"Master and Commander" is pure joy

[ijon]

O'Brian's Master and Commander (first novel of the Aubrey/Maturin series) is everything it's cracked up to be. A fantastic evocation of the Napoleonic seafaring era, the social mores, and the naval language and customs

Comments

[dimrub]

Yes, a great book. But the series get worse with the time. I made a mistake of reading the whole 21 of them. The last ones are barely readable. I would stop at 10.

[goliard]

I've heard this said before, but I don't agree at all; some of my favorite scenes are in the later books, and I think the prose remains equally delicious all through.

[kritzit]

Was it ever translated into Hebrew?
I tried to search for it... but with no luck.

[ijon]

No, and I doubt it ever would be: the English is so rich and the nautical terms (in which Hebrew is so poor) so central to the book's atmosphere, that I doubt it can be translated effectively.

Then again, more difficult books have been translated in the past, so who knows. But I doubt an Israeli publisher would be willing to fund this translation, which is bound to take considerably more than the latest American bestseller.

[kritzit]

We have 6 vol. from the series (if I'm not mistaken) at the Raanana library...

[ijon]

...in the original English, you mean, yes?