http://www.japannewbie.com/2007/04/23/jay-rubin-murakami-haruki-translator/ Sun, 06 Jul 2008 00:00:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 http://www.japannewbie.com/2007/04/23/jay-rubin-murakami-haruki-translator/#comment-12767 JapanNewbie » Jay Rubin on Translation Tue, 24 Apr 2007 05:27:56 +0000 http://www.japannewbie.com/2007/04/23/jay-rubin-murakami-haruki-translator/#comment-12767 [...] the discussion I was able to ask both of the questions that Michael proposed, as well as [...] [...] the discussion I was able to ask both of the questions that Michael proposed, as well as [...]

]]> http://www.japannewbie.com/2007/04/23/jay-rubin-murakami-haruki-translator/#comment-12748 Michael Mon, 23 Apr 2007 17:36:40 +0000 http://www.japannewbie.com/2007/04/23/jay-rubin-murakami-haruki-translator/#comment-12748 Lucky you! I was fortunate enough to meet Murakami back in 2001, but I might enjoy meeting Rubin even more. I'm not sure what I would ask, though. I am kind of curious why he took a pass on translating <em>Kafka on the Shore</em>. --- But more than that, I wonder whether he'll ever author more books on Japanese language study. What made <em>Gone Fishin' / Making Sense of Japanese</em> great is that it tried to help students wrangle with those nagging issues that never get enough attention in the usual course of study. And what I appreciate about Rubin's approach to teaching is that he focuses more on strategies than answers. --- Murakami's writing intrigues me because while revisiting many of the same themes and character types in every novel, there's an evolution happening too. It's as if he's had one great story inside of him all this time, and each novel is a new attempt to stretch his capabilities and finally find the perfect way to tell it. I tried to ask when I met him, "Will your story ever be complete?", hoping he'd pick up on what I meant, but he misunderstood me as being impatient to read his next book, and unfortunately I didn't have a chance to express my question better. Oh well. At least I got his autograph to add to my kanji collection! ^_^ Lucky you! I was fortunate enough to meet Murakami back in 2001, but I might enjoy meeting Rubin even more. I’m not sure what I would ask, though. I am kind of curious why he took a pass on translating Kafka on the Shore.
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But more than that, I wonder whether he’ll ever author more books on Japanese language study. What made Gone Fishin’ / Making Sense of Japanese great is that it tried to help students wrangle with those nagging issues that never get enough attention in the usual course of study. And what I appreciate about Rubin’s approach to teaching is that he focuses more on strategies than answers.
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Murakami’s writing intrigues me because while revisiting many of the same themes and character types in every novel, there’s an evolution happening too. It’s as if he’s had one great story inside of him all this time, and each novel is a new attempt to stretch his capabilities and finally find the perfect way to tell it. I tried to ask when I met him, “Will your story ever be complete?”, hoping he’d pick up on what I meant, but he misunderstood me as being impatient to read his next book, and unfortunately I didn’t have a chance to express my question better. Oh well. At least I got his autograph to add to my kanji collection! ^_^

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