Last year, I read "The Luminaries", set in the New Zealand gold rush days.
I was mystified that whilst there was some very coarse language, we only read the abbreviation: "d--n", as in "That's a d--n sight better than...." Also:
"I'll be d--ned if I will"
Can anyone offer an explanation for this?
Is it to suit the market in the USA?
Language difficulty
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PeteP
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Re: Language difficulty
Damned if I know, Mike but you're not the only one to wonder about this.
An article in the Financial Times suggested that it was "... in the interest of a pastiche of the 19th-century novel. Why else would the word damned be spelt “d__ned” whenever it occurs;"
Puzzled Pete of Portsmouth
An article in the Financial Times suggested that it was "... in the interest of a pastiche of the 19th-century novel. Why else would the word damned be spelt “d__ned” whenever it occurs;"
Puzzled Pete of Portsmouth
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Airspeed
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Re: Language difficulty
Hi Pete,
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
From the first few pages, I