Chapter 24 postscript

After working hard for nearly half a year, the translation manuscript has finally been completed, and there is a feeling of the phoenix nirvana.Indeed, the translation process of this book can only be described as "painful and happy". The reason why I feel this way is because of this extraordinary book! The author of this book, Norman Mailer (1923-2007), enjoys the reputation of "Second Hemingway". "Won the Pulitzer Prize twice, and won the "National Book Award". It has been in the American literary world for 60 years and is one of the greatest American writers in the 20th century. a>Written in 1967, it caused an uproar in the critics as soon as it was published.As the author himself stated in the preface of the book: "Many readers will feel that it is quite different from my best novel. However, I think that I have never written a more interesting book than this book." This book has a unique writing method, which integrates realism, naturalism, existentialism, and symbolism into one, and points out many issues such as politics, economy, morality, race, ecology, and women in contemporary American society one by one. It expresses the relationship and conflict among individuals, society, nature, and animals, and arranges the protagonist at the end to go to the Vietnam battlefield. It meaningfully deduces and deconstructs the modern political logic of the United States. It is worthy of being a "political allegory" of the Vietnam War. ", an elegy for the "hippies" of America.As the author puts it, he seems to be leading a totem trend, opening up a new path in the field of fear. "The book before you is a totem, full of author's talismans, talismans against curses, static electricity, and the ubiquitous evil of our electric age."

Although this strange totem work is concise and magnificent, it caused us two translators to suffer a lot, like being in purgatory.Norman Mailer is a postmodern master with a unique approach. In this novel, he fabricated all kinds of audiences, and he himself turned into a rebellious teenager D.? Talking about him from left to right, sometimes his "libido" sprouted, and he talked about sex in an extremely vulgar way, flashing back and forth, making the translator overwhelmed and driven crazy.Behind his laughing, cursing, absurd, and vulgar language hides a pair of calm and detached eyes, exposing human nature to the naked point, comparing American society to grizzly bears, reindeer, jungles, and tundra in Brooks Ridge. The tragic and wild atmosphere shocked the protagonist, readers, and naturally the translator.

Mailer has always believed that "writing is a heroic task", although he has also been called "violent", "extremist" and "male chauvinist".If this is the case, translation is the task of presenting heroic epics, a task that "idiots talk about dreams" and knows that it cannot be done but must be done.Fortunately, during the translation process of this book, we two translators maintained good communication from the beginning to the end. We did our best throughout the whole process without any slack or sloppy. We only hope that the translation can be faithful, accessible and similar.However, due to the lack of talent and limited ability of the translator, it may still be difficult to show Norman Mailer's "both good and evil" and wild and uninhibited demeanor despite his best efforts.