Whoa. I thought Monoprix was cool.
Well, after yesterday's mortifying incident, I wasn't about to head back to Monoprix anytime soon. So I decided to go to FNAC, a department store recommended by online reviewers and French bookstore keepers alike. I didn't really know what to expect.
And WOW. FNAC is like Borders on steroids. I say Borders because Borders had all the cool stuff: a coffee area, CDs, DVDs, stationery, etc. But then FNAC had all this Borders stuff, plus four floors of other things. Apple, Windows, Google, Samsung--so many brands. Each floor was like walking into a new store. First floor: Best Buy. Second floor: Best Buy II. Third floor: Borders. Fourth floor: Borders II. I take back my first statement. But it wasn't a department store, or a mall, or a megabookstore, or anything I can think of in English to describe.
I'm probably making it sound more mythical than it actually is, but it was just really different.
Poking around on the third and fourth floors led me to some interesting new cover art and translations of books I love(d).
Now, Perks of Being a Wallflower was my anthem as a high schooler, probably because I was very dramatic. But this picture above... Agh. First, movie cover titles should be banned. I hate them so much. Second, the title translates literally to Charlie's World. Now that just sounds like a theme park. One of the most important parts of the book is when Patrick toasts Charlie for being a "wallflower," so how do we pull out that significance? Gah, but what do I know about translating books? (I'll tell it: zero.)
Here we have The Hidden Face of Margo standing in for Paper Towns. I think we can decide which title is cooler. On the left is Who Are You, Alaska? for Looking for Alaska. I guess that's fine, but one of the cool parts (SPOILER ALERT) was finding out that Alaska was a person, not the state. Now that mystery is spoiled. And now I just spoiled it as well. Oh jeez. Maybe I need to be easier on these translators.
Now, another question: Hunger Games just remains Hunger Games. Why? Is the concept too hard to translate? I mean, it's not like an English speaker knows what the "Hunger Games" refers to when he or she picks up the book for the first time. This question then requires me to ask why Les Misérables got to stay French (and thus lead to the most-botched title of all time by Americans) but Hunchback of Notre Dame required an English title. So mysterious. Incidentally, Catching Fire is translated to...Flashover? No, that can't be right. Ah, Google Translate fails again: the better translation is Unrest. And La Révolte... I think you guys can figure that one out. :)
But once again: very boring.
This is just a bonus for my parents and myself, since I read these books the entire two weeks we spent in China. Did I look out the train at the beautiful Guilin countryside? Nope. Buried in a book. Ah, 10-year-old Katie. And yes, these books are about talking cats who live in clans or tribes. Hey, it's cool when you're in fifth grade. (Admittedly, I still think talking cats is a great literature subcategory, but I'm supposed to be into Fitzgerald and Hemingway...)
Speaking of Fitzgerald...
Now I have the chance to read a French Gatsby! So cool. I want to see how they translate the last lines.
A most satisfactory day for linguistic learning. This'll sure appease the book nerds, but I can see the rest of you thinking, That's it?
Sadly, I don't have a magical picture to pull out of nowhere. But tomorrow--tomorrow I go to the theater. I can't wait to see that. In the meantime, I get the chance to get all up in Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse. Lucky, lucky me. I've got the banana!
And my soup-making was satisfactory this evening. I was too scared to serve anybody face-to-face, but it's on the back burner, since I realized that I don't have Tupperware, or whatever French Tupperware is. I say satisfactory because French people don't seem to believe in selling chicken stock--either that or I've completely missed it, which I'll admit happens a lot. So I had to buy vegetable bouillon--no way I was taking the chance with the chicken bouillon--but the soup was saved by my mirepoix: the carrots, celery, and onions that are the base of most soups.
Another observation: French people are very good about holding open the Metro exit doors. The person in front of me ALWAYS stops. It's very considerate. But outside of there, it seems to not exist. Maybe the Metro is a magical land where everyone uses their manners.
Oh, I got asked for directions AGAIN. This happens a lot. This guy and girl came up to me, and they were speaking something--it certainly didn't sound like French to me. I made my well-this-is-awkward face and said sheepishly, "Uh, I... Je ne comprends pas."
"Do you speak English?" they asked.
"Oui--I mean, yes. Where do you want to go?"
Why does everyone assume I don't speak English? That's a rhetorical question, folks. I guess it's better not to assume anything of anyone, but I thought it was obvious due to my lack of any Asian-sounding accent and my constant mutterings under my breath in English. They always seem pleased and surprised. Sorry, it wasn't that big of an accomplishment. Thankfully, no one has come up and started speaking Chinese or Japanese or Korean to me--yet.
I'm pretty sure even though I gave those two perfect instructions in my American (specifically Connecticut) voice, they probably still thought English was my second language. Oh man. Do French people know what a Chinese accent sounds like? It's one that's hard to lose--and some French people actually lose their French accent when they speak English. I mean, we're supposed to adopt their accent when we speak, but it just seems painfully obvious to me when someone English-speaking tries to Frenchify things. We don't have the capacity to control our nasally voice or our soft palate that much.
Actually, I feel like my phone case should give it away. But then again, American girls wear shirts that say Oui, oui on them, even though that's probably not a good idea. Don't wear anything that's in another language. Our family learned that the hard way...
But that's a story for another day. :)
(BONUS: I was most satisfied with this translation. Wish we could keep all titles this simple.)
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