Monika Zgustová entered the Ángel Crespo award without imagining that she could win, but what was her surprise when she was informed that she had been the winner of the contest for her translation from Czech into Spanish of 'The Adventures of the Good Soldier Švejk'. She herself was astonished to learn that she had been the winner, since according to the writer and translator herself "there were many books with very good, extremely valid translations, long, difficult books, of classical languages and poetry."
But the jury decided that Monika would be the winner of the XIII Ángel Crespo Translation Prize for the translation of one of the most classic of Czech literature. 'The Adventures of the Good Soldier Švejk' is an unfinished satirical work, written by the late Jaroslav Hašek and Monika explains in an interview with Radio Prague why she chose to present this work.
“Because it was a translation that I had just done, I think it was fine. It has interested people a lot, many copies have been sold and it is a Czech classic, a classic of world literature. And I thought it could compete well with the other books that were presented there. "
He competed and won, but not before having had to exert great effort over the years. Despite being Czech and fluent in Spanish almost perfectly, Monika had to work hard on this work to obtain satisfactory results, as she explains herself.
“The book came out a year ago and I finished the translation about a year and a half ago. But I have been working on it for many years, because it is a translation that cannot be done in a short time. Frankly you have to be working and looking and thinking about her and going back to work. I often used my friends as listeners and I would read a piece of the novel to them and if they laughed it was a good sign, if they didn't laugh I would work it more ”.
This is the first direct translation from Czech into Spanish of this novel and the writer has been able to feel in her own flesh all the difficulties involved in a job like hers. In particular, in this work he has encountered many drawbacks, being a novel with a basic register of the institutions in times of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In addition, another complication he has had to deal with has been the mixing of languages, since the characters speak both Czech and German, Zgustová continues.
“The translation of this work is very difficult, especially due to the historical situation that no longer exists today. Hašek portrayed the Austro-Hungarian Empire from the beginning of the First World War. An environment of many languages, the Prague where both Czech and German were spoken, where several cultures coexisted. And also, the facts that do not exist today of the Austro-Hungarian Empire: the coins, the military positions ... the truth that gave me a lot of battle ”.
This is not her first work as a translator, in fact, she has a long history in the field of writing and translation. A journey that he has achieved thanks to his wanderings over the years and through which he has absorbed all kinds of knowledge.
Monika Zgustová was born in Prague but emigrated to the United States with her parents where she obtained a doctorate in Comparative Literature from the University of Illinois. After traveling from one place to another, in the 80s he ended up establishing himself in Barcelona, specifically in Sitges, a small city that he liked from the beginning and where he made his home. In addition to Spanish, Zgustová also learned the other official language of Catalonia, Catalan, thus becoming one of the key figures in the introduction of Czech literature in Spain.
More than 50 works have been translated into Spanish and Catalan by authors such as Bohumil Hrabal, Jaroslav Hašek, Karel Čapek or Václav Havel, among others. And today, Monika is very proud of the position of Czech literature worldwide, as she ensures that important work is being done to make it known.
“I myself have done many translations from Czech into Spanish and Catalan. I have translated almost 50 books. Besides me, there are other translators like Fernando Valenzuela and now young people have emerged. I think the situation is very good, Czech literature is well known, people follow it. People know it, at least here in Barcelona I would say that people know Czech literature almost like Italian ”.
But Zgustová has not only done translations, but has also created his own works. Her way of working consists of writing novels in Czech and then translating them herself. This is how he has already published six works that have been truly successful. His latest work, 'Tales of the absent moon' (2010), set in Prague, was awarded the Mercè Rodoreda Prize for short stories and narratives in the Catalan language. Another of his outstanding works is 'The Silent Woman' (2005), a novel inspired by the life of his grandmother during the time of Nazism and the subsequent subjugation of Communism. She is also the author of the novels 'Winter Garden' (2009), 'Fresh Mint with Lemon' (2002) and 'The Woman of Hundred Smiles' (2001). It is not surprising, then, that the writer has won numerous national and foreign awards for her work.
But all that glitters is not gold, since translating one's own work into another language that is also mastered is not an easy task even if it may seem so at first glance. Monika discusses the pros and cons of this assignment.
“Self-translation is difficult because when you do a translation you start from scratch, you only do the translation of that work, but you have not written it, it has been written by someone else. On the other hand, when you translate yourself, you have already worked a lot on the novel and you have to get back to translating it. This is the bad part. The good part is that you can control the turns, the vocabulary, the register, the sense of humor yourself. And also, that the books come out in three languages at the same time ”.
Czech, Spanish and Catalan, a fusion of languages that is bringing great success to Monika Zgustová's professional life. We will have to wait for his next job to know what he will surprise with again.