An evening with an author

Last Thursday night, the Village Voice held a book reading of Xiaolu Guo’s A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers. I have to confess that I haven’t read the book and was curious to see what it was all about. I thought that a reading from the author herself was as good a way as any to decide whether I was going to read it. It proved to be an interesting and stimulating evening.
Xiaolu Guo is already a published author in her native China and a filmmaker to boot. She is slight and delicately boned with a ready smile for her audience. For the reading she came with her French translator, a friend who provided accordion music for the reading and a tall, slightly supercilious man who seemed to be her French editor. To open her talk she talked candidly of her experience while writing the book and how it was a once in a lifetime experience for her. As such, she struggled greatly for its publication. She added wryly that the narrative structure and the fact that she’s a non-white person attempting to break into American and English publication made it a herculean feat. While she takes pains to mention that the book is not in fact autobiographical, she likewise says that the story is based partly on diary entries she kept during her first years in London. More tellingly, she herself only started learning English three years ago. What was appreciable in her talk was her candor in discussing the idea of her discovering herself through the process of learning another language. One gets a sense of the importance that she places on language as a reflection of a sense of self. Writing her book evolved into a process of discovery for her; of finding a sense of individuality completely different from her traditional upbringing which emphasized the collective. There is a fierce intellect in her that is at once discerning and curious.
I was greatly surprised when the English reading by Ms. Guo was followed by the French version. Apparently the French editor was present not merely to provide moral support (as I originally thought) but also to do the French reading. What was striking about the translation was how it deviated from the original. In the English version, the prose is written in broken grammar which reflects the language level of the character. As translated in French, the narrative is presented in a smooth unbroken, seemingly correct grammar. Nothing wrong with that except that it is written differently and deliberately so I might add, in English. This was made all the more obvious by the fact that the French and English were read one after the other. I wasn’t the only one who remarked on this fact and the question was raised accordingly. The author admitted that the translations of her book were often written more perfectly than her original text. It is a curious thing to see how much a translation can change things. As Ms. Guo pointed out, it becomes a simple story, one among the many published, but somehow the linguistic point of the story is lost. Hmmm..this to my mind is a strong argument to read in the original. I came away from the reading with a strong respect for its author and a desire to read her book. Up next will be the book review of The Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers. Ms. Guo will be back next in Paris in March to attend the Salon du Livres and for the Women’s Film Festival where they will be showing her short film.