"For a Long Time I Would Go to Bed Early." To Find the Ideal Form of Proust's In Search of Lost Time
Abstract
The name of Jiří Pechar is inextricably tied up with the Czech translation of Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time. The second complete publication of the novel was undertaken by the publisher Rybka in 2012 - its first two volumes, translated by Prokop Voskovec, were carefully revised and the rendition of the third to seventh volumes was, after Voskovec's death, taken up by Pechar.
Pechar's participation in the revision was crucial as he drew on his profound knowledge of Proust's complete oeuvre and its specifics. This analysis relies on the working document provided by Pechar, and it reveals that it is possible not only to generalize about the emendations and categorize them, but also to present the arguments accompanying them.
Based on a detailed comparison of selected passages, it makes it clear that Pechar's translation does work in Czech: besides being sophisticated and well grounded in theory, it offers brilliantly worded, reader-friendly solutions.