Each of the poems in this volume offers a profound insight and demands many readings. Transtromer looks at the world and sees to the quick of things. BUT reading in translation, however excellent the translator might be, has proved agonisingly frustrating. Swedish is not an accessible language in the way of French, German, Spanish, Italian, Latin, Greek even, and so I am left with words that the poet did not originally hear and images that he did not originally see. I do not know how these poems sounded in his head. I cannot appreciate the forms he crafted; the rhythms above all. I cannot easily turn to the originals or make use of dictionaries. I have listened to what is available online and am deeply aware of the poet's musicality. Can the publisher issue an CD read in Swedish to accompany these evidently wonderful poems?
As a teenager I saw a dubbed version of a Bergman film and felt cheated. I am left with the same feeling of frustration. But, at least Bergman was available with sub titles.