Disparitia de Tess Gerritsen

Acum ar fi trebuit sa imi termin handout-ul pentru conferinta CECIL'S de la Budapesta la care plec maine, dar cartea lui Gerritsen pe care am tradus-o anul trecut pentru editura RAO imi facea cu ochiul. Probabil ca nu este un roman pe care v-ati grabi sa il cumparati, dar odata ce l-ati deschis nu il veti mai lasa din mana.

Sunt doua fire narative care se impletesc armonios, iar rezultatul este un roman care te tine cu sufletul la gura.
   Iminenta nastere a primului copil se transforma intr-un cosmar pentru detectivul Jane Rizzoli cand este luata ostatica in spitalul in care este internata de catre o femeie gasita inecata in Hingham Bay, dar care se trezeste la morga, in timp de medicul legist, Maura Isles o examineaza.
    Pe de alta parte aflam povestea Milei, o poveste cutremuratoare despre traficul de carne vie si cum sunt percepute tinerele de catre anumiti barbati. (partea aceasta a fost cel mai greu de tradus, fiind dezgustat de ce se intampla cu ele, cum erau tratate...de multe ori am aruncat cartea si am zis ca nu pot sa traduc asa ceva....) Mai jos va scriu doua astfel de citate:

" Tremurand, ingrozita sa nu fiu lovita din nou, ma supun. Imi deschei fermoarul rochiei si imi dau jos ciorapii. Ma uit in jos; o fata buna trebuie sa fie cuviincioasa. In timp ce ma intind pe pat, nu scot nici un sunet, desfacandu-mi picioarele in fata lui, fara nici un fel de impotrivire, pur si simplu cu supunere.
    In timp ce se dezbraca, se uita la mine, savurand privelistea de carne supusa. Imi inghit scarba cand se urca pe mine, mirosind a scotch. Inchid ochii si ma concentrez asupra huruitului motoarelor, asupra apei stropind barca. Plutesc deasupra corpului meu..."

" Sunt gratii la ferestre. In dimineata asta, gheata este intinsa pe fereastra aidoma unei panze de paianjen din cristal. Afara sunt copaci, atat de multi incat nu stiu ce se afla dincolo. Tot ce stiu este ca aceasta camera si aceasta casa, au devenit universul nostru din noaptea in care am fost aduse aici cu dubita. Soarele straluceste pe fereastra inghetata. Este frumos in aceste paduri si ma imaginez plimbandu-ma printre arbori. Frunzele fosnind, gheata lucind pe ramuri. Un adevarat paradis inghetat.
   In casa este iadul.
   Il vad reflectandu-se pe chipurile celorlalte fete, care dorm in paturi de campanie murdare. Le aud suferinta in gemetele lor inabusite, in scantecele lor. Suntem sase care impartim camera asta. Olena se afla de cel mai mult timp aici, are pe obraz o vanataie urata, lasata de un client caruia ii placea sa se joace violent. ..."

Va invit la o lectura emotionanta, plina de rasturnari de situatii si povesti incredibile.

Titlul: Disparitia
Autor: Tess Gerritsen
Traducere in limba romana: Costin - Valentin Oancea
Editura RAO, 2011, 345 pagini.

The adventures of Indiana Jones

A few months ago, I discovered a wonderful website www.bookdepository.co.uk (free shipping worldwide) and on this webside I found what I was looking for years, novels depicting the adventures of professor Henry James Jr, i.e. Indiana Jones. So far I've bought and read only 7 (there are 12). I will write a few lines about each novel that I've read and hopefully I will convince you to give it a try!

For sixteen centuries the Order of Pythia has awaited the reappearance of the ancient oracle of sacred knowledge at Delphi. An earthquake, rending the earth beneath the ruins, has now heralded her return. Dorian Belecamus, a beautiful and bewitching archaeology professor, sees an opportunity to do more than dig into the past: this is her chance to seize control of her country's future - by returning to Greece and becoming the Oracle of Delphi! And she managed to bewitch one of her students (from Sorbonne), who has fallen under her spell. It's Jones alright. 

The adventure starts in Chicano, then Paris and Greece. I don't want to tell you more, so go ahead and read the novel. It has a bit of everything. Rob MacGregor manages to mix all the ingredients required and the result is this gripping novel. 

Title: Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi

Author: Rob MacGregor

Published by Bantam Books, 293 pages. 

In this novel Indiana Jones becomes a teaching assistant (his first job!) in the archaeology department at London University. His brightest student is Deirdre Campbell, a twenty-year-old Scotting girl. She thinks that she's uncovered a golden scroll which proves the existence of Merlin (the famous sorcerer). Deirdre's mother is a well-known archaeologist and Indy's boss. But they are not the only ones who are after the scroll. The book offers a great description of Stonehenge, the place where Merlin's secret will be revealed. Below - a quotation from the novel.

