K-dramas and c-novels

[maggie33]

After watching three Chinese dramas (Guardian, Memory Lost and SCI) I decided to branch out and watch a Korean drama. I chose Something in the Rain, because it’s on Netflix and because I remembered vaguely seeing a few positive opinions about it. I watched 2 episodes for now and I like it. I like it a lot. Two main characters Yoon Jin-ah and Seo Joon-hee are both wonderful and they make such an adorable couple. I like a few secondary characters, too and I would like to set a few on fire, mainly Jin-ah’s bosses and her ex-boyfriend – what a bunch of jerks. :)

As for c-novels - qikiqtarjuaq in this post recced I Ship My Adversary X Me. And yesterday I read all of the translated chapters, thanks to two hours delay on my train trip from Warsaw (we were stuck in the middle of nowhere between stations, because excavator fell over the tracks and we had to wait until it was removed). And it’s so great - cute and funny. I laughed out loud a few times. It cheered me up big time. I like the narrator’s voice and as far as I can tell (since I can’t read the original) the translation is very good. Thanks for the rec, qikiqtarjuaq. :)

After I finished I Ship My Adversary X Me, I read two chapters of SCI novel. And it is... not good. I don’t know if that’s the original or just the bad translation. I will read a few more chapters to see if improves later, but for now I’m not impressed.

Comments

[qikiqtarjuaq]

I love how far that book has spread through word of mouth. It really is hilarious and fluffy.

And hmm, I think a lot of the smaller BL dramas that are adapted from books suffer from bad translations. I tried to read the Wattpad Advance Bravely translation, and it was an utterly horrific butchering. But also a lot of them are based on iffy books. Like I heard the Memory Lost books weren't that great? I figure if you hate the characters/plot, then it's the book. If it's because you can't get past the prose or the translation style, then that's the translation.

[maggie33]

It really is hilarious and fluffy.

It is. I was so gloomy yesterday on the train - tired after work, hungry and then I started reading and soon I was laughing and I felt much better. :)

And yes, sometimes it is the case of the original novel not being good and not the fault of translation - I think that's the case with SCI. But also - I saw a lot of very bad professional translation (one of the most horrific was the Polish translation of Brokeback Mountain - there was nothing left of Annie Proulx's beautiful prose), so I don't really expect much from amateurs. That's why it's such a nice surprise when the amateur translation is good. :)

[trobadora]

I Ship ... is absolutely hilarious, isn't it? Really looking forward to more.

[maggie33]

It's wonderful and I'm so grateful for the rec and so happy that I decided to check it out.

[riventhorn]

I tried a few chapters of I Ship My Adversary x Me---it's so funny! I love all the gentle digs at shipping culture. My favorite part so far was the bit where he's reading the analysis of their posts, and how the one had posted at 5:21 (I think), which sounds like "I love you" when read backwards, and the other had "liked" it immediately after, so clearly he was following the other, and if that wasn't proof of their love, what was?

lolololol

[maggie33]

I love all the gentle digs at shipping culture.

Me too. And it’s never mean-spirited just good-natured and loving. And that scene you described is hilarious. :)

[yantantether]

I'm four chapters into I Ship My Adversary and I'm just loving it so much! When it moved into Gu Yiliang’s POV I was like omg yessssss.

[maggie33]

That chapter was hilarious.

Man, why did I write “cute” three times in a row?

And now it’s four.

LOL I like Wei Yanzi's narration a lot, but I hope there will be more chapters from Gu Yiliang’s POV later.

[china_shop]

I have SO MANY FEELS about Something in the Rain (mostly Jung Hae In, because alskdjf;lskdj f;skjdfa sk sfdafdasdkfjslkdfj), but I probably shouldn't spoil you, right?

Anyway, if you ever want to talk about it, LET ME KNOW! (Also, I made icons.)

[maggie33]

No, don't spoil me. I usually don't mind spoilers, but I enjoy watching this show without knowing much about it. Jung Hae In is wonderful and adorable and I love him already - seriously, I smile every time he's on screen. :) And Son Ye-jin as Yoon Jin-ah is great, too. Her experiences and background are so different from mine and yet she's so relatable - mainly with the way she has to deal with problems at work.

Heh, I have many feelings too, already. I will post again when I watch more and I will want to talk about it.

As for icons - they're so pretty, Jung Hae In's smiling is just so....... ♥

[china_shop]

Jung Hae In is wonderful and adorable and I love him already - seriously, I smile every time he's on screen. :)

I knoooow! I am so smitten, still! And yes, Jin-ah is great too. <3

(Jsyk, some of the Jung Hae In icons are from a different drama, While You Were Sleeping.)