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| Novels |
Süskind,
Patrick |
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Press commentaries about "Fragrantia": |
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| FRAGRANTIA - HISTORIA HOMICIDAE |
Published in 1985, the novel „Perfume – The story of a murderer“
became an international bestseller. Since Erich Maria Remarque’s
„All Quiet on the Western Front“ no German book has been
sold so often as the „Perfume“. The film-version made
by Tom Tykwer and Bernd Eichinger, which came on in the cinemas in
Sept. 2006, has made the novel popular again. And there is a vivid
discussion about the question how it is possible the complex world of
fragrances described in the novel to show in a movie that is a medium
limited to optical and acoustic effects.
For
myself, in any case, after the first reading of the novel, it was
certain: This work I would translate into Latin, or, for to speak with
Süskind’s Grenouille: this diadem of fragrances I will
smith, no matter what it costs!
But
how? In the Latin literature nowhere is any comparable novel –
even less a „postmodern“, as the literary scholars call
Süskind’s novel. Novels are in Latin literature generally
rare, ancient Latin novels are only three: The „Satyricon
libri“ of Petronius, „The Goldes Ass“ (or „The
Metamorphoses“) of Apuleius and the „Historia regis
Apollonii Tyri“. And how should I all these subtle distinctions
of fragrances, all these fantastic thought travels of Suskind –
Grenouille’s experience of awakening as a Pinocchio on Madam
Gaillard’s woodpile, the stinking hides, the everlasting wetness,
the caustic acids of Grimal’s tannery, Baldini’s perfumery
redundant with aromas, his vanity, his hopes and disappointments, his
frauds, his funny boastful tellings when he was drinking wine in front
of the alembic, the bold fragrance dreams of the odour monomaniac in
the purple saloon and in the cave of the Plomb du Cantal, the grotesque
theories and inventions of the whimsical Marquis de Taillade-Espinasse
and his wedding with the celestial fluid on the Pic du Canigou, the
murderous enfleurages of perfumer’s journeyman Jean-Baptiste, the
languishing-beautyful eyes of the smart Madam Arnulfi at the sight of
the profitable Essence absolue and the aura seminalis of
Druot, her coarsely concupiscent journeyman and bedfellow,
Richis’ cold and calculating commercial spirit, his rationalistic
convictions, his criminal scent – and, after having snuffled
Grenouille’s love perfume – his foolishly amorous bill and
coo with the murderer of his daughter! – the vast orgy in the
city of Grasse caused by Grenouille’s love perfume, in which the
bishop with the green Geneva bands, the priest and the Masonic woman,
citizens and peasants, clerical and secular persons of all ranks
and origins are put into a sensuous ecstasy, finally the cannibalistic
end of the most ingenious perfumer of all times - how should I
all these bizarre landscapes of fragrance thought out by a king of
fancy, all these metaphors, allegories and phantasmagorias of powerful
expression created by Patrick Süskind – how should I
translate them into the language of Cesar and Cicero, which is said to
be rather hard-headed, even in a certain way jejune?
Nevertheless,
in translating this novel, whose scene is set in 18th century, no new
word creations are necessary, beside of words which were created by the
author himself in the original text. Rather one can find the most words
and idioms in the Latin literature already existing – if one
knows the relating sources and has the necessary patience. In
translating modern texts into Latin the special difficulty is that the
vernacular-Latin dictionaries in no way cover completely the whole
ancient vocabulary of Latin, not to speak of the vocabulary of the
medieval and neolatin literature.
During
a lectureship in a Far East university for two long vacations, a winter
(2003/4) and a summer (2004), much time, by many good dictionaries
(also dictionaries of special fields, like botanical, zoological,
pharmaceutical, medical) and by a slip box whose notices originate from
a thirty year long reading of Latin literature of all epochs –
from Old to Neolatin – as well as by speaking and writing in the
ancient language and translating into it during three decades -
matured a Latin translation of Süskind’s
„Perfume“ with which – after some headache, after
many tries and errors, finally I’m satisfied and I dare to affirm
that by faithfullness in contents and style it is not behind
translations into modern languages. (N.Groß)
Publishing house LEO LATINUS
Original edition: Patrick Süskind, Das Parfum. Die Geschichte eines
Mörders, Zürich, Diogenes Verlag, 1985
(For a detailed understanding of the vocabulary we recommend the following work available in our publishing house: Glossarium
Fragrantiae)
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336 pages, 11,2 x 18 cm, paperback |
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ISBN 978-3938905-31-9 |
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| order number:
00606 |
price € 32,00 |
| Text excerpt (pdf
193 KB) |
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