Translation II

[David Morris]

When Rog & Jess drive "to the country" they are in England, so that is what 
should be imagined by the reader.  That some readers may never have seen 
this setting is not a matter of translation, assuming there is a word in 
that language which approximates the intended locale.

As you posted earlier: "The main difficulty in reading mr. Pynchon, me being 
a foreigner, is not his language (grammar or vocabulary).  It is the 
background needed to understand what he is writing about."

DM

>From: Michel Ryckx
>
>Dear Sir:
>Jessica and Roger Mexico drive 'to the country'.  What does that mean?  
>Depending on where one is used to live, it can mean something completely 
>different.
>
>In Belgium, my country, one cannot walk for an hour 'in the country' 
>without meeting someone, or without discovering a human trace.  In Britain, 
>where the aforementioned action takes place, the landscape is mainly tamed 
>by humans.  In the United States, there still can be found some wilderness 
>(nature, and, besides, in human beings, but that is another discussion).  
>What does an Iraqi reader see when 'the country' is mentioned?



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