I think the telling-people-apart thing is partly due to the original: buckets of names (in unfamiliar patterns) dropped without introduction, minimal context, and characterization through action rather than description. If I hadn't had an introduction to the initial situation through a couple adaptations, I would have been lost, the first several chapters -- the time when the eventual main characters are young 'uns still working their way up to significance, but the narrative focuses more on the actions of those already with power (to set the stage).
There are two main translations, one from the 1920s, the other from the 1980s, both still in print. The former seems to be more smoothly written, the latter more accurate and with more apparatus to help the unfamiliar reader along.
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Date: 27 October 2010 04:30 pm (UTC)There are two main translations, one from the 1920s, the other from the 1980s, both still in print. The former seems to be more smoothly written, the latter more accurate and with more apparatus to help the unfamiliar reader along.
---L.