I've just finished Cathy Hirano's translation of Nahoki Uehashi's Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, which just won the 2008 Batchelder (the ALA award for a work in translation). Cathy participates in the Rutger's Children's Literature litserve and had posted about her translation and the challenges she was facing, so I was curious to see the finished product - which is gorgeous! The pages are heavy and expensive feeling; the text is printed in a lovely navy ink while elegant (though not particularly Japanese?) graphics grace the margins of each page in a slate colored ink. Each chapter opens with a quarter page graphic that looks like a stone with a stylized carving. And the three sections of the book are graced with Yuko Shimizu's compelling prints which feature the heroine, Balsa, and Chagum, the young prince she is charged to protect. The whole book is lavishly produced and an aesthetic pleasure to hold and admire.
But what about the book itself?
The story is compelling, even if one has seen the anime version or read the manga. This book is written like folklore, and the writing works! I enjoyed the imagry and the characters and was surprised at what a quick read this was.
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