Translating Life and Fate (with Robert Chandler)

What does it take to translate a 900-page Russian novel written before the fall of the Soviet Union? For a start, it means learning what the Soviet censor cut and changed in the Russian original. It also means living in a seaside cottage for four months to immerse yourself completely in the characters’ lives and meet your publisher’s deadline. Listen as Robert Chandler, the translator of Vasily Grossman’s Life and Fate, speaks with EconTalk’s Russ Roberts about the challenges of bringing a sprawling Russian classic to English-speaking readers.