Jhumpa Lahiri 소설 "Whereabouts"

Jhumpa Lahiri 의 작품은 처음 읽은 것이, 15년도 더 전일 텐데,

소설 The Namesake (2003), 그리고는 그녀의 책은 눈에 띄는 대로

읽었는데 단편집 Interpreter of Maladies (1999) 와 소설

Unaccustomed Earth (2008)였다.

 

Lahiri가 이태리에 머물면서 이태리어를 배우고 있고 이태리어로

작품을 쓸 계획이란 얘기를 어디서(거의 틀림없이, 뉴욕타임즈에서)

읽은 게 어제였던 것 같은데, 며칠 전 eunbee 님 블로그에서

Lahiri의 이태리어 소설 Dove Mi Trovo 의 한역본 "내가 있는 곳"

(2019) 읽으신 걸 보고, 벌써 책이 나왔구나, 놀랐었다.

 

가장 익숙한 언어 -- 그녀에게는 벵갈어보다 영어인 듯 -- 는 표현만

아니라 생각도 구속하는 면이 있다는, Lahiri 의 그런 말에 신선함이

느껴지고 수긍이 갔었다. 아래

 

뉴욕 타임즈 서평: Jhumpa Lahiri's Translating Myself and Others

 

도 "나는 자우로움을 느끼기 위해 이태리어로 글을 쓴다"는 그녀의

말을 인용한다.

 

Dove Mi Trovo (2018) 를 저자가 영역한 Whereabouts (2021)이

한역본보다 늦게 나왔다. (영어가 아닌 언어로 쓰인 잘 알려진 좋은

책들은 미국보다 한국에 먼저 번역본이 나오는 경우가 많은 것 같다.)

마침 도서관에 있어서 빌려다 읽었다. 매 쪽에서 즐거움을 느끼며

읽게 되는 책이다. 한역본으로도 그럴 게다. 이태리어 원본으로 읽는

것은 이보다도 더한 즐거움이겠지. 영영본에 덧붙여진 설명 없이,

'보석상자,' '기쁨상자,' '기쁨에 이르는 문'을 한 이태리어 단어로

읽을 테니.

 

뉴욕 타임즈: Writing in Italian, Jhumpa Lahiri Found A New Voice

 

 

Jhumpa Lahiri, Whereabouts (저자 영역본 2021;

이태리어 원본 Dove Mi Trovo 2018)

 

본문이 157쪽, 마흔여섯 번 다른 '장소'('내 머릿속'도 세 번)에서의

이야기다. 그저 그럴 생각이 났던 부분들을 아래에 인용한다:

 

At next the next intersection he stops and she

catches up to him.

"Why were you so opposed to walking and

enjoying this sunny day?"

"I'm wearing a new pair of shoes that

I haven't broken yet."

"Well, you could hve told me that."

"You could have asked."

At that point I stop following them. having already

heard too much.

(p. 46. On the Street

 

The simple sandwitch I always get amazes me, too.

As I eat it, as my body bakes in the sun that pours

down on my neighborhood, each bite, feeling sacred,

reminds me that I'm not forsaken.

(p. 61. In the Sun)

 

An old friend comes to visit; we haven't seen each

other in ages.... She'd like me to meet her family....

He mentions that his father was a diplomat and that

he was raised all over the world. He strikes me as a

pompous man. He's not even attractive. His eyes are

small and his lips look tight.... 

Maybe he doesn't like me, either. He probably can't

figure out why his wife, who's such a sweet and

cheerful woman, ever became friends with someone

moody like me. Not quite what you made her out

to be, he'll remark later on. What was she like when

you knew her? he'll ask. But I, on my end, also feel

sorry for my friend for marrying such an ill-mannered

man. On the other hand, they've produced a

well-behaved child.

(pp. 63-4. At My House)

 

We've gathered for the baptism of the daughter of

one of my colleagues with whom I'm friendly....

Another colleague of ours gave me a ride. He's

irritating, but unfortunately, I don't have a car.

We raise our glasses and make a toast, and then

the lunch is served.... I've chosen a seat far from the

tedious colleague who gave me a ride, with whom

I'll have to ride back soon enough.

(pp. 90-1. By the Sea)

 

I ignore the things I need to do and start

following her....

My double, seen from behind, explains something

to me: that I'm me and also someone else, that

I'm leaving and also staying. This realization

momentarily jostles my melancholy.

(p. 150-1. Up Ahead)

 

I hold my purse in my lap, it's got some money and

a book to read. Is there any place we're not moving

through? Disoriented, lost, at sea, at odds, astray,

adrift, bewildered, confused, uprooted, turned around.

I'm related to these related terms. These words are

my abode, my only foothold.

(p. 153. Nowhere)

 

 

뉴욕 타임즈 서평: Whereabouts