Sunday, February 26, 2006
Rewards
This rather silly letter in today's Sunday Times, reproduced by Rob here, and certainly grist to Vlad's mill, links up nicely with the translation project I kicked off a few days ago.
In Lanzarote, Houellebecq takes on the tourist industry. And guess what? Malta gets mentioned on page 13. Wow! Maybe we can reward the enfant terrible of French contemporary literature by holing him up in The Phoenicia for a few days c/o the MTA. Claire's idea might not be so bad after all. He might even be inspired to write another novel. Now that would really be something.
Here's a funny snippet from the English version. Here he describes the habits of English holidaymakers:
They gather in small groups and head for unlikely islands absent from Continental holiday brochures - Malta, Madeira or, indeed Lanzarote. Once there, they duplicate the principal elements of their home environment right there. When asked to explain their choice of destination, they give answers which are evasive and tautological: "I came because I came here last year."
Costa del Fifty Quid anyone?
¶ 3:02 PM
In Lanzarote, Houellebecq takes on the tourist industry. And guess what? Malta gets mentioned on page 13. Wow! Maybe we can reward the enfant terrible of French contemporary literature by holing him up in The Phoenicia for a few days c/o the MTA. Claire's idea might not be so bad after all. He might even be inspired to write another novel. Now that would really be something.
Here's a funny snippet from the English version. Here he describes the habits of English holidaymakers:
They gather in small groups and head for unlikely islands absent from Continental holiday brochures - Malta, Madeira or, indeed Lanzarote. Once there, they duplicate the principal elements of their home environment right there. When asked to explain their choice of destination, they give answers which are evasive and tautological: "I came because I came here last year."
Costa del Fifty Quid anyone?
¶ 3:02 PM
