sex in translation
This morning,
Jessica wrote about the
New York Times coverage of the German novel
Feuchtgebiete (known in English as
Wetlands), though it won't be available in translation until next year. I'll bet you thought you'd have to wait until then to read some German smut! Well, luckily for you, I majored in German lit and Moe's brother had a copy of the book about which the
Times said "It is difficult to overstate the raunchiness of the novel, and hard to describe in a family newspaper." Hooray! Check my semi-literary translation after the jump, as I get you through the first few paragraphs.
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hot topics
Meet Charlotte Roche, Germany's
Erica Jong for the aughts. The former TV presenter's new novel,
Wetlands, is causing
causing quite the hubbub in Germany for its frank discussion of scatology and anatomy from the mouth of its 18-year-old narrator, Helen Memel. Roche, a self-proclaimed feminist, was inspired to write
Wetlands when perusing the douche aisle of her local store, according to the
New York Times. She was struck by the number of products telling women that their natural odors and growths were enemies, meant to be eliminated and perfumed. “[Wetlands] is not feminist in a political sense, but instead feminism of the body, that has to do with anxiety and repression and the fear that you stink, and this for me is clearly feminist, that one builds confidence with your own body," Roche told the
Times. "Ever since I could think, I've had
hemorrhoids,"
Wetlands begins with an, erm, blast.
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