyone can pick me up on detailed  
grammatical points if they so desire. I was not actually reviewing the  
book, and I certainly didn’t do a close analysis of the two texts.
Interesting that others find this book so dull. It appeals to me very  
much. I like the way it is written and I think it contains a wealth of  
interesting and original observations, but I’m always glad to hear  
different viewpoints.
Anne