Roberta Anderson wrote:
Andrew Read wrote:
...the "His Dark Materials" trilogy by Philip Pullman, especially the first part, "Northern Lights" before you all come to Oxford. It's a great book and partly set in a parallel universe Oxford! Superb atmosphere!
I'm reading them in Italian right now and can only agree: great books, was fully absorbed in the first 2 which I read in a few days, now half-way through the 3rd.
The Italian editions have unfortunately been translated by different translators, and that comes across if you read them in close sequence. Great read nonetheless!
(I started to read them as I was looking for something my 9 yr old would enjoy: he's hooked on Harry Potter, has read all 5 books several times each, in both Italian and German, and it's difficult to find something that would match HP as far as involvement, fun and excitement!)
Roberta
Hi Roberta,
Sorry I only just noticed your note on this. I guess you decided not to let your son read them in the end, as the 3rd one certainly has some content that may not so suitable for pre-teens. Anyway, you've got a treat in store: read them in English afterwards - there's lots of richness in the text that really doesn't come across in the French and German translations (which I wrote about in my Masters dissertation). I'd be surprised if the Italian translation is any better.
Don't start me on how or why the translations are poor, but if you come to the Convention, I'll tell you!
Yours
Andrew
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