I
have just finished reading the Filipino Translation of Suzanne Collins’ The
Hunger Games. If I were to
describe it in one word, it would be this:
WOW.
I’m
not exactly what you would call a literary expert when it comes to
reading/writing in Filipino, but I really loved the Filipino translation of The
Hunger Games. I didn’t care whether
it was material I wasn’t used to reading.
I didn’t care that I had to look up some words in the dictionary (like
the word “lambak,” which I probably haven’t encountered in ages).
I
have to commend Precious Pages Corporation for coming up with a very good
translation of one of my favorite books this year. I can only imagine how difficult it was for the translator, Janis
delos Reyes, to translate such material.
Yet, she managed to come up with a translation that is not only a fairly
accurate translation of the material, but also a translation that captures the
writing “voice” of Suzanne Collins.
While
this book isn’t exactly light reading fare (at least, for me) --- it IS a
challenging book to read --- I loved the way it was translated. This translation only confirms what I have
always believed in my heart, that there’s magic in the written Filipino
word.
The
translated prose of Suzanne Collins has a very beautiful, lyrical quality to
it. It’s exactly what I expected, given
the excellent quality of the original material. And just like what I
experienced when I read the Filipino translation of Twilight, the story
became more visually alive and real to me when I read it in Filipino.
Have
a Tagalog or Tagalog-English dictionary by your side, if you’re intimidated by
heavy Filipino words. But don’t be
afraid to read this book. And by all
means, read more books in Filipino! I
definitely can’t wait to read more books in Filipino.
RATING: 5
