Lucky Joe’s Namesake: The Extraordinary Life and Observations of Joe Wilson

Abstract

for folktale translations today to either have scanty notes or none at all. One interesting feature of Afanas’ev’s collection, duly reproduced here, is that it often included several versions of the same tale. We sometimes find this with the Grimms, but here it is taken much further. For example, the volume opens with six variants of ATU 530, which Afanas’ev divided into two versions, here translated as ‘Sivko-Burko’ and ‘The Pig with the Golden Bristles, the Duck with the Golden Feathers, the Deer with the Gold Antlers, and the Horse with the Golden Mane’ (incidentally, quite why the antlers are ‘gold’ rather than ‘golden’ in contrast to everything else is a bit of a mystery). All of these six tales are reproduced in full, rather than being summarized. A more complicated example is that of ‘The Frog Tsarevna’, the title given to tales numbered 267, 268, and 269. They all start with a telling of ATU 402, but then continue with one or more different tale types. Again, all texts are supplied here. This presentation of overlapping variants and versions is one of the things that gives this collection its value. Of course, many will read the book for the translations rather than the notes; so it is important to consider how successful the translator has been in rendering the folktale style of the original. Often we find a convincing English style, as in the following opening: ‘Have you ever heard of the serpent’s son? If you’ve heard, then you already know what it looks like and what it does. But if not, then I’ll tell you a tale about it, how it turned into a fine young lad, and a brave young man, and how it took up with a beautiful princess’ (116). There is nothing to take exception to here, except perhaps using ‘it’ for the serpent’s son rather than ‘he’ as in the Russian. But there are other occasions where the translator does not squeeze as much juice as he could from the original. For example, when Afanas’ev sometimes has three parallel constructions, each with a different verb, Haney sometimes reduces the range in English by just giving us two. And then there are some intractable problems that are simply in the nature of the material. How else might you render Shi-shi-shi but as tsk, tsk, tsk!— but that is still not quite it! Likewise, using ‘Blackie’ as an equivalent of ‘Chernushka’ is not just a transposition, but a diminution. But again, how else could you have done it? The Complete Folktales of A. N. Afanas’ev, Volume 2, as physical object, is a handsome and sturdy one, with a front cover that shows an image by Ivan Bilbin (a kind of Russian equivalent of Arthur Rackham) of a merchant father leaving his three daughters at home. Visually, it makes an interesting counterpart to the cover of the first volume, which shows a typical Soviet-era depiction of an animal tale. All in all, the arrival of this second volume of the Russian counterpart to the Grimms’ tales is to be welcomed. It will become the edition of choice for those interested this European folklore classic who cannot access the original.