FOREIGN HEROES - CrimeSpace2024-03-28T17:32:03Zhttp://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/537324:Topic:146691?commentId=537324%3AComment%3A147753&feed=yes&xn_auth=noIn "The Reception", I made my…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-06-24:537324:Comment:1477532008-06-24T23:28:01.533ZC. M. Albrechthttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/CMAlbrecht
In "The Reception", I made my first attempt at a foreign hero with Chef Merle Blanc, a transplanted Frenchman who operates an upscale restaurant in America. I knew going in that for a gringo to portray a Frenchman accurately, I had to do a lot of research, and I put every effort into making him as plausible as I could. Especially because in so many books, Frenchmen throw in a little French that doesn't always really fit, etc. and/or they have the characters do things a Frenchman would rarely…
In "The Reception", I made my first attempt at a foreign hero with Chef Merle Blanc, a transplanted Frenchman who operates an upscale restaurant in America. I knew going in that for a gringo to portray a Frenchman accurately, I had to do a lot of research, and I put every effort into making him as plausible as I could. Especially because in so many books, Frenchmen throw in a little French that doesn't always really fit, etc. and/or they have the characters do things a Frenchman would rarely do. All I can do now is hope that Chef Blanc didn't do anything too outrageous. Anyway, he solves the bloody murder! My Italian translator once as…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-06-20:537324:Comment:1470242008-06-20T02:48:48.413ZChristopherGMoorehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Christopher_G_Moore
My Italian translator once asked: Could you tell me what's a truck with "Clint Eastwood mud flaps"? In Thailand, the macho truck drivers had Clint, Rambo, Arnold, etc. on their rear mud flags, a kind of statement that they were tough, A-list action heroes.<br />
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The possibility for confusion multiplies once translations come into play. And a number of "Canadian" expressions that find there way into a draft are knocked back by my editor in New York. Proving that even inside our own language there are…
My Italian translator once asked: Could you tell me what's a truck with "Clint Eastwood mud flaps"? In Thailand, the macho truck drivers had Clint, Rambo, Arnold, etc. on their rear mud flags, a kind of statement that they were tough, A-list action heroes.<br />
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The possibility for confusion multiplies once translations come into play. And a number of "Canadian" expressions that find there way into a draft are knocked back by my editor in New York. Proving that even inside our own language there are substantial differences. When writing about expat culture those difference increase as the members of this culture include Canadian, Australians, Americans, English, Indian, etc. I think it's true that editor…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-06-19:537324:Comment:1469962008-06-19T20:09:11.362ZJohn McFetridgehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JohnMcF
I think it's true that editors can't be relied on for this too much.<br />
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But I had an odd experience. The American editor asked to change "ensuite" to "bathroom off the bedroom."
I think it's true that editors can't be relied on for this too much.<br />
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But I had an odd experience. The American editor asked to change "ensuite" to "bathroom off the bedroom." Lee Child does a very nice jo…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-06-19:537324:Comment:1469282008-06-19T15:03:30.343ZI. J. Parkerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
Lee Child does a very nice job with his novels. As a rule, I'm not fussy, but copy editors for American publishers do not always pick up on differences. Another British author who chose a U.S. setting and an American police officer for his protagonist has him taking paracetamol for his headache. That sort of thing can ruin an illusion.
Lee Child does a very nice job with his novels. As a rule, I'm not fussy, but copy editors for American publishers do not always pick up on differences. Another British author who chose a U.S. setting and an American police officer for his protagonist has him taking paracetamol for his headache. That sort of thing can ruin an illusion. Remembering that none of us s…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-06-19:537324:Comment:1468652008-06-19T03:16:13.343ZKaren from AustCrimehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/austcrimefiction
Remembering that none of us sound anything like Meryl Streep in that movie about LIndy Chamberlain and that shrimps are called prawns would be a good start [VBEG]<br />
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But it's an interesting question. Of course research is required, and maybe that is part of the problem sometimes - if you're writing about a country or a culture that is obviously totally different, then perhaps more care is taken. It's too easy to assume that because another country (like us for example) speaks English and sort of…
Remembering that none of us sound anything like Meryl Streep in that movie about LIndy Chamberlain and that shrimps are called prawns would be a good start [VBEG]<br />
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But it's an interesting question. Of course research is required, and maybe that is part of the problem sometimes - if you're writing about a country or a culture that is obviously totally different, then perhaps more care is taken. It's too easy to assume that because another country (like us for example) speaks English and sort of "looks" the same as where the author is from, that there are no subtle or even extreme differences.<br />
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Listening to Stuart MacBride on <a href="http://inforquestioning.blogspot.com/2008/06/stuart-macbride-interview.html">In for Questioning</a> at the moment reminds me - he's speaking English / I can follow every word / every bit of slang he uses, but it's most obviously Scottish English and that's not just because of the accent.<br />
