KiWi Taschenbücher, Nr.27, Die Legende vom heiligen Trinker

I'm not happy with the translation of this simple tale. The translator admits to occasionally translating simple words into more complicated ones (French and Latin words) because he felt Roth's book faithfully rendered in English without the translator's intervention would have sounded bland, raw,

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simple-minded and like Hemingway... You what? Bad idea, bad, bad, bad idea.

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I preferred this to "Confession of a Murderer;" it was so much more spirited, if you'll forgive the pun, and a worthy little book to pass an afternoon with.

A confessed alcoholic buys a new wallet and finds it full of money; he determines to give some of it to charity, but on the way to the church

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gets dragged into several heavy bouts of drinking. Wonderfully philosophical, even if you are sober when you read it.

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This autobiographical novella reads like a 20th century fable. The protagonist, Andreas Karnak, is a Polish immigrant in Paris who has been through rough times and is now an alcoholic who lives on the streets. A stranger lends him two hundred francs, which he fails to return despite his best

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intentions. Andreas is a tragic and flawed yet dignified figure, who is a "saint" because he seems to live in the world without ever actually being part of it. His simplicity makes him appreciate "miracles" which more fortunate citizens simply miss.

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