The Flea Palace

Posted on | June 24, 2010 | 18 Comments

Since starting to blog I have begun to pay closer attention to translation; not simply reading more books in translation (although that too) but the quality of the translation and its bearing on my enjoyment of the book. Pre-blogging, the translation itself was not something I considered and, until now, it remained on the periphery of my response to the book. Elif Şafak has changed that.

I read The Bastard of Istanbul a couple of summers ago and it was the perfect summer read (for me); a sprawling family saga with secrets, intrigue and an opening scene where a nineteen year old unmarried woman walks into a doctor’s surgery demanding an abortion, had hooked from beginning to end. Ever since, I have been eager to read another novel by Elif Shafak and The Flea Palace appealed. What I didn’t realise was that The Bastard of Istanbul was Shafak’s first novel written in English whereas The Flea Palace was written in Turkish (Bit Palas) a few years earlier and translated into English. Is my disparate enjoyments of the two books simply due to translation? I can surmise that it is but I can’t be entirely sure. In my haste to read the book (and a long waiting time for it to become available in the library) I neglected to realise that the novel was out-of-print because Penguin are issuing it later this summer; whether it is a different translation or whether it has been re-written by Shafak herself, I can’t tell you but what I do know is that the Penguin edition will undoubtedly be of a higher quality than the Marion Boyars published edition I read. Translated from the Turkish by Müge Göçek, the translation itself was dry and also American English (garbage, emergency room, etc. all jarred with me); it was published by the same publisher in both the US and UK -presumably the same edition- explaining the language but there were so many typos that I began to look out for them, hence affecting my enjoyment.

The Flea Palace was nominated for the Independent Foreign Prize in 2005 and has been critically well-received but I really struggled to finish the book; (I ultimately did but it was time-consuming). I would be interested in comparing the forthcoming Penguin edition of the book as I am fascinated whether translation and stylistics are the root causes of my struggles with this book. On paper, this is a book that I should have loved -an author I had previously really enjoyed; a dilapidated block of flats (apartments) inhabited by ten different families and individuals with a central intrigue; an interesting story-within-a-story structure with each chapter narrated by different inhabitants of Bonbon palace- but, ultimately, I was bored and thought the narrative dragged. The Bonbon palace flats are numbered from one to ten, as is the list of characters, with chapters headed “Flat Three” or Flat Ten” etc; there is a quirky cast of inhabitants including Hairdressers Cemal and Celal; Me (the primary narrator); The Blue Mistress; Hygiene Tijen and Su; Madam Auntie but some engaged me more than others and Me (a drunken divorced Professor who calls his ex-wife “the C*unt”, minus the asterix) initially exceedingly irritated me before becoming more sympathetic.

The premise of The Flea Palace is that Bonbon palace has become infested with bugs, bugs appearing in each chapter/flat in different ways and forms; the infestation is blamed on the accumulating rubbish (garbage, as it is frequently referred to in the translation) dump surrounding the building. However, there is also a pervasive stench coming from the building itself, a central mystery that is the focus of most of the characters and one that is revealed towards the end of the novel, and also a case of missing bags of rubbish. The novel opens with Injustice Pureturk, who owns a pest removal business, before moving back in the narrative to give some historical context of how the flats came to be (a Russian emigre built them for his dying wife). Creatively the novel is impressive in its scope and style but I found it very dry, even turgid, and the ending let me down but that is more of a personal concern; the ending was ambitious and tied in well with the structure but not to my satisfaction and I also predicted the mystery reveal so that did not sustain my attention. I have written extensively about the translation because my instincts tell me that I would not have found this novel dry if it wasn’t for the translation, based on my experience of Shafak’s later novel; I advise anyone attracted to the novel to hold off to the Penguin edition, in the hope that it is a different translation.

I shrugged. It doesn’t make any difference anymore if I open or close the windows. With the weather warming up every passing day the garbage smell gets worse. If exposed to this maladour on the street, one walks faster, if in the car, one rolls the windows up. However, if the house you live in, the morning you wake up into, the night you sleep through, the walls, the windows, the doors and every direction you turn to stinks, then you are trapped. There is no way of stepping outside the yoke of smell.

Category: Book Reviews, Books in Translation
Tags: Elif Shafak > Penguin Books

Comments

18 Responses to “The Flea Palace”

Jackie (Farm Lane Books)
June 24th, 2010 @ 8:37 pm

I have only recently noticed the importance of translation too. Comparing the difference in the translations of several books (Kristin Lavrensdatter, The Tale of Genji and Dangerous Liasions) was a real eye opener for me – some translations were almost unreadable.

Sorry to hear that The Flea Palace didn’t work for you. I hope the new Penguin addition is much better.

