Chapter 40: A Play

A Midsummer Night's Dream, William Shakespeare
No Fear Shakespeare Edition

I have never used Cliff Notes, Spark Notes, etc. Ever. Because when I was in school, they were seen as an excuse to know enough to pass a test without reading a book instead of as a study guide. But this was the only version of MSND that was available at my library, so I checked it out.

We've been doing this thing in our homeschool where we spend some time in the mornings doing something with the arts. We've memorized Jabberwocky and watched OK Go videos. Soon we will begin reading some Shakespeare. Before I try to teach my kids something, I probably should have a grasp for it. So this kills two birds with one stone.

I'm not going to go much into the actual play. It's Shakespeare. He's great. It's great. Blah, blah, blah. But I would like to talk about this side-by-side edition. I think it's a great way to make complicated language accessible to more people. I still read the original text, but it was easy to find a modern translation if I was unsure of my own. For the most part, I got it. But there were times that a minor change affected the story. Now, I'm not going to pretend that I caught all the subtleties of the Bard's writing- far from it. But having the translation *right there* gave me more confidence as I read the lines. It took a lot of the intimidation out- which is just awesome. If I worry and struggle- and we all know how much I love to read- then imagine someone who doesn't. Imagine a student whose family speaks another language at home. Imagine a person who thinks very logically and has difficulty understanding flowery or figurative language. This little book could make a world of difference for them. How cool is that?!?

When I was in high school, I had an English teacher who loved to teach Shakespeare. She was a very prim and proper woman, one might even accuse her of being dour. But she got a sparkle in her eye when talking about ol' Bill. She led a field trip to Canada every year so students could see multiple plays in a weekend. She had a gift for making Shakespeare relatable to many teenagers, including explaining the dirty jokes. This edition was like having Mrs. Burns reading beside me and telling me the secrets. I like to think she would approve of a study guide.

I'm not really sure how to rate this one. It's a different kind of review. I'll definitely use this series of guides to help my kids and myself with literature, but I wouldn't just recommend it to anyone looking for something to read. I'll leave Maria out of this one lest I sound like an advertisement.

Chapter 36: A Book Set in a Different Country

The Moonlit Garden, Corina Bomann

Boooooooorrrrrrrrrring! I didn't expect a book about a violin to be spine-tingling, but this was just awful. I put my head down and powered through 400+ pages of crap so you don't have to. I wish it could be blamed on poor translation, but the whole thing was just the perfect solution for my insomnia, which is why it took so long to review it.

Love story- no depth. Why are these people interested in each other?

Historic mystery- lame. Besides the fact that it has no significance to anyone, even the sleuth, the whole thing is contrived and unimaginative.

I did learn the word Sundanese, which is not clarified in the novel, so I thought it was the word for "people from Sumatra." According to wikipedia, though, it's not. Click on that link. What you'll find there is a million times more interesting than this snooze-fest.

I'll grugingly give Garden a Maria because it is, in fact, a whole book.

Chapter 6: A Book That Was Originally Written In a Different Language

The Seventh Day: A Novel, Yu Hua, translation by Allan H. Barr
I'm going to refrain from revealing much of the plot of this book because I want you to read it. Seriously. It's not long, and it is a really good book.

Yang Fei has died and realizes there is no one to mourn him or give him proper burial. He spends seven days looking over his life and the lives of those around him. He is left to wander a place for the unburied and sees worldly stories from a new perspective. It is a beautiful tale, given to us by a real storyteller.

I don't know much about Chinese culture (cultures? Can over a billion people really just form a singular culture?), so I found myself wondering if I was really grasping the story on a deeper level. Don't let that dissuade you. Yu, with the help of Barr's artful translation, brings outsiders into Yang Fei's world easily. The novel is both absurd and tragic, surreal and very human. It discusses the personal- family and romantic relationships- and broader topics like corruption and greed. In illustrating these things, I felt connected. No matter your politics, religion, or wealth, we are all human and we all die. That doesn't make this a dark, fatalistic tale, though.

My favorite relationships in the story are Yang Fei and his father; the policeman and criminal; and the couple next door. Each illustrates a different form of pure love, even when completely dysfunctional. Their souls are so entwined, yet each comes to a different resolution, and each is fitting. This might be what I enjoyed most- the idea that love is not a cookie-cutter concept. That perfect love for me is not perfect for someone else.

About the translation- Dr. Barr is a professor of Chinese at Pomona College, focusing on Chinese literature. I would love to sit in on one of his classes. The art of translation is not as simple as a one-to-one correspondence, especially when you throw in a completely different alphabet/vocabulary. Among romance languages, for example, an idiom may not translate exactly, but it's close enough to share an idea. Barr translates ideas as much as he translates words. The text flows smoothly and maintains beauty that could easily have been lost.

I'm happy to have a recommendation with no caveats. Happy reading!