Astral: elementary particles

Difficulties in translation of Michel Welbek

The publishing house Corpus published a new translation of “elementary particles” - the most famous novel of the living classic of the French, world, and even intergalactic literature of Michel Welbek. Why did he even need in Russia in 2024, explains the independent researcher of the visible part of the universe Evgeny Petrov. Since we will talk about Karl Marx Sex, we ask sensitive people to refrain from reading.

Starting from February 24, 2022, we were all in the face of the advancing barbarism, violence and lies. In this situation, it is extremely important to preserve at least the remnants of culture and support the values ​​of humanism - including for the sake of the future of Russia. Therefore, the editorial office of Gorky will continue to talk about books, reminding our readers that the world remains in the world and fiction.

Michelle Welbek. Elementary particles. M.: Foreigne, 2001. Translation from French Irina Vasyuchenko, George Zingher

Michelle Welbek. Elementary particles. M.: Corpus, 2024. Translation from French Maria Zonina

“The writer Michelle Welbek, who did not appear at the meeting with readers in Amsterdam on Monday, was safely found in his own house. This was announced by the head of the Flammarion publishing house Teresa Kremzyzi: she managed to contact Michel Welbek on the phone and find out that “he is at home, he is all right,” the Kommersant newspaper wrote in 2011.

As they say in French literary circles, the writer’s non -rejection at a meeting with readers in the capital of the Netherlands was due to the fact that Mr. Welbek received a letter from a reader from Russia, in which the low quality of his second novel “Elementary Particles” was described in detail, which plunged the maestro into the deepest shock and plunged into depression for a week, forcing to cancel the important affairs.

Michel Welbek remains the only active and widely discussed by the author of the entire galaxy of French writers who earned scandalous popularity in the first half of the zero. (In addition, after the recent death of Alena Delon Michel Welbek, he became the most beautiful man in all the French establishment, which is also a significant achievement.)

Welbek regularly publishes new books, books are regularly translated into Russian, and most likely he is the only French author whose romance was re-translated into Russian after some twenty years after the release of the first translation.

The second novel of the author is the “elementary particles”, which was released in France in 1998 and, judging by the slightly preserved evidence of eyewitnesses (and the Internet, contrary to the established opinion, not all remembers), caused indescribable excitement in his homeland.

Welbek was accused of everything that readers love so-called transgressive literature of the 1990s: racism, homophobia and, of course, fascism.

Since Welbek is not such a fool that it seems in the photographs, he made all these accusations a leitmotif of further creativity - adding there soon pronounced Islamophobia.

Today, even the most inexperienced reader is unlikely to discover something new for himself, reading “elementary particles”. At the time of the release, this is the impulse of the European branch of the consumption society, approximately consisting of descriptions of sex (mainly with itself), corporate arrangement and popular science inserts, was already deeply secondary, despite a pronounced anti-tank agenda and hatred of hippies.

Perhaps the French, out of hatred of the English -speaking culture, simply boycotted the novels “American Psychopath” and “Fight Club” that were noticeably earlier earlier, so the work of the compatriot seemed to them a revelation. But, as they say, VOX Populi Vox Dei, it was thanks to the popularity of “elementary particles” that Mr. Welbek firmly entrenched at first on the European, and then on the world literary Olympus, began to flicker on television and became almost the most famous French author, writing a dozen more books with a through plot, which can be shortly described as “stumpened The gray peasant is angrily jerking off into a fist. ”

The first Russian translation of “elementary particles” can be read, since it consists of letters and punctuation marks. Its main shortcomings, however, arise from absolute ignorance by the translators of the described realities. But even more terrible how inhumanly bad the scenes associated with sex look in Russian translation (and since this is the novel of Welbek, then approximately every page).

Charlie Hebdo magazine here turns into Charlie Ebdo, such an alien concept appears as “diplomatic motting”, a middle-aged crisis turns into a “crisis of fortieth anniversary”, and “boyfriend” from a magazine for teenage girls-to a “friend”.

In some places, the first translation slides into frankly Promovsky ravines of madness.

Old translation of "Foreigner":

Later, and moreover, very often, giving himself to suck some slut, Bruno willy-nilly recalled those somewhat frighteningly blissful seconds.

New translation of Corpus:

Much later, but quite often, when some whore sucked him, Bruno recalled those few moments of terrifying bliss.

In some scenes, the translator calls the male genital organ the unthinkable word "birthday": one of the heroes tries to "put the birthplace in her mouth", then he was "hastened to the birthplace" at the sight of half -naked young girls in the hippar camp.

In some points, the logic of written is completely distorted, and it looks like a translator is shy about translating the written correctly and begins to come up with some more socially acceptable forms.

