The Mookse and the Gripes discussion

Standing Heavy by GauZ', translated by Frank Wynne

Enjoying the first pages of this. And Frank Wynne is the perfect translator.

Agreed, Wynne is wonderful here.

I’m 75% into the ebook and quite enjoying the novel but also finding many of the vignette-like observations rather uncomfortable. It’s mainly men looking at women and telling bad jokes about their bodies and behavior. But I’m not into “funny” books in general, so. Curious to hear what others make of this, especially the non-male readership.

Yes that did occur. GY and I swapped comments today on how this year's judged are less focused on the transgressive books that characterised last year. This one - and Whale - are a bit un-PC.

Interesting that the chair of last year translated this book - although Frank does seem to like non-PC humour (Vernon Subutex. Houllebecq etc).

Paul wrote: "Yes that did occur. GY and I swapped comments today on how this year's judged are less focused on the transgressive books that characterised last year. This one - and Whale - are a bit un-PC.

Inte..."

I see what you mean, although wouldn't personally use the term 'pc'. I think with Whale there's partly the issue that it was published in 2004 and written before that, so nearly twenty years old, and partly that it's set many years earlier - so the terminology makes sense in the context both of South Korea at the time of writing and South Korea in the era of the narrative. It's interesting reading recent reviews and the way that novels like this are filtered through perspectives that aren't really applicable. So, for example, some reviewers describe Geumbok as a trans character. I can see why but I think, as far as Cheon's story's concerned, Geumbok's transformation represents something vastly different that doesn't easily map onto contemporary Western understandings of trans identity.

Having studied French & lived in Paris (very briefly in 2015) - I'm by no means an expert but it was noticeable how "political correctness" (for want of a better term) was generally not as much of a thing there as it is in e.g. London. And I don't think this says anything about people's actual beliefs - I don't think in the UK people are that different in our beliefs - rather it is indicative of what it's okay to say or write in terms of "freedom of speech". I may be wrong about that, but definitely there is a lot in Vernon Subutex, slightly less in the 50 pages I've read of Standing Heavy, that I would be very very surprised to read in UK English literature (at least the sort I would choose to read).

I'm waiting to see where Standing Heavy draws the line between satire of 2010s Parisian society and throwing out e.g. fatshaming for laughs - I'll see when I get further in.

Alwynne wrote: "I see what you mean, although wouldn't personally use the term 'pc'

I tried to find a better word but couldn't - so I thought I'd ask Chat GPT. I told it the sort of things book did and asked it for a good adjective to describe it.

Instead I got back a lecture on how ChatGPT could not condone this sort of writing. Even when I pushed it and said I wasn't asking Chat GPT to condone it, just give me an adjective to describe it, it refused to do so.

Wonder if Chat GPT edited the Roald Dahl books?

Ellie wrote: "I'm waiting to see where Standing Heavy draws the line between satire of 2010s Parisian society and throwing out e.g. fatshaming for laughs - I'll see when I get further in"

I think it doesn't see the need for a line. It's that sort of irreverent equal opportunity humour, as in everyone has an equal opportunity to be (lightly) offended.

Finished this and processing my thoughts so review to follow

But what is it with the title

Isn’t the French more like Standing Paid ?

Why translate as Standing Heavy - at Least to me that is not an expression which particularly makes any more sense than Standing Paid

If the wish was for a title that worked better in English how about

Standing Order

Which took me about 5 seconds to think of and not only works in English but fits the book (there is even a play on capitalism as well as security guards)

Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer wrote: "Finished this and processing my thoughts so review to follow

But what is it with the title

Isn’t the French more like Standing Paid ?

Why translate as Standing Heavy - at Least to me that is n..."

Agree - made even more odd by the fact that the title was referenced several times through the book alternating between "paid standing", "paid to stand", "standing heavies", "paid heavies", etc.

From a translation standpoint I felt while reading this is nowhere near Frank Wynne's best but you'd think there would be a bit more thought put into a title that appears in the book.

Possibly in the French the words standing heavy, paid heavies, paid standing are all used in the text in which case the title makes a little more sense as drawing in the text - but ultimately we still have something that is neither a literal translation or one that works in the source language.

But, and I find this a very common issue with translated fiction, if the translation of the title (which is normally the only part I can check and evaluate myself) is weak how can I have confidence in the rest of the translation.

The odd thing is that the translation does use Paid Standing in the key passage that explains the chapters with the thoughts of the guards (my emphasis)

Ceux qui ont déjà une expérience du métier savent ce qui les attend les prochains jours : rester debout toute la journée dans un magasin, répéter cet ennuyeux exploit de l’ennui, tous les jours, jusqu’à être payé à la fin du mois. Debout-payé. Et ce n’est pas aussi facile que ça en a l’air. Pour tenir le coup dans ce métier, pour garder du recul, pour ne pas tomber dans la facilité oisive ou au contraire dans le zèle imbécile et l’agressivité aigrie, il faut soit savoir se vider la tête de toute considération qui s’élève au-dessus de l’instinct ou du réflexe spinal, soit avoir une vie intérieure très intense.

Those who already have experience in the profession know what lies in store in the coming days: spending all day standing in a shop, repeating this monotonous exercise in tedium every day, until the end of the month comes, and they are paid. Paid standing. And it is not as easy as it might seem. In order to survive in this job, to keep things in perspective, to avoid lapsing into cosy idleness or, on the contrary, fatuous zeal and bitter aggressiveness, requires either knowing how to empty your mind of every thought higher than instinct and spinal reflex or having a very engrossing inner life.

But when the term is defined as slang it switches to Standing Heavy even though definition is all about being paid to stand

Dans le milieu des Ivoiriens en France, le métier de vigile est tellement ancré qu’il a généré une terminologie spécifique et toujours teintée des expressions colorées du langage populaire abidjanais, le nouchi.

debout-payé : désigne l’ensemble des métiers où il faut rester debout pour gagner sa pitance.

In the Ivoirian community in France, security is a profession so deeply rooted that it has spawned a specific terminology, one inflected with the colourful expressions from Nouchi, the popular slang of Abidjan.

Standing Heavy : designates all the various professions that require the employee to remain standing in order to earn a pittance.

You can have confidence in the translation though because the translator is a world class award winning translator and thoroughly nice chap to boot. Plus fidelity to the original is not really very important. This is Frank Wynne’s novel. Still don’t think the original author’s name really ought to be on the cover of these books myself.

The English translation also uses one reference to “the heavy” meaning a bouncer / guard at a club - the French original there is actually le fier-à-bras.

And there is a reference near the start to “heavy-set” men being chosen as guards. “Black men are heavy-set.”

In the original this is “Les noirs sont costauds” (google translate goes for “beefy”)

So the heavy isn’t from the original at all.

Incidentally Wynne has a translation of Guaz’’s next novel coming out in January 2024. Provisionally Comrade Papa from the original Camarade Papa but who knows what it will end up as!

I am curious how many frequently Wynne writes his novels - most good literary authors would I think publish a novel every 3 years or so. Ali Smith was an exception but that was really one book in four parts plus itself an experiment to write in the moment.

Yes Ali Smith is pretty inefficient particularly as she just rewrites the same book.

The Swedish Ali Smith managed to rewrite all of Ali Smith’s books and knock up her own 500 page masterpiece which made the Booker list at the same time.

This is really quite an odd book.

Two very different strands and I do not think either quite works - the aphorisms due to the offensive humour (although I do think there are justifications for that in the text) and the narrative as it feels like a slightly artificial vehicle for exposition

Definitely distinctive though

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...