Die Schöne Böse
Welt refers to the German expression Die große böse Welt
which
means something akin to "The big and dangerous world" or "The big and
evil world". The expression stems from children's literature and is
used when a small child is exposed to the overwhelmingly big outside
world; thus stressing some sort of clash between the small, good child
in his safe home and the big, evil and dangerous world awaiting him
outside.
- Philip Klop
2010/7/10 Jansy <jansy@aetern.us>
Ross Benjamin won an important
award as the translator of Michael Maar's original book about Nabokov.
I wonder, though, if he is not being considered more as Maar's
ghost-writer into English for the world of American readers and
critics?
The Verso edition acknowledges the
following:
This edition was
first published by Verso 2009.
(c)
Verso 2009
Translation
Ross Benjamin (c)2009.
First published as Solus Rex: Die Schöne
Böse Welt des Vladimir Nabokov.
Berlin Verlag 2007.
All rights reserved
How many English readers are informed
that the title of Maar's book is "Solus Rex: The Beautiful Malevolent
World of Vladimir Nabokov" ? (my translation of it is controversial:
what's the intended meaning of "Böse"? Angry?)