An Interview with Paul Norlén, Author and Swedish Translator
The Saga of Gösta Berling by Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf is not generally well-known in the United States, despite the fact that the novel received a Nobel Prize in 1909 and inspired the 1924 silent film which launched the career of Swedish actress Greta Garbo. Until recently, the only English translations were incomplete, ancient affairs; dooming the novel to obscurity. Award-winning translator and Seattle resident Paul Norlén quested successfully to publish a new, complete translation; to recreate Lagerlöf’s story more fully and faithfully than ever before for the benefit of an English-speaking audience.
To commemorate the centennial anniversary of Lagerlöf’s Nobel Prize - the first awarded to a woman - the Northwest Film Forum will be screening the remastered version of the silent film this evening, complete with an introduction by Paul Norlén and live accompaniment by Murl Allen Sanders. We chatted with Mr. Norlén about the process of translating a novel, his thoughts on the film, and his quest to make one his favorite Swedish works accessible to millions more readers.
Seattlest: At this point in your career, how many books have you translated? How are you contacted for projects, and how did you decide to do the translation for The Saga of Gösta Berling?
Paul Norlén: By now I've translated 10 or 12 books. Most of the time I've been asked to translate the books. When I first started playing around with translation, I would work on something that interested me and then try to get it published. That's not an easy process.
I first thought about translating one of Selma Lagerlöf's books 12 or more years ago. Nothing happened then, which is probably a good thing, but about three years ago I started thinking about Lagerlöf again, especially the fact that she's not very well known in English, although she's still one of Sweden's most widely-read authors. And just about everyone in Sweden is familiar with The Saga of Gösta Berling and can quote the opening sentence.
S: So at what point did everyone realize that a new translation would coincide with the 100-year anniversary of Lagerlöf’s Nobel Prize?
PN: Well, to be honest, I saw that centennial on the horizon and thought it would be a good selling point for the book.
S: What was your process for translating this book? How long did it take to complete the project?
PN: The first step in the process for this book was deciding to do it in the first place. I did sample translations of two chapters, then put together a book proposal. I feel very fortunate that Penguin Classics was interested in the idea. They've been great to work with, and I've really enjoyed working with my editor, as well as with the copyeditor and marketing people at Penguin. They are a class act. Once we decided to go ahead, I spent about six months on the rest of the translation.
S: You have translated modern texts as well; Amberville, for example, is a contemporary detective-noir novel. How did your experience differ here from your work on The Saga of Gösta Berling?
PN: It is somewhat different to translate a contemporary author's work. When I translated Amberville and two follow-up books by Tim Davys (a pseudonym, by the way), the author ended up making some changes to the original Swedish version of the book based on the translation. There was some interesting give-and-take.
S: Selma Lagerlöf used a very unique writing style for The Saga of Gösta Berling; it’s a dramatic, romantic, sort of magic realist approach to telling a story. Did this - due to difficulties with transforming the Swedish language into English - create any unique challenges for you?
PN: Some of the challenges in translating this book have to do with the differences between Swedish and English. Sentence structure is different, and passive constructions are used much more frequently in Swedish than in English. In the time period for Gösta Berling, the way people spoke to one another was also incredibly formal, especially from an American perspective. For Selma Lagerlöf's style, in this book in particular, she often writes very simply and directly which, believe it or not, is really difficult to translate convincingly. Some passages are very lyrical, others are melodramatic, and she often directly addresses the reader. It always takes a little time to adjust to a particular author's style, maybe 50-100 pages.
S: Going back to your earlier comment about your desire to put this project together - can you be more specific about your appreciation for The Saga of Gösta Berling?
PN: Having spent a lot of time with this book — I'm not sure how many times I've read it — I find that I admire it even more now than when I started working on it. It's good to remember that this was Lagerlöf's first book, and it's very passionate, almost wild in certain respects. It's also an unusual novel in the sense that it follows a basic story line, but also makes frequent detours, with short chapters about minor characters that can be read as stand-alone short stories. Those are some of my favorite chapters in the book.
S: In the foreword to the new translation you say “[you have] tried to convey the author’s distinct voice in English and produce a narrative that is a pleasure to read - as it is in Swedish.” In what sense do you feel your version is an improvement on previous translations?
PN: Obviously I hope that this version is more enjoyable to read than the previous translations (both of which came out in 1898, by the way). The older translations left some parts out, and sometimes even added things. The language comes off as a bit stilted as well. I do hope that this new translation will encourage other translators, and publishers, to re-introduce Lagerlöf's work in English. She has a lot to offer.
S: Have you seen the film version? What are your thoughts?
PN: It's a marvelous film in many ways — the scene where Gösta Berling and Elisabet are in a sleigh being chased by wolves is incredible. The film version covers less than half of the contents of the book, so even if you've seen the film, there are still plenty of new stories to read in the book itself.
By the way, film versions have been made of many of Lagerlöf's works, including some of the most successful and important films in the silent era. She was very interested in how her works were adapted to film.
Northwest Film Forum Screening // Friday, October 16 at 8:00 p.m. // 1515 12th Ave. // $10 NWFF members, $12 general