Old translation:

Sometimes his mother let one of the guys to her bed. She was already forty -five, her breasts were squeezed out and a little sagged, but her facial features remained magnificent. Bruno over the day, three times a day.

New translation:

Mother now and then put some young man to her bed. She was forty -five, her vulva lost weight and sagged slightly, but her face did not lose its former splendor. Bruno jerked off three times a day.

Old translation:

The liberation of my ass! - Grandrubur muttered. - Girls who were ready to serve as lumpings in a gangbang were always. And there were always guys who shook their pasta. What was was a friend.

New translation:

- What a hell of liberation! - grumbled the old man. - There were always chicks, who were sitting in the corner on gangbangs. And the dude, who just jerked off alone. Nothing has changed, buddy.

Old translation:

In short, as one day, specially for his psychiatrist, was determined by Bruno, "the eggs were boiled there."

New translation:

In short, as Bruno once said to his psychiatrist, "everything with them ****** [a copper basin] was covered."

Smart things appear like “capillary implants” and the mysterious “bench press” (when I read the old translation, I thought that we were talking about an increase in a member and swing club, and not about the gym and hair transplant):

Old translation:

The capillary implants began well: the doctor came across a competent. He regularly visited the bench club and, if honestly, found that he was by no means so bad for a forty-kadwukh-year-old man.

New translation:

Hair implants have taken root, he came across a competent specialist. He regularly visited the gym, and, frankly, for a forty -cadet -year -old man, he is still very nothing.

Following, there is an unknown sexual consolation entitled “Spanish Sosalka”, the children's journal “PIF” comes out with the mysterious “kunshtuk” in the kit (in the new edition it is prudently translated as “gadget”), a chestnut cream ( Crème de Marrons ) turns “into cream from brown powder”, and Yershik for the toilet - into the toilet "Toilet mop."

Old translation:

He served with Bayer a call doctor and deceived his wife at any opportunity; Since he was a beautiful man and traveled a lot, there were more than enough opportunities.

New translation:

The husband worked as a medical representative at Bayer and cheated on his wife at every opportunity, and since he was beautiful and traveled a lot, the case was cutting out now and then.

You can continue to compare the translations endlessly, I would like to put the bold point with a vivid example of how much the old is better.

Old translation:

At the same time, an intensive, but narrowly -reasoned meiling was conducted, addressed to administrators on personnel policy of large firms. Some of the representatives of the extreme left political orientation accepted such innovations with hostility. There was a tough short struggle within the leadership of the region, and the “Association in support of the 1901 law” was dissolved, its place was taken by a limited liability company, where Frederick Ledtec was the holder of a controlling stake. Among other things, the estate belonged to his parents, and the branch of the “mutual loan” of the Department of Marna-i-Lyar, apparently, was located to support this project.

Five years later, the region managed to acquire a beautiful catalog of approvals (National Paris Bank, the Budgetary Department, the Department of Parisian City Transport). International tickets, agreements with firms on collective trips provided year -round work of the center, and its functioning as a “place of rest”, which feeds ancient nostalgia, gave no more than five percent of the total number of annual turnover.

New translation:

At the same time, they conducted an intensive direct-mailing, addressed to HR managers of large companies. Some founders who adhered to extreme left -wing political views could not come to terms with the new strategy. As a result of a short internal struggle for power, the NGOs that controlled the “space” was dissolved and replaced by a limited liability society, in which, of course, Frederick Le Dantekes became a majority. In the end, the land belonged to his parents, and the Bank of the EXTYUL Bank of the Primorskaya Sharanta Department seemed to be ready to support the project.

Five years later, “Space” managed to collect a wonderful reference list (BNP, IBM bank, the Ministry of Budget, the Paris Metro, “Buig”, etc.). Throughout the year, corporate and inter -corporate seminars were held here, and the “Rest House” format, a tribute to nostalgia, now amounted to only 5 % of the annual turnover.

The old translation was absolutely deservedly received on September 8, 2001, the Azets Award in the nomination “The worst translation”, and three days later 9/11 - I would like to think that these two events were in no way connected.

Having familiarized himself with the reviews of the novel in the Russian -speaking Internet (laudables as a whole than negative ones) and more than once hearing living people that “elementary particles” are the best work of Welbek, I want to shake the author’s callous hand, always squeezing a cigarette between the middle and ring fingers, because if the novel was so loved by such a crazy quality, then this Great work.

As Michel Welbek once said in an interview with his friend Frederik Begbeder: “If it were necessary to choose one modern author, in relation to which the word“ genius ”would not be such a big advance, I would not hesitate to choose Ernst Muldashev.” The pederasts dispersed, the embankment was empty. He no longer managed to cause a memory of his last erection. He was waiting for a thunderstorm.