Title: Wonderful poems done wrong.
Product review: To keep it short and sweet, some of Neruda's best work is featured in this collection, but the translations are terrible, I mean downright despicable. My suggestion is to find this in a bookstore, go through the table of contents and buy each volume mentioned rather than buy this anthology. Belitt's translations destroy Neruda's beautiful imagery and the liberties he takes are often inexplicable. The sequence of the images is usually changed in the translations and individual images or concepts are sometimes excised or altered beyond recognition. At their best these translations are annoying, at their worst they are infuriating. I rated this book two stars because it still contains the Spanish versions of the poems, but that is the only aspect that kept it from receiving one.
Would you say this review depicts the product in a flattering or unflattering light?
