Welcome to Est. 1999, the official blog of Abraham Translations. As is perhaps easy to surmise, the name of this blog reflects the year that Abraham Translations was founded.
It all began with the correction of a few texts that had been translated by another time-pressed translator. Within the year, translating had become my main source of income; now, it has long been the only way I put bacon on the table.
I am rather proud of many of the projects on which I have worked.
Est. 1999, basically, is a visual confirmation of past projects, a blowing of my own horn, a presentation of translator-related topics, and an occasional departure into other areas that I deem worthy of presenting. Enjoy.

Thursday 17 December 2015

Violet Rockweiler and the Monster Botany (2007)

Violet Rockweiler and the Monster Botany, children's book, 40 pages, 20x20 cm
In June, 2015, I mentioned how I did the translations for the first edition of Felix Pestemer's excellent graphic novel, Polvo: Day of the Dead, and the later expanded edition, The Dust of the Ancestors. Pestemer has also produced a variety of extremely unique children's books with decidedly odd stories, including this one, Violet Rockweiler and the Monster Botany, which he co-wrote with Maria Guitart Ferrer.
The German edition of the book was published privately and can be read (for free) online here.
The English-language translation, I regret to say, has seemingly fallen into a void: even now, eight years later, it has yet to see the light of day — a fate that happens rarely, but is not unknown (I would say that, on average, once every two years one print or online project seems to simply disappear after the client has paid all invoices).
The plot of Violet Rockweiler and the Monster Botany, rewritten from the description found on Felix Pestemer's website: "Violeta Rockweiler is crazy about stink plum pudding. It's just bad luck that a plum pit gets stuck in her throat. When she finally manages to swallow it, it ends up in her third stomach. That's where monsters store a super-nutritious mixture for meagre times. A little while later, the plum pit takes root and twigs start growing out of Violeta's ears... Violet finds out that living with a plum tree rooted inside her isn't easy. However, there is one plus side: she's released from school. Her previously mocking schoolmates are suddenly pretty envious…"

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