[ealloc]

Did you read in English? I read it in french and loved it, then looked at Montcrief's translation - I would not have made it through. Montcrief turned Prousts clear and precise (but long) sentences into a kind of esoteric word puzzle. Lydia Davis' translation looked much better.

For War and Peace, I didn't know russian, so I tested different translations before going ahead. The translator makes a big difference, I found some translations hard to read.

I had your feeling with Ulysses, though. No translation issue there. Couldn't make it very far.

[nico]

Very insightful comment. If possible, always read the original, otherwise look for a translation that fits the style or sentiment of the original.

For example, Don Quixote, ideally read it in Spanish, but otherwise look for a translation that is funny in the language that you are reading it in.

[jpmoral]

Which translation do you recommend? I'm 40% of the way through the Ormsby one and I find it pretty funny.

[cafard]

My French is simply not up to it. A neighbor said that he tried reading Proust in high school French class (Richmond, Virginia, many years ago), and only at the end of the year realized that the kids who got As had used cribs.

But Nancy Mitford wrote about how much better Proust is in French.

[pyuser583]

It lost me at riverrun.

[leephillips]

Wrong book.