Are their books generally frowned upon by /lit/? Why? I went

Penguin is a good birde, /lit/ is just overreacting

Give me an adequate answer goddammit /lit!

They do tend to go cheaper, but some do commission new and improved translations. But you shouldn't be reading translations to begin with, or had you forgotten that?

>>7666751
Well, I won't be reading in any other language than English

Good for Dostoy.

We only hate them because they are popular.
also meh quality, but that has to be expected with their price tag

they have some bad translations (gogol), and some goat (genji).
You should google before you buy your books, i know it's a hassle, but ultimately worth it.

>>7666751
I'm afraid that this meme goes so far that there will actually be newshitters here who genuinely won't pick up translations, because they think it's 'wrong'.

>>7666721
Mostly because of things like their overpriced (relative to what you're getting) deluxe paperbacks and "your task in these dreams is often to pens".

I don't really know much about their translations.

>>7666773
Yeah, but we also have people learning languages now too.

>>7666786
They usually aren't that pricey I think, I mean they aren't wordsworth level of cheap but they aren't bad.

>>7666773
Well you should be able to read Latin at the very least if you're going to post here.

>>7666792
I think you have a overvalued view of /lit/.

>>7666792
Agreed, but Latin is only one language.

>>7666721
Just make sure they have the good translation. They usually do so for Tolstoy. I generally go for other publishers because I don't like Penguins covers, but those that I do own are good enough.

>>7666721
>listening to /lit/ outside of recommendations

Good luck reading 5 books for the rest of your life

>>7666801
Who is the best tolstoy translator?
I bought the penguin version, but got the impression that it wasn't the optimal.

>>7666813
Pevear & Volokhonsky

but I'm sure someone will come along and tell me I'm wrong

>>7666813
Which Tolstoy, and which translator is the Penguin you have?

>>7666815
I won't, I'm not spiteful.

>>7666819
The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories, translated by Anthony Briggs, David McDuff and Ronald Wilks.

OP here,

I want to buy the following from Penguin
>Don Quixote
>War and Peace
>Some stuff from Kafka

Any objections? Thanks.

I have a penguin classic for every major book of the western canon from Aeschylus to Goethe, as well as most of their Classical histories.

They never disappointed me, but I guess I'd never know if they could be better.

Penguin aren't bad at all, I'd just say that usually there is a better alternative. For works in English where you don't need a lot of notes, nothing wrong with Penguin. But for works in translation, or where a lot of notes are helpful, usually other editions have better. Oxford World Classics is another big publisher with similar range and often better translations and notes.

>>7666773
It IS wrong. Obviously I'm not going to refuse to pick up translations, because I don't want to have to learn the entirety of Attic Greek just to see the plays that inspired so many English authors, but it is a basic truth that translation erodes the prose or verse of the original work. Take something like Finnegan's Wake, which was recently translated into Chinese-- how could you possibly translate that? The novel has it's own language built precisely on wordplay and references which only work in Indo-European languages.
When you are reading a translation you are essentially reading an original work of the translator. This can be a beautiful piece of literature in itself, but it will not be the true original of the author, especially not in poetry.

>>7666860
Finnegans Wake is the most extreme possible example of untranslatability though.

>>7666860
I'm not saying that it isn't optimal, but the thought of people not reading a classic because they don't speak russian is insane.

>>7666920
Learning each classic's original language.
>insane

>>7666932
Well memed, sir

>>7666932
List every classic worth reading. Now learn all of their languages. Not only their modern versions but also the archaic ones. And dialects, of course (Homer's greek =/= Sophocles' greek).

Now tell me that this isn't insane for anyone who isn't a linguist.

>>7667034
>>7667041
I was reverse memeing you fags, relax.

>>7666721
I'm reading The Brothers Karamazov and it's a very nice translation. Between Oxford and Penguin, I find Oxford more accurate and therefore more reliable for academia (The Republic, Thus Spoke Zarathustra etc) but only marginally, and Penguin is a more enjoyable easier to read.

>my $0.2

Inferior translations and botched version of Gravitys Rainbow.

Vintage Classics on the other hand is god-tier and usually has the best translations of classic literature (Don Quixote, Kafka)

>>7667047
I literally commended your meme familia

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>>7666841

>Aeschylus

>he actually fell for the greeks meme

>>7667267
>tfw in a couple of months this post will not be ironic

>>7667073
triggered

>>7667097

Idk, they have McDuff for Crime and Punishment, so they're not all bad

>>7666824
kek

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96KB, 580x625px

>>7667267
>he actually fell for the he actually fell for the greeks meme

>>7666721
Penguin is fine, anon. They usually do a good job.

It's Wordsworth you need to stay away from.

Penguin is great with translations. Norton is absolute shit tier. This board is retarded.