Making case for ‘The Vegetarian,’ literary translation
(From Korea Times. Link to the complete article given below)
The past couple of years have been eventful for late-bloomer Han Kang, the author of the award-winning book “The Vegetarian.”
Han Kang, 47, has become a star writer after she and Deborah Smith, the translator of “The Vegetarian,” were honored with the 2016 International Man Booker Prize.
The book instantly became an international sensation and shot up on the bestseller list.
At home, the once obscure writer among general readers was lifted to a heroine who helped her country end several decades of drought in international literary recognition.
Some media outlets depicted Han Kang’s accomplishment as something akin to winning the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Rosy prospects for the success of Korean literature overseas had peaked for a while.
Such a fuss, however, ran short.
“The Vegetarian” was back in the spotlight in June last year. This time the reason is something scathing for the writer and the British translator as well.
Some experts raised questions about the accuracy of the English translation of the book by pointing out “errors, embellishments and omissions.” They said Smith added parts that didn’t exist in the work in Korean or sometimes removed parts that were in the original text.