"While myths should never be blindly accepted as an explanation of what happened at some time in the past, it is not only logical for archaeologists to study those which relate to the particular culture they are investigating, but relevant and necessary. Virtually every myth contains a nugget of truth, a hidden meaning, or a lead for an archaeologist to pursue."

Title: Indiana Jones and the Dance of the Giants

Author: Rob MacGregor

Published by Bantam Books, 278 pages.

Having barely survived a hair-rising archaeological dig in Tikal, Guatemala, Indiana Jones has returned to New York just in time to get caught up in a controversy. The mysterious writings of Colonel Percy Fawcett - the famous British explorer - have turned up, describing something that could change the course of history. In this new adventure Indy is accompanied by the lovely Deirdre Campbell and they set out for the wilds of the Amazon where they will risk being eaten alive by cannibals. You will discover what "the seven veils" are and get acquainted with the writings and findings of the British explorer mentioned above. 

"From what I gather, veiling is supposedly an ability to make objects and people look like shadows or, for all practical purposes, become invisible. It seems the society is divided into seven levels of veils, and one's social status is directly related to the veiling ability one has achieved." (p. 153).

Title: Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils

Author: Rob MacGregor

Published by Bantam Books, 275 pages. 

 Having lost his beloved Deirdre (she dies in The Seven Veils) in the Amazon a year ago, Indiana Jones has settled down and taught Celtic archaeology. However, he becomes intrigued when Dr Vladimir Zobolotsky tries to persuade him to go on an expedition to search for Noah's Ark. They travel to Istanbul and then to Mount Ararat, the location of Noah's Ark. But Kremlin agents are also after the ark and they will do everything...

Title: Indiana Jones and the Genesis Deluge

Author: Rob MacGregor

Published by Bantam Books, 293 pages. 

This novel reminded me of the first Harry Potter novel, as they have the same title and the name of Nicholas Flamel is mentioned as the creator of the philosopher's stone (if you remember in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Hermione discovers that NF was the inventor of the stone together with his wife, Penelope). 

You will also find out about one of the greatest mysteries in terms of manuscripts - the Voynich Manuscript (which I am going to see very soon as it is on display at the British Museum). Mussolini is also after the manuscript, which is actually a map leading into the desert and the most ancient and magnificent crypt in the world, where Indiana Jones will witness an astounding miracle of alchemy. 

Title: Indiana Jones and the Philosopher's Stone

Author: Max McCoy

Published by Bantam Books, 282 pages. 

Indiana Jones meets his old rival, Belloq (whom you might remember from the 1st Indiana Jones movie - Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the ost Ark) who is working for the Nazis. The story is not as interesting as the others I have described so far but what is puzzling is the dinosaur bone discovered by professor Angus Starbuck in the Gobi Desert. 

Bloodthirsty killers and wild dogs are chasing the famous archaeologist with the purpose of killing him once and for all. Will they succeed?

Read the novel and you'll find out!

Title: Indiana Jones and the Dinosaur Eggs

Author: Max McCoy

Published by Bantam Books, 281 pages.

It is the most coveted of all ancient artifacts. It stands there, defending the pyramids on the Giza plateau in Egypt. (Hopefully, one day I will see it with my own eyes!!!)

Indiana Jones follows a trail of danger, magic and archaeological mystery through the war-torn Orient, from Rangoon to the Giza plateau, searching for a poweful relic - the Omega Book. If the Omega Book falls into the wrong hands, not only Indy's fate but the fate of the world will be at the mercy of a madman bent on writing humanity's final chapter. Another gripping story, signed by Max McCoy. 

" We are all travelers in time, Dr. Jones. Live in the present, keep looking to the future, but always remember the past. And never forget to listen to your heart." - this is my favourite quote from the novel and also the ending. 

Title: Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Sphinx

Author: Max McCoy

Published by Bantam Books, 275 pages.

Jennifer Coates - Women, Men and Language

A very interesting and useful book for those interested in gender differences in language use. The book has 4 chapters and each chapter contains several sub chapters. Jennifer Coates manages to answer the following question 'Do women and men speak differently?'
A distinction is being drawn between gender-exclusive differences' and 'gender-preferential differences'. The former is specific to tribal societies whereas the latter can be found in modern societies. She puts forward all kinds of hypotheses and brings evidence in support of her claims from a variety of languages (from Kurux to Japanese).
It is easy to read and well-written.
The following excerpt is from an anonymous contributor to The World (6 May 1756), quoted in the book, who complains of women's excessive use of certain adverbial forms:
"Such is the pomp of utterance of our present women of fashion; which, though it may tend to spoil many a pretty mouth, can never recommend an indifferent one. And hence it is that there is so great a scarcity of originals, and that the ear is such a daily sufferer from an identity of phrase, whether it be vastly, horridly, abominably, immensely, or excessively, which, with three or four more calculated for the same swiss-like service, make up the whole scale or gamut of modern female conversation."

