Not funny anymore

The saddest thing when working with books is seeing what the author intended to do, understanding what the book was meant to be and noticing how it failed on all fronts. Even though I know for a fact that one of the next books I'll be translating will be loads of fun and definitely not a failure, I'm beginning to wonder if it's worth going through this ordeal. I don't normally remember my dreams, but when I wake up in the middle of the night because of dead babies, dirty diapers and abortions I find it quite alarming.

I was very close to emailing the publisher and sending the book back, thus pulling myself out of my misery.

But this teaches me a very valuable lesson: never again will I accept a translation based solely on a one-page assessment written by somebody I don't know and trust.

I'm looking at a long and unpleasant weekend.

Later edit: The nightmare is over. It taught me two other lessons and once I'm done sharing the wisdom of the monster it will not be mentioned again, under any circumstances.

1. An MA in Creative Writing can help you become a better writer. It does not make you a writer, let alone a good one. Maybe you know structure, character, voice, plot, message, but when your writing skills are too poor to cover all the above the result is a sad little novel that's just a bit better than a mediocre assignment in creative writing. And if you like Saramago and feel inspired by him (who wouldn't?) and think you can get away without dialog tags just because he does, think again.

2. Maybe I was very subjective and, possibly, very wrong about it. In the end, the monstrosity has a reputable publisher and it's been longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2008. But this doesn't solve the mystery of the pyramids. Unless I read science fiction or fantasy (and this does not happen very often) I expect the authors to research every info that's in the book. Major and minor issues, doesn't matter. You're telling me a story and it's set in a world I might have some idea of, please make it plausible. It's very simple. When the main characters have their pictures taken with the three pyramids in the Valley of the Kings, this is not just a proof of the author's poor knowledge of history (not knowing it is perfectly acceptable if you're not going to display this in a novel) but also a proof of disrespect. For the story, for the readers and, ultimately, for yourself as an author.

There. It's out of my system. And yes, there is a reward. I just have to be patient :)