Ωραίο που θα 'ναι το σπίτι της

[Theseus]

The subject of this story is a man who is waiting for a (potential) girlfriend to turn up somewhere & he is going through in his mind all the possible place in Athens she might be waiting for him. He eventually concludes that she is waiting for him in the arcades of the metro, σίγουρη πως ήξερα το δρομολόγιο της. Ωραίο που θα 'ναι το σπίτι της, σκεφτόμουν, απλό και συμπαθητικό κλ. I might expect ίσως/μπορεί να. Why ωραίο;
What actually does ωραίο που θα 'ναι το σπίτι της mean? After all, is he by now in the metro having bought a double ticket &, as he says, προχωρούσα υπνωτισμένος για το τραίνo.
Finally, he says, κατέβηκα στις γραμμές [to the railway lines/the rails]. Ήταν κόσμος [there was a lot of people], κι εγώ προχωρούσα ανάμεσα, σκουντώντας [prodding me] με τους αγκώνες.

 

[Palavra]

He is imagining what her house looks like: Her house must be nice!

σκουντώντας: no "me" is required, it's the narrator who's doing the prodding, so I suggest "elbowing people out of my way".

 

[Theseus]

Thanks, Pal. I would never have guessed the meaning of the ωραίο clause! He goes on to write.....με λίγα έπιπλα, πολλούς πίνακες και βιβλία. Θα φτιάχναμε τσάι και θα διαβάζαμε στίχους [poetry?], σταματώντας για να διαβάσουμε ο ένας τα μάτια τ' αλλουνού.

 

[Palavra]

Unless context dicates otherwise, he is talking about something that could but is not going to happen (imagine a "if I were her lover, we would [...]" clause). The sentence must start with a hypothetical and then go on like this: Her house must be really nice! If she would invite me over, we would make tea and sit and read poetry [literaly: verses], pausing to gaze in each other's eyes.

 

[Theseus]

What a wonderful translation! It creates the imagined scene perfectly. Is Koumantareas a well-known author? The next piece is an extract from N. Brettakos. No doubt I shall be floundering there too. Thanks.

 

[daeman]

... The sentence must start with a hypothetical and then go on like this: Her house must be really nice! If she would invite me over, we would make tea and sit and read poetry [literaly: verses], pausing to gaze in each other's eyes.

This is indeed great, but I'd rather retain the verb "read" for her eyes also: "Her house must be really nice! If she would invite me over, we would make tea and sit and read lines of poetry, pausing to read each other's eyes."


“I read her eyes like
paragraphs
and her tears
like chapters
for she didn’t have much
to say with words, but rather,
silence.

And never let them tell you
that silence isn’t beautiful.
For silence is what happens
when words fall asleep
and you must carry the belief
that one day they will
wake up inside of you.”

Christopher Poindexter


Her eyes are a blue million miles - Captain Beefheart

I look at her and she looks at me
In her eyes I see the sea
I can’t see what she sees in a man like me
Her eyes are a blue million miles
Far as I can see
She loves me

 

[Theseus]

Thanks, Daeman. I liked the lyrics & the song by Captain B. 'To gaze into each other's eyes' is natural English. But 'to read each other's eyes' is, to me at any rate, a somewhat unnatural phrase, & sounds either poetical or a psychological technical term, as 'eye-reading' is. Others may differ.

 

[SBE]

Το answer your question, Koumantareas was a very well known contemporary writer. A couple of his works have been translated into English, but I don't know how good the translation is.

 

[SBE]

And now a question for Theseus. Does this sentence need an explanation about the invitation? In the original the narrator does not explain how he would find himself in her house. Would it make sense like this:

"Her house must be really nice, I thought, plain and cozy, with few pieces of furniture and lots of paintings and books. We would make tea and read lines of poetry, pausing to read each other's eyes."

 

[Theseus]

Now that I understand what the ωραιο που θα 'ναι το σπίτι της means, it needs no explanation!

 

[daeman]

... 'To gaze into each other's eyes' is natural English. But 'to read each other's eyes' is, to me at any rate, a somewhat unnatural phrase, & sounds either poetical or a psychological technical term, as 'eye-reading' is. Others may differ.

Exactly as poetical as it sounds in Greek, where "διαβάζω τα μάτια κάποιου" is not a common phrase, but used by the author here for that specific reason, to draw the attention of the reader and enhance the scene by drawing a parallel between "reading poetry" and "reading each other's eyes". Since the author chooses to differ, the translation should reflect that.

In such literary texts, as in poetry and songs, a translator frequently has to read between the lines as well as behind the eyes of the readers.

Behind blue eyes - The Who

 

[Theseus]

Thanks, D. It helps to know that it is also that 'to read another's eyes' is equally poetical & not an idiom. :)