10/21/2006: "Fun With Babelfish!"

Hi All,

Some of you may know about Babelfish. It's this free translation website; basically, you plug in a chunk of foreign writing, choose your translation---French to English / English to Cantonese / what have you---then it processes the results.

Needless to say, this is an inexact science. If not, flesh-and-blood translators would be out of business. But, as I now know from experience, a good translator is worth his or her weight in gold; otherwise all the subtle nuances of one's writing (and lord knows, subtle nuance is what my writing is all about) fly right out the window.

In any case, my French publicist has been sending me reviews of Rust and Bone ("Un goût de rouille et d'os" en francais, or "A Taste of Rust and Bone") and, while my French is okay, I couldn't always work out what, precisely, was written. In fact, the review that follows was so colloquially-written that I couldn't tell if it was even complimentary or not.

So I ran it through Babelfish. http://babelfish.altavista.com

I think---I THINK---it is complimentary. But I can't tell for sure. You be the judge.

Sorry if it gives you a headache reading it. I particularly like the sentence: "...there are also incredible passages on the noise which a balloon of tennis shoe makes passing through net..." I added that scene especially for the French audiences, who I hear quite enjoy scenes where balloons of tennis shoes pass noisily through nets of varying sizes.

Cater to you audience, I always say.

All best, Craig.

BABELFISH-TRANSLATED REVIEW OF RUST AND BONE:

Adoubé by Chuck Palahniuk and Bret Easton Ellis, devoted in the Technikart last, clearly that the Canadian author Craig Davidson can pass for one énième misadventure of international the hype book. However, there are neither terrorist mannequins, nor clones of Christ manufactured starting from religious relics in a Taste of Rust and OS, its collection of new black from black, which is also the first book that I manage to finish (with fever, even) since at least that... I applauded of the two fins and I make turn the baballe on my large muzzle. It is too signal, the sardine with Craig.

I like much Ellis (especially the last, with the passing), I like much Palaniuhk (more as journalist that author, it is clear) but Davidson then, it is still another gauge: already, it is a true teller of stories and not a skilful originator of novels with drawers! Stories which find their place in the great American tradition of the roofing stone which strikes, heiress of Bukowski, style Dan Fante or Larry Brown, with which Davidson shares a rather sharp-edged cruelty. It has all the same large point common with Palaniuhk, Davidson, it is that it places the majority of its characters in very closed mediums, of which description seems very documented (and if all is invented, it is straightforwardly of the order of the genius!) : university tennis shoe, groups of support for estropiés, watery park where one draws up orcs, orgies and combat of dogs in unused factories...

The direction of the detail is not limited to the decoration, there are also incredible passages on the noise which a balloon of tennis shoe makes passing through net or the glances in false complicity that are exchanged the unknown ones with the red lights. Obviously, they is news, it is short essentially, there are not followed tracks, that often finishes in an abrupt way. The Hunger however is largely filled. By this natural side trash, never simply provo. By a simple writing but which bastonne. Craig Davidson, I do not know if this type will only go far but there, it has already a few good thousands of kilometers in advance on the group, that, it is sure!