Jennifer Coates - Women, Men and Language, 3rd edition
Published by Longman, 2004, 246 pages

Peter Ackroyd - The Fall of Troy

 Different, in terms of style, from 'Hawksmoor' and 'The House of Doctor Dee'. A German archaeologist's belief that he has discovered Troy. Herr Obermann, lives in an imaginary world where everything is connected, in some way, to Troy. He is convinced that he has discovered the lost city and will do anything to 'keep it this way' - even murder those who dare to contradict him.
Sophia Chrysanthis is initially dazzled when the famous German archaeologist, Obermann comes in search of a Greek bride who can read the works of Homer and assist   in his excavations of the city he believes is Ancient Troy. But Obermann's past turns out to be full of skeletons and when a young American arrives to question the archaeologist's methods and dies of a mysterious fever, Sophia wonders just how far he will go to protect his vision of Troy. Soon a second, British, archaeologist arrives (sent by the British Museum) and he falls in love with Sophia...
The story takes another turn when Sophia discovers that Obermann was already married and that his wife is mad. 


  "I cannot wait to bring you to the plain of Troy. To show you the place where Hector and Achilles fought. To show you the palace of Priam. And the walls where the Trojan women watched their warriors in battle with the invader. It will stir your blood, Sophia.”

    " 'You will be Artemis disguised as a mortal woman, stepping in a bright cloud among the people.'
'I hardly think so. We are all mortal.'
'Never say it, Sophia. We are gods in our ambitions.' "

   "Let me show you something. Do you see this sequence of signs? They meant nothing to me at first, but then I identified seven separate variants.'
'Seven separate case forms?'
'Precisely. What does that mean to you?'
'I am a man of earth and stone, Mr Thornton. I cannot follow your speculations.'
'They are identical with ancient Sanskrit. And do you see this? These two separate signs are placed at the ends of many words. I believe them to signify tenses. I have interpreted them as ya and tva. Do you know what they are, Herr Obermann?'
'You tell me.'
'Ancient Sanskrit.' Obermann looked at him impassively.
'Do you not see? The Trojans spoke the language of the ancient Vedas. They are the people of the Rigveda and the Samaveda!'
'Impossible, sir. Preposterous. They were Greek not Indian.' "
                    

Agatha Christie - Petrecerea de Halloween

Inca o poveste in care protagonistul este deja-cunoscutul detectiv belgian, Hercule Poirot. De aceasta data Hercule Poirot este chemat la Woodleigh Common, de catre scriitoarea Ariadne Oliver. Aici este organizata o petrecere de Halloween pentru copii din sat. Una dintre invitate, Joyce, este foarte cunoscuta pentru povestile pe care le inventeaza. La un moment dat le spune celor prezenti ca a asistat la o crima...citeva ore mai tirziu este gasita inecata. Este o cursa contra-cronometru, dar criminalul reuseste sa mai comita o crima inainte de a fi demascat.

Urmatorul citat este din Agatha Christie. Jurnalul secret si se refera la conceperea romanului Petrecerea de Halloween:
"La momentulr respectiv, Agatha Christie avea 78 de ani si, cu toate ca sase luni pentru un roman nu este un termen iesit din comun, e departe de anii 1930 si 1940, cand scria doua sau trei romane pe an. Probabil ca ideea pentru Hallowe'en Party i s-a conturat in minte la sfarsitul anului 1966, in cursul unei vizite in America, unde l-a insotit pe Sir Max Mallowan intr-un turneu de conferinte si unde Halloweenul se sarbatoreste cu mai mult fast. A jonglat mai degraba cu ideea unei petreceri pentru adolescentii de 11-12 ani, decat cu una specifica de Halloween, insa liniile mari ale intrigii au fost stabilite de la bun inceput. Apare din nou doamna Oliver, la fel ca in patru dintre ultimele douasprezece romane ale Agathei Christie.

Agatha Christie - Petrecerea de Halloween
Traducator: Costin Valentin Oancea
Editura: RAO Publishing House, 2010
Nr. pagini: 224

Deaf Sentence

The name says it all. I dare say that this is my favourite novel written by David Lodge. It is about a retired professor of Linguistics (namely pragmatics) and a student ( she's a psychopath) who wants him to supervise her PhD thesis (in which she wants to analyze suicidal notes). The book is extremely interesting and easy to read.
In what follows I will write some memorable quotations from the text where Lodge describes the field of linguistics and then when he describes the theory of speech acts as proposed by Austin and later by Searle.

