Russian to English

When I was about 12 years old, my oldest brother, off at University, sent me reading assignments, complete with essay tests. One of these was Alexander Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. I can't recommend this novel enough, even for 12-year-olds.

I remember only the last of the questions he sent along. "Is this a good translation?"

That had me completely flummoxed. Did he think I knew Russian, and had read the book in its original language, too?

I left that one blank.

A few years later, one of my other older siblings, on holiday from college, brought back a copy of the same book. Idly flipping the pages, I went to the end to read that last memorable paragraph.

"This translation stinks!" I blurted out. I ran upstairs to get my old copy. I re-read the last paragraph, which confirmed my literary criticism.