Classic Books Re-packaged

[William Macfarlane]

> Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2005 13:56:32 +0200
> From: oilymicro at gmail.com
> Subject: Re: Classic Books Re-packaged
> 
> Thanatoids!
> I don't get it, what's the appeal of reading a crippled text? I mean
> it's one thing if Hawking himself wants to make some changes in a
> scientific book or if after fifty years someone attempts a new
> translation of Tolstoy, but to deliberatly destroy an artistic  text
> that was originally written in English? Moby Dick? I'm not familiar
> with copyright laws, but I can't imagine that a living author like
> Pynchon is damned to sit and watch helplessly. Or maybe this is the
> beginning of newspeak after all

Umm... this whole thing seems like a non-issue to me.  _Johnathan
Strange and Mr. Norrell_ is being reissued as a trilogy as a marketing
strategy, probably in large part because of the immense popularity of
sci-fi/fantasy trilogies in general.  Briggs is writing a modern,
idiomatic translation of _War and Peace_, something hardly unheard of
-- it seems to happen to at least one classic every year, and is
certainly a labor of love rather than a concious dumbing down.  And I
can't imagine being concerned about Hawking responding to his audience
and trying again to write a text for everyone.  These three things
barely seem related to me.  And the relationship the author constructs
for them is, *gasp*, the publishing industry is trying to move units! 
Motherfucker!

As for that last paragraph about Pynchon et al, it feels like an out
of place bit of elitist tongue in cheek griping.

I dunno... the article pissed me off.