Going Dutch (and French)

ALL parcels are exciting, but this morning’s delivery brought two thrills in one box.

Mauvais Oeil is the French edition of An Evil Eye – impeccably translated by Fortunato Israel who has been responsible for translating the whole series, published by Plon and by the French thriller house 10/18.

The cover illustration is from an 1893 painting, Les Almees, by Paul Louis Bouchard, a second rank orientalist; I suspect the setting is actually north African. Like Gerome’s subjects, Bouchard’s veer towards the sleazy… there is something about them taken from the brothels of Paris, not the palaces of the Orient.

Out of the same box, forwarded by my agent, came Het Boze Oog, translated by Auke Leistra and Atty Mensinga and published by De Bezige Bij.

It is a great picture, by Gaston Casemir Saint-Pierre, of Soudja-Sari, a character from Theophile Gautier’s Fortuno:

“I must be content with telling you that Soudja-Sari 
means “The Languorous Eye,” in accordance with 
Eastern custom which gives women names drawn from 
their physical peculiarities. Thanks to the translation 
of this significant name, which I owe to the kindness of a member of the Asiatic Society deeply versed in Javanese, Malay, and other Indian tongues, we now 
know that Soudja-Sari is a beautiful girl with a voluptuous eye, with a velvety, dreamy look.”

I think I like her best, but the whole affair requires some consideration. After all, Yashim’s world is exotic, no doubt; but it is also quite specific: Istanbul, 1839. The women of An Evil Eye are denizens of a sultan’s harem, but they are rather more than idle odalisques. They manage power; they have histories; they have ambitions.

If they didn’t, we wouldn’t have a story!

Invite your Dutch and French friends to view the blog if you think they might be interested.

0 thoughts on “Going Dutch (and French)

  1. Leila

    I started The Janissary Tree on 20th March and I’ve now finished all three Yashim novels. The books are wonderful and will make my next visit to Turkey even more exciting. It takes concentration to remember the characters, events and telling details which make these novels so involving. They are the kind of fiction that makes extraordinary realities more believable, if that makes sense. There is a small niggle in the Bellini Card, a book I really enjoyed very much. A division of the Quran is a sura, and a Quranic verse is an ayah. Sutra is, of course, a Sanskrit word. If it is fixable for the next printing, and I’m sure there will be many more, perhaps it would be a good idea to amend it?

    Reply
    1. jasongoodwin Post author

      I admire your reading pace, Leila – and thank you for letting me know you enjoyed the books. Could you let me know in which edition you found ‘sutra’ for ‘sura’? ie US or UK hardback, paperback? all best, Jason

      Reply

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