BOOKS WITH JEN: Ep 7 | ft. Deborah Smith | On Translation

[@paulwinchell6904]

Thank you Jen and Deborah for widening my world of literature

[@jenvcampbell]

You're welcome, and thank you x

[@QuietTurbulence]

I've read both books by Han Kang and translated by Deborah and this podcast was awesome. I am really interested in the translation process in general and Deborah gave a great insight into it. And as you are I can't wait for the new book to come out next year. Exciting!!! Thanks for taking the time to do this podcast.

[@LadyYoote]

I just found your channel and I have to tell you, it's probably the best thing that has happened to me this week. Thank you for the great content!

[@jenvcampbell]

Thank you x

[@LaurenAndTheBooks]

Thanks so much for this, since reading The Vegetarian I wanted to know more about the translation process and here it is. Deborah seems lovely! Really enjoyed it! Xx

[@WinaPuangco]

I read Human Acts at a cafe over the span of an afternoon while I was in Seoul earlier this month and it left me shook; it's possibly my favorite book yet of the year. It's very, very close to my own country's history (I'm Filipina) and it was really, truly an exercise in empathy and language and it made me want to learn Hangul so I could go and read the original text as well. I especially loved the treatment of the POV in this book; it was flawless. I'm currently writing a spoken word poem that was very much inspired by my trip to South Korea and by all of the historical narratives heard whilst there and I keep coming back to Deborah's translation. I'm incredibly grateful for her translation and the opportunity to look into this tragic, incredible story. I can't wait for her translation of Kang's next book.

[@happydrawing7309]

I am glad to have heard Deborah Smith speak about Han Kang

[@EricKarlAnderson]

Great talk! I love how thoughtful Deborah is. x

[@morganbillings1252]

I'm so happy you did this! I've been wanting to read this, you did a fantastic job with this video.

[@CuriousReader]

This was so great! I am really looking forward to Hwang Jungeun's book coming out, it sounds fantastic! And I can't wait to read more of Han Kang's work. Also lovely to find new presses (never heard of Fitzcarrado) and sources for international works. So great!

[@arturyeon]

This is amazing! Korean studies is one of the subjects I am thinking about for university right now, so I did a little research on modern Korean literature and The Vegetarian always seemed so fascinating that it's just amazing I get to have my favourite booktuber record a conversation with the translator. Definitely downloading this and sharing my thoughts later on.

[@jenvcampbell]

I think you're going to rather enjoy listening to Deborah's tale of becoming a translator! Let me know what you think :) x

[@arturyeon]

"I should stop watching and download it so I've got something to listen to later", was what I said to myself for the first 15 minutes while listening and then I gave up on that, because this was really, really fascinating and I couldn't stop myself from giggling and generally being amazed. You were right, of course, that was one hell of a tale and it's absolutely fascinating to listen to someone who has gotten into publishing at such a young age. I found it very endearing how she got into her profession through trial and error. That was I think important to hear for me, I feel like people my age just feel the pressure of having to know exactly how to deal with every possible scenario of their job life after uni. I was also amazing to hear her talk about The Vegetarian from the perspective of someone who's more than a mere reader, someone who in her work must have gotten into every little detail one could find in the book. I have to say that International literature is something I'm quite passionate about. I'm from Germany and I speak English and French and there are so many really good novels I would like to share, but I often find myself unable to because of a lack of translations in the anglophone world. Which is why I am actively trying to broaden my horizons on non-European literature as well. Gonna get my hands on The Vegetarian ASAP, thanks for the podcast!

[@jenvcampbell]

You're welcome! It's Women in Translation month at the moment, so I'll be making a video about translated fiction by women in the next week or so, if you'd like some more recommendations x

[@paulwinchell6904]

I always learn so much on your channels

[@AshishKumar-sr5qs]

thank you for recommending me.....loved it

[@karopi]

I love it the Vegetarian and this episode was amazing... Now I want to read her other books. The Vegetarian let me with this strange feeling of not understanding what really happen and that is a nice sensation in the book... Great podcast!

[@thecourrrr]

One of my favorite books last year was a south korea book translated: :I'll Be Right There. I really hope this opens more doors for foreign literature getting translated.

[@TreeBranch02]

This was a very interesting and well done interview. I enjoyed it. Thanks. I just might read the book now.

[@matthew8701]

Thank you. This was such a great talk

[@jenvcampbell]

Thanks for listening! x

[@uesue]

What a wonderful podcast! That was really interesting.

[@Vesper2605]

I got so ridiculously excited that Deborah mentioned Svetlana Alexievich! More recognition to Belarusian authors, yay! :) And now I want to read The Vegetarian even more, it sounds so fascinating.

[@KJTR90]

Fantastic interview! Congrats, Deborah Smith! I love this -- I'm going to make my students listen to it next semester! I'm also a literary translator, though my situation is slightly different -- I translate from a BIG language, into also a "bigish" one -- from English to Polish, but I also owe a lot to the (Kraków) Book Fair! I'm slightly jealous of DS being able to meet "her" author -- right now I'm finishing my second Edith Wharton (so, yeah, she's dead... AND didn't know Polish). Now I KNOW I want to read The Vegetarian (both in Polish and English!).

[@h.i.m.3200]

I wish more Korean literature would be translated. I just can't find lots of translated works of Korean fiction that is modern. I'm excited about Deborah Smith's future translations.

[@jenvcampbell]

+H. I.M. Drop her a tweet (@londonkoreanist); I'm sure she can recommend some :)

[@helloimcalledbob]

Ahah nice Geordie accent! I'm halfway through the vegetarian and this was really nice to be able to help understand a little more. The book is confusing but I'm enjoying it nevertheless.