neotoma: Elrond (cool blue ocean) (Elrond (cool blue ocean))
neotoma ([personal profile] neotoma) wrote2013-02-10 04:05 pm
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Well, maybe I won't be reading Les Miserables any time soon after all...

Why is the Lee Fahnestock and Norman MacAfee translation of Les Miserables not available as an e-book? I checked on Amazon, and the version for Kindle is listed as the Hapgood translation, which I'm pretty sure I can get for free off of Gutenberg, thank you anyway Amazon...
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ellen_fremedon: overlapping pages from Beowulf manuscript, one with a large rubric, on a maroon ground (Default)

[personal profile] ellen_fremedon 2013-02-10 09:47 pm (UTC)(link)
That's really sucky.

Could you buy a cheap used paper back and split it into five books with a razor blade? Not as convenient as an e-book, but at least it wouldn't break your wrists.
neotoma: Neotoma albigula, the white-throated woodrat! [default icon] (Default)

[personal profile] neotoma 2013-02-10 09:49 pm (UTC)(link)
*blink*

Are you suggesting I deliberately mutilate a book..?

I think I might just borrow a copy from the library, actually.
ellen_fremedon: overlapping pages from Beowulf manuscript, one with a large rubric, on a maroon ground (Default)

[personal profile] ellen_fremedon 2013-02-10 09:51 pm (UTC)(link)
You could buy two copies and mutilate one?

I thought the point of the e-book was that it was lightweight. (And the library copies are more likely to be hardback than not...)
gehayi: (Default)

[personal profile] gehayi 2013-02-10 11:50 pm (UTC)(link)
The Kindle version of Les Miz is free. I know, because I have it.
neotoma: Neotoma albigula, the white-throated woodrat! [default icon] (Default)

[personal profile] neotoma 2013-02-11 12:16 am (UTC)(link)
Well, the one I found is listed at $0.95, which is almost free, but I still want the Fahnestock and MacFee translation. Admittedly, I will probably be able to pick up a copy at a used bookstore for fairly cheap in a few weeks.

I'm just baffled why Amazon is linking from the paperback of one translation to the Kindle version of a different translation as if the translation itself doesn't matter.
gehayi: (giving away the plot (ravemasta))

[personal profile] gehayi 2013-02-11 12:28 am (UTC)(link)
The Kindle edition I have--the version that became available as of Dec. 16, 2010--is free. The publisher is Public Domain Books, which is probably WHY it's free. The other Kindle version seems to cost 0.95.

http://www.amazon.com/Les-Mis%C3%A9rables-English-language-ebook/dp/B004GHNIRK

What are the differences between the translations?
neotoma: Neotoma albigula, the white-throated woodrat! [default icon] (Default)

[personal profile] neotoma 2013-02-11 12:33 am (UTC)(link)
Hapgood is the Victorian-era translator, and thus some of the turns of phrase and nuances are not as clear as they could be. Fahnestock and MacFee are the modern (1987) translators, and are their translation is currently most recommended for English language readers.

Does your copy say who the translator was?
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