Monday, April 26, 2010

A Classic

It has come to my knowledge that the classic comic novel by Englishman Jerome K. Jerome, which in Swedish is just called "Tre män i en båt" (Swedish for "Three Men in a Boat") has a more suitable title in English. The English original title is "Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)". There are four main characters in the novel, the three men of the title, and the dog Montmorency, all of whom go on a boat trip together up the river Thames in England. I cannot understand why Montmorency have not been mentioned in the title of the Swedish edition. His part in the novel is significant, and the original title should have been translated in full. I guess the translator just did not care enough about dogs, as some dull humans tend to do. Maybe it is time for someone to make a new translation of the book, where the full title is translated as well.

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