1. "He found linguistics a fascinating subject – how could one ever lose interest in it? As he used to tell the first-year students in his introductory lecture of welcome, ‘Language is what makes us human, what distinguishes us from animals on the one hand and machines on the other, what makes us self-conscious beings, capable of art, science, the whole of civilization. It is the key to understanding everything.’ His own field was, broadly speaking, discourse: language above the level of the sentence, language in use, langue approached via parole rather than the other way round. It was probably the most fertile and productive area of the discipline I recent times: historical philology was out of fashion and structural and transformational linguistics had lost their allure since people had come to realize the futility of trying to reduce the living and always changing phenomenon of language to a set of rules illustrated by contextless model sentences often invented for the purpose. ‘Every utterance or written sentence always has a context, is always in some sense referring to something already said and inviting a response, is always designed to do something to somebody, a reader or a listener. Studying this phenomenon is sometimes called pragmatics, sometimes stylistics. Computers enable us to do it with unprecedented rigour, analyzing digitized databases of actual speech and writing – generating a whole new sub-discipline, corpus linguistics. A comprehensive term for all this work is discourse analysis. We live in discourse as fish live in water. Systems of law consist of discourse. Diplomacy consists of discourse. The beliefs of the great world religions consist of discourse. And in a world of increasing literacy and multiplying media of verbal communication – radio, television, the Internet, advertising, packaging, as well as books, magazines and newspapers – discourse has come more and more to dominate even the non-verbal aspects of our lives. We eat discourse (mouthwatering menu language, for instance, like ‘flame-roasted peppers drizzled with truffle oil’) we drink discourse (‘hints of tobacco, vanilla, chocolate and ripe berries in this feisty Australian Shiraz’); we look at discourse (those minimalist paintings and cryptic installations in galleries that depend entirely on curators’ and critics’ descriptions of them for their existence as art); we even have sex by enacting the discourses of erotic fiction and sex manuals. To understand culture and society you have to be able to analyse their discourses."

2. "What kind of a speech act is a suicide note? It depends of course on what classification system you’re using. In the classic Austin scheme there are three possible types of speech act entailed in any utterance, spoken or written: the locutionary (which is to say what you say, the propositional meaning), the illocutionary (which is the effect the utterance is intended to have on others) and the perlocutionary (which is the effect it actually has). But there are lots of further distinctions and subcategories and alternative typologies like Searle’s commissive, declarative, directive, expressive and representative, indirect speech acts and so on. Most utterances have both locutionary meaning and illocutionary force. The hazy area is the line between the illocutionary and the perlocutionary. Is the perlocutionary properly speaking a linguistic act at all? Austin gives an example of a man who says ‘Shoot her!’ (a rather odd example to invent, when you think about it, a symptom of male chauvinism and misogyny among Oxford dons perhaps). Locution: He said to me ‘Shoot her’ meaning by ‘shoot’ shoot and by her ‘her’. Illocution: he urged (or advised, ordered, etc.) me to shoot her. Perlocution: he persuaded me to shoot her. The interesting level is the illocutionary: even in this example you can see how the same words can have quite different illocutionary force in different contexts. A little exercise I used to give first-year students was to imagine such contexts. ‘He ordered me to shoot her’, for example, might describe an SS officer’s command to a guard in a concentration camp. ‘He advised me to shoot her’ needs a little more imagination, there’s such a moral gap between the cool finite verb and the brutal infinitive; some Mafia godfather perhaps, speaking to a member of his family whose wife has been unfaithful to him. (On further reflection, only beta minus for that one: normally both the weapon and the target must be present for ‘shoot’ to be felicitous.)

What about a suicide note that consisted entirely of the words ‘I intend to shoot myself’? Locution: he stated his intention to shoot himself, meaning by ‘intend’ intend, by ‘shoot’ shoot and by ‘myself’ himself. Illocution: here are several possibilities here. He could be explaining, to those who would find him dead, that he shot himself deliberately, not accidentally, or that he was not shot by another person. He could be expressing the despair which had driven him to this extreme step. He could be making his family and friends feel bad about not having realized he might kill himself, and not having prevented it. Without more context, there’s no way of knowing. As to the perlocutionary effect, I suppose that would depend on whether or not he actually committed suicide. Or would it? You don’t need to say or write the words, I intend to shoot myself’ in order to have the effect of shooting yourself. You don’t perform suicide in words, as, say, you perform marriage. The perlocutionary level of a suicide note is inseparable from the illocutionary level – its intended effect on those who read it. But that will probably be affected by whether you succeed or not."