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Perhaps that's also what's slightly off about some of the books quoted earlier for some readers. Lee Child, an Englishman, tra…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-06-19:537324:Comment:1468612008-06-19T02:55:31.804ZChristopherGMoorehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Christopher_G_Moore
Lee Child, an Englishman, transplanted to the USA has a highly successful series with his Jack Reacher hero taking the lead. I understand that the author has lived for some period in the States. I wonder, though, if there might be a faint echo of what John has referred to as "on form" which no one in the States would use in that context? His American editors no doubt would pick these "English" moments up.<br />
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Like "senior moments" the cultural gaff is always half a sentence away when you tackle a…
Lee Child, an Englishman, transplanted to the USA has a highly successful series with his Jack Reacher hero taking the lead. I understand that the author has lived for some period in the States. I wonder, though, if there might be a faint echo of what John has referred to as "on form" which no one in the States would use in that context? His American editors no doubt would pick these "English" moments up.<br />
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Like "senior moments" the cultural gaff is always half a sentence away when you tackle a situation inside a culture that you've adopted. Could a crime fiction writer from New York handle the Australian speech pattern and way of policing and crime detection in such a fashion that it would pass as authentic? Or would the Australian reader spit the dummy? I liked a couple of her earli…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-06-19:537324:Comment:1468532008-06-19T02:06:26.152ZKaren from AustCrimehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/austcrimefiction
I liked a couple of her earlier novels but you're right - her dialogue doesn't work on any level, bit like Martha Grimes as well - liked her earlier books but the dialogue again got more and more unrealistic and flat out cartoonish, which became more and more annoying as it went on.<br />
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Colin Cotterill does a fantastic job and a very brave job as he takes you into a completely different culture and he includes some different social sensitivities into the bargain.<br />
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There are a couple of Australian…
I liked a couple of her earlier novels but you're right - her dialogue doesn't work on any level, bit like Martha Grimes as well - liked her earlier books but the dialogue again got more and more unrealistic and flat out cartoonish, which became more and more annoying as it went on.<br />
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Colin Cotterill does a fantastic job and a very brave job as he takes you into a completely different culture and he includes some different social sensitivities into the bargain.<br />
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There are a couple of Australian authors who have opted to write books set in the US recently which has been interesting - PD Martin and Michael MacConnell - although both of them have spent time there, it would be interesting to see if that worked from an American perspective (I've seen some positive feedback for PD Martin's books on lists like 4MA). I like George too but gotta s…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-06-18:537324:Comment:1467592008-06-18T17:10:31.589Zhelen blackhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/helenblack
I like George too but gotta say her dialogue is pants. She tends to pick bits of slang and throws them in where they really don't belong. It's not wrong exactly, just clunky.<br />
HB x
I like George too but gotta say her dialogue is pants. She tends to pick bits of slang and throws them in where they really don't belong. It's not wrong exactly, just clunky.<br />
HB x In the opening scene of John…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-06-18:537324:Comment:1467502008-06-18T16:44:22.989ZJohn McFetridgehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JohnMcF
In the opening scene of John Rickards' novel, <i>Winter's End</i>, two American men talking baseball refer to a player not being, "on form." Now, I've been following North American sports for forty years and I've never heard the phrase, "on form."<br />
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I got over it. It's a good book.
In the opening scene of John Rickards' novel, <i>Winter's End</i>, two American men talking baseball refer to a player not being, "on form." Now, I've been following North American sports for forty years and I've never heard the phrase, "on form."<br />
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I got over it. It's a good book. I hope I'm a good example mys…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-06-18:537324:Comment:1467332008-06-18T14:56:51.691ZI. J. Parkerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
I hope I'm a good example myself. Unlike Cotterill's hero, mine is not only of another nationality but also of another historical time and of a culture that is strange to Westerners. It took a lot of research, more than twenty years of it in my case.<br />
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But for that matter, I'm a "stranger" to the culture in which I live and don't make the sorts of demands that perhaps some British critics make of Elizabeth George. I think they resent her poaching on their own territory. I like George very well.…
I hope I'm a good example myself. Unlike Cotterill's hero, mine is not only of another nationality but also of another historical time and of a culture that is strange to Westerners. It took a lot of research, more than twenty years of it in my case.<br />
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But for that matter, I'm a "stranger" to the culture in which I live and don't make the sorts of demands that perhaps some British critics make of Elizabeth George. I think they resent her poaching on their own territory. I like George very well. My main reading matter is British police procedurals and I haven't really stumbled over mistakes in her books -- though it may be that George isn't firm on recent changes in the UK. There are more important things to consider here, the human character for example. And that pretty much spans the globe and time.