The Adventures of Simplicius Simplicissimus ... German Literature, Linguistics, and Culture)

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Summary: NOTICE
Review: Just a follow up to a previous poster, ISBN 1879751372 is the translation by Schultz-Behrend (the one you consider poor).

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Summary: This book dwarfs,and most likely inspired Voltaire's Candide
Review: Simplicius Simplicissimus is an artful and stunningly humorous account of the adventures of naive and utterly simple idiot boy who acquires a rich knowledge of life through a series of amazing adventures. This book was written in 1669 - nearly 100 years prior to Voltaire's Candide. Unfortunately, Amazon.com does not list the name of the translator of the offered edition. There are several English language translations available. The British translation by Walter Wallich is excellent and true to the original, preserving both the author's wit and creative prose. An American translation by George Schulz-Behrend is utterly lamentable and should be avoided at all costs - it completely sterilizes the author's humor and has the appearance of having been translated under the close and fastidious censorship of a puritan sect. It is not advisable to purchase the version offered by amazon.com, unless and until they can clearly specify the name of the translator.

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Summary: Book Itself
Review: The other reviewer is much more knowledgeable than I am. All I can say is that I found this book, regardless of the translator, hilarious and remarkably rich. It tends to drag a little if you read too much at once but is great fun when you spread the sections across a number of days. Very readable and wicked clever.