I’ve spoken before about the importance of translators – their work can have a huge impact on our enjoyment of books written in foreign
languages. I’ve noticed this particularly while reading Helene Tursten’s The Torso (Tatuerad torso – I assume that means ‘The Tattooed Torso’ in Swedish. No, I don’t know why it had to be changed). The first novel I tried by this author* had been translated by Steven T Murray and, although he is American, I don’t remember being annoyed by any glaring ‘Americanisms’ (US spellings, such as ‘somber’ I can cope with). The Torso is translated by Katarina Emelie Tucker, who sounds as if she might have Scandinavian origins, but whose rendering is decidedly American – ‘gotten’ is used regularly, there’s ‘bangs’ instead of ‘fringe’ (‘frans’ in Swedish**). It grates on UK English ears. The style flows less easily, too.
OK, Soho Press is New York publisher, so presumably their books are aimed at American readers and I shouldn’t complain. But, added to the previously noted anachronistic picture of Stockholm on the front covers of this series ( Detective Inspector Huss is based in Göteburg), it increases the potential for irritation.
The Torso is very bloodthirsty, even by Scandinavian crime standards. Is it because people in Denmark, Norway and Sweden generally lead secure, contented lives – do they need the contrast of this shocking violence and gore? It’s gripping stuff, with a disturbingly high body count, thankfully offset by details of Irene Huss’s domestic life.
*Den krossade tanghästen which means ‘The Shattered Tang Horse’ became, rather uninspiringly, Detective Inspector Huss.
**Interestingly, other European languages all use some variation on this word, whether they are Germanic or Romance languages – ‘frange’ in French, ‘franse’ in German, ‘franje’ in Dutch, ‘franja’ in Spanish. I think, if there’s one word which annoys me more than any other in this American English v UK English debate, it’s ‘bangs’! Are USA readers equally irritated by the use of ‘fringe’?
Stockholm
Göteburg