I’ve added The Bastard of Istanbul to my wishlist
softdrink
June 24th, 2010 @ 11:42 pm

Uh-oh…I have this very book on my shelf. I, too, enjoyed The Batard of Istanbul, and I thought her latest book was beautifully done.
Stujallen
June 25th, 2010 @ 12:01 am

I ve picked up both these but never brought them ,I may now it seems very a gripping story and i like books based in buildings ,I read lots of translations as you know lol you get know ceartain translators are more suite for a type of book and sometimes not for others they have translated ,all the best stu
Tony
June 25th, 2010 @ 12:33 am

By a very strange coincidence…

http://tonysreadinglist.blogspot.com/2010/05/lost-in-translation.html

Great minds etc.etc.
Verity
June 25th, 2010 @ 9:26 am

That is an interesting review Claire, about the influence that translation can make. I never find translations very satisfying, because even if the book reads lyrically, then I wonder what part of that is to do with the translator and what is the original author’s work.
Iris
June 25th, 2010 @ 9:37 am

I have only recently started to pay attention to translation and I’m trying to be more conscious of it now when I buy translated books.

You have made me want to read The Bastard of Istanbul, but I think I’ll hold off on The Flea Palace for a while.
vivienne
June 25th, 2010 @ 12:32 pm

Oh dear. I was hoping you were going to say it was fabulous, as this one is sitting on my shelf too.
Rosie
June 25th, 2010 @ 3:05 pm

I, too, hadn’t thought about literature in translation at all until I went to a talk about translated poetry last year at Birmingham Book Festival. It made me realise that translation (particularly poetry) requires a lot more skill than just fluency in more than one language, and that a translator is a writer/poet in themselves as well. It takes a lot of skill to tranlate something well. And a particular translation can have a massive impact on the book/poem as a whole.

Also, often there are no direct translations. For instance, I read somewhere that the English title of Kafka’s Metamorphosis does not bear direct application to the German title, Die Verwandlung because no direct English term existed. There’s a bit more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Metamorphosis#Lost_in_translation
Booksploring
June 25th, 2010 @ 4:04 pm

It’s a shame to hear that the translation affected your enjoyment…sounds like it would have otherwise been a really good book!
Amy
June 25th, 2010 @ 4:18 pm

I had The Bastard of Istanbul on my wishlist already, I will wait to add the Penguin edition of this book though. I certainly hope that it is a better translation.
Simon (Savidge Reads)
June 25th, 2010 @ 5:45 pm

The Peirene evening hammered home the whole translation thing as did the wonderful, wonderful post on translation that Book Snob did. I have only really wanted to increase the translated books I read.

I have received the new Penguin edition of this and once have read TBOI first will get onto it, sounds like its either going to be great or grating dependednt on how its translated!
diane
June 26th, 2010 @ 6:43 pm

I just got a copy of this book within the last few months after enjoying her latest book Forty Rules of Love. The translation issue can be tough sometimes.
Rachel
June 28th, 2010 @ 1:46 pm

So interesting Claire! I wonder whether the Penguin version will be a translation or a re-write, and whether the re-write will be markedly different to the original Turkish text?

Reading Stones in a Landslide really made me think about translation and my attitude towards books that have been translated, and it is hard to know whether you’re reading a rubbish book or a rubbish translation, especially when you have no knowledge of the original language to compare the texts. I’m sorry you had a bad experience – the premise does sound good. Here’s hoping the Penguin version is better!
Buried In Print
June 30th, 2010 @ 3:52 pm

I’ve marked your review to read later as I have a copy of this one waiting; I, too, was quite impressed by The Bastard of Istanbul!
Lydia @ The Literary Lollipop
June 30th, 2010 @ 7:50 pm

I find translations very tricky. It’s hit and miss. There are some that I find very awkward while others are marvelously done! Word selection and sentence structure can throw my interpretation into an entirely new direction. It’s so easy to trip on unusual paragraphs or dialogue.

Great post!
-Lydia @ theliterarylollipop
Duygu
July 5th, 2010 @ 12:09 am

I’m glad you liked the Bastard of Istanbul, but I’ve read the Flea Palace in Turkish, and I think that’s overall a better novel than the Bastard of Istanbul. Looking forward to your comments on the Penguin edition!
West Asian Authors « Diversify Your Reading
July 25th, 2010 @ 1:27 pm

[...] Elif (Turkish, Wikipedia) The Flea Palace: Reviewed at Paperback Reader from → Asian Authors ← Southeast Asian Authors Eastern [...]
Angela
June 23rd, 2011 @ 1:15 pm

I just read the Penguin translated version of this book and share your sentiments about the book. So I guess it’s not only the translation but the structure and content of the book. I still think that Shafak is a very imaginative and brilliant writer, and plan to read her other books. This was my first and may not be totally representative of her writing. BTW, the professor in the novel referred to Ethel as the C* not his ex-wife.
Thanks for your review.