Flatly rejecting the common wisdom that translators are inevitably traitors, Hofstadter proposes instead that translators are traders, and that translation, like musical performance, deserves high respect as a creative act. In Translator, Trader, Douglas Hofstadter reflects on his personal act of devotion in rewriting Françoise Sagan’s novel La Chamade in English, and on the paradoxes that constantly plague any literary translator on all scales, ranging from the humblest of commas to entire chapters. Originally published under the title La Chamade, this new translation by Douglas Hofstadter returns a forgotten classic to English. As Lucile explores these two versions of love, she vacillates in confusion, but in the end she must choose, and her heart’s instinct is surprising and poignant. That Mad Ache, set in high-society Paris in the mid-1960’s, recounts the emotional battle unleashed in the heart of Lucile, a sensitive but rootless young woman who finds herself caught between her carefree, tranquil love for 50-year-old Charles, a gentle, reflective, and well-off businessman, and her sudden wild passion for 30-year-old Antoine, a hot-blooded, impulsive, and struggling editor. A beautiful city and the splendor of wealth in the background makes this book a nice summer read. Want to read a romance novel, but you don’t like it to be cheesy? This is a good choice.

As I begin to turn the pages, I realised that I liked it more than the novel itself. After the novel is over, I jumped to the translator’s part hoping that it would be interesting. I thought this was interesting, cause you know, he is a man, and this is a book about love. The translator, Douglas Hofstadter, said that he was impressed by the book and decided to translate it. It is a compelling read if you like this kind of books. I found myself screaming Lucille to choose Charles and get on with her life. On the other hand, I didn’t like the other character, Antoine (the one with love). I sympathised with Charles (the one with the money) and the woman, Lucille. Also, there is a “classic” tale of a woman who tries to choose between love and money. That Mad Ache in the 1960s in Paris, reveals the life of the bourgeois and it is fun to read. Impressive, right? La Chamade is another story. Françoise Sagan had gained international fame with her book Bonjour Tristesse, which she wrote when she was 18 years old.

Françoise sagan la chamade