Friday, May 04, 2007

Quote of the Moment: The End of the World edition

Because...well, just because:

Never in my life have I seen a more grim, gloomy, glowering face on a man. He looked as if he were expecting the destruction of the world, and not just sometime, according to prophecies which might not be fulfilled, but quite definitely, round about morning, the day after tomorrow, at ten twenty-five sharp.

- from Demons, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky


I mean, come on: that's awesome.

3 comments:

Kevbo said...

I know! Pevear and Volokhonsky floor me with their translations, every time!

/ass
---
That paragraph has a rather contemporary feel to it... Could've been written yesterday.

Strangely, it reminds me of Douglas Adams' style a bit.
---
"I have seen the future of horror and its name is Dostoevsky." - Stephen King on Demons

thomsirveaux said...

That is all kinds of awesome.

Love Dostoevsky.
Love the translations of Pevear and Volokhonsky.

Darby M. Dixon III said...

Kevbo: Adams! Exactly! I knew it reminded me of something funny and British...

Derek: Yeah, they're good. I feel like someday I'll need to sit down with their stuff and the previous translations and do some comparing and contrasting, just to see what's to be seen.