Reading...

I'm reading a Dover edition of The Tale of Genji to give me an idea of how to figure out the language I need for the opening of Darian's Point. I knew of it but I had not read it. I happened upon it when I stopped at a book shop while out and about on errands, this afternoon, almost on a whim...and there it was with a row of other Dovers.

They tend to be cheap but decently bound copies of books that are in public domain. That way, they don't have to pay royalties, and they have a nice deep library of them. They also used to be exclusively paperback, but seems they've expanded into hardcovers that are relatively inexpensive.

Lady Murasaki has a nice, arch style that's giving me ideas. This translation by Arthur Whaley is quite readable. That can a make a huge difference. When I first tried to read Anna Karenina, by Tolstoy, it was a very literal translation into English...which made it hard to get into. But I found one that was much smoother and it became my favorite book. Their translation of War and Peace was a close second.

Unfortunately, Russia's actions in Ukraine and the brutality of her invasion have led me away from Russian literature. It's revealed too much about the true nature of the Russian people, and I can't look at the books in the same way, anymore. I feel like the humanity and beauty of Tolstoy's writing...and Chekov's and Dostoyevsky's and Turgenev's...is a false portrait of the Russian people. Almost like a lie.

I can't really explain why I feel so strongly about that, I just do...and it really pisses me off.