The AALITRA Review

AALITRA Review Vol.19 2023

Eliza Nicoll — 2023-12-19

Chinese Crime Fiction in English Translation: Readers’ Reception of The Golden Hairpin

Beixi Li — 2023-12-19

Chinese crime novels are beginning to join the surge of crime fiction being translated into English, which we have seen in the last twenty years. Despite extensive comparative research on Chinese literature and its English translations, there has been little research on its reception. This is a significant omission in the case of genre fiction, which traditionally attracts a wide readership. Our study aims to address this gap, exploring the reception of Chinese crime fiction translated into English through a case study of The Golden Hairpin (2018) by Cece Qinghan, translated by Alex Woodend. Adopting a qualitative content analysis approach and using the software Nvivo, we analyse ninety-eight reviews of the book from Goodreads and Amazon. English readers comment on a range of aspects of the book including genre, content (plot, characters, and writing), difficulty in reading, access to Chinese culture, translation, sequels and adaptations, and format. Reflection on the quality of the translation was fairly frequent. Some readers felt a considerable sense of cultural distance, so paratextual support is important for translated Chinese fiction. The existence of an audiovisual adaptation had a positive effect on reader interest. The lack of resolution in the book, which is the only one in the series to be translated so far, was frequently commented on.

Kafka and Borges: A Case of Plagiarism in Translation

Gerardo Piña — 2023-12-19

By now, it is common knowledge among many Spanish literary translators that the translation of Franz Kafka’s Die Verwandlung signed by Jorge Luis Borges was an act of plagiarism. However, this translation has not been assessed (as to my knowledge). In this article, I will critique that translation using Lance Hewson's model of translation criticism, since the plagiarism itself has been proved by other scholars.

Translating poetry-in-prose: the ‘sound of emotional sense’ in Philippe Jaccottet’s Truinas: le 21 avril 2001

Judith Bishop — 2023-12-19

Translating a Poem into a Poem

Peter Boyle — 2023-12-19

The Conscience of the Damned, Translating the Mood of Paul Celan

Stephen Nagle — 2023-12-19

Five Chinese Songs

Shan Ma — 2023-12-19

Five Poems in Translation: Original Poems by Ioana Vintilă

Clara Burghelea — 2023-12-19

An Unrepentant KGB Informer: An Introspective Poem by Sergei Khmelnitsky

Kevin Windle — 2023-12-19

"Home"

Leei Wong — 2023-12-19

Review of Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s La Mia Gente (Translated by Margherita Zanoletti)

Rachael Scrivener — 2023-12-19

Review of Violent Phenomena: 21 Essays on Translation

Jodie Lea Martire — 2023-12-19

Review of Roy Youdale’s Using Computers in the Translation of Literary Style: Challenges and Opportunities

Lola Sundin — 2023-12-19

An Interview with Samantha Schnee

Clara Burghelea — 2023-12-19