(no subject)

[erastes]

Argh!! I hate Babelfish and I hate the fact that I didn't pay attention in Language class (wouldn't have done me any GOOD of course, because I took Latin and not German....)

But sheesh! This looks like a really nice review of Standish and Babelfish is killing it.

http://www.buechereule.de/wbb2/thread.php?threadid=21825

Since the book runs under "Regency Romance", I had expected a Eierbeisser, would not want at all I the book to arrange now however there

WTF???

This made me laugh, though - "Had I already mentioned that Rafe Goshawk is schwarzhaarig, heisbluetig and fiery-eyed and hates its father?" *snort*

But it is lovely to know that I'm being read in Germany! From what I can tell, they didn't all love it, fair enough - but it's so nice to see a lively discussion on it, and if I could understand what they mean, I could take on board the critique and learn from it.

Comments

Hmm.

[vashtan.livejournal.com]

I can try and translate the salient points.

Re: Hmm.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much!

[asphodeline.livejournal.com]

Bollocks, I've left my German dictionary at work :(

I like the "little warning" at the end about the graphic sex!!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Thanks for your help today!

And yes! Innocuous picture but eek! sex! I suppose "gay romance" didn't give it away...

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Try this:
http://translate.google.com/translate_t
I translate from German to English and the translation is almost complete. Seems to me a good review, she says she has the feeling to read a classical author and plause your detailed description of time and people. ciao, elisa

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Thanks hun - that was very useful, I could get the gist of it, at least!

[catsintheattic.livejournal.com]

I didn't know the word "Eierbeisser" so far, and googled a bit. It seems to be a kind of tight male underwear, and the origin of the word is Austrian. So I guess she was referring to that kind of tight male trousers.

Parts of the thread are about the differences between slash and gay literature. Or about which male author is actually a woman - you have been outed. :-D

If you are interested, I could translate it for you, but not before next week.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I *think* that Eierbeisser is the equivalent of "bodice ripper" I think it means something like "nut cruncher" or something? or Perhaps "breeches ripper"?

Thanks for the offer, sweetie, but someone has done it now!

[catsintheattic.livejournal.com]

"Breeches ripper" makes some sense to me. Someone who desperately want to get into another man's knickers, so to say? Or someone who actually kills?

"Eier" sometimes is used as a reference for "balls", but it's actually a bit rude. And who would want to have their balls bitten?

It's a crazy word!

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

And another thing, german is a language that attach words so:
schwarzhaarig means "schwarz haarig" = "black hair"
heisbluetig I don't know but "heis" = "dark"
Eierbeisser is strange cause "eier" = "eggs" and "beisser" = "stinging"

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Stinging Eggs! *giggles*

I'll have to icon "Standish - Eierbeisser"

[eledhwenlin]

Impromptu translation:

About the book

Dorset, 1820. Ambrose Standish is a young man with a fragile constitution, living with his sisters at the existence minimum near the estate "Standish" which his grandfather has lost to the powerful family Goshawk some decades ago. Ambrose's father didn't think it necessary to get his son a good education and now the young man is sitting in his study every day, reading books and looking longingly at the lost family estate.

The widowed Rafe Goshawk returns to England after many years on the continent and looks for a tutor for his son. Although Ambrose hates the Goshawk family, he takes the job because he doesn't have any other income possibilities. The hated, arrogant, rich Rafe emerges as a sensitive man who fights a traumatic past, and the story takes it course, in which the two men have to make decicions that will endanger their relationship, but also deal with the fact that sodomy is punished with a death sentence.

About the author

I didn't find much about him besides that he lives in Norfork, UK, and has published several short stories before Standish. His homepage is ...

About the book

Since the book is categorised as "Regence Romance", I've expected an "nut-biter" (note: I have no idea what it's meant by that), but now I wouldn't categorise the book as such. The story had a series of extraordinary twists and somehow the author managed to resolve them all in the very last sentence. Politic events remain in the background, but the time period doesn't serve just as a colourful setting, but the author tries to portray the society of this period and you're not able to just replace one of the male names by a female one. Linguistically I found it to be good, the characters talk in a way that is appropriate for the time period and the author is quite adept at juggling with words. I almost had the impression to read a classic from this period.

The characters were many-layered, they're not just bad or good and are torn in their decisions. Sometimes they make jumps in their development or suddenly make decisions that allow the author to get them where he wants them, but that I didn't always find plausible in the storyline (note: the way how the decision was made wasn't shown well enough). Except that I liked the book very much.

A word of warning: the book has a pretty inconspicuous cover, but contains many quite graphic sex scenes.

---

Later on:

Hatte ich schon erwähnt, dass Rafe Goshawk schwarzhaarig, heisblütig und glutäugig ist und seinen Vater hasst?

Have I mention that R.G. has black hair, is hot-blooded and has eyes like embers and hates his father?

---

There's also a second review and then they're talking about why you're saying you're male on your website, when you're really female.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I adore my flist. Thank you SO much.

*hugs*

The second one couldn't finish it apparantly. But it's still very pleasing to see oneself discussed on a forum... like... like a proper writer !!!

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

Babelfish is good for the gist and for unintentional humor.

Sounds like in any language, folks still don't think it's a formula romance. And I think there probably are a few tales out there (or tails?) that could be classified as 'nut-biters.'

Have you looked at www.euroreviews? They review English-language books and bless 'em, they translate the reviews.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I can't find euroreviews - is it com or org or what?

[lee-rowan.livejournal.com]

It takes forever to load on my dial-up and the navigation is not what I'm used to, but here 'tis:

http://euroreviews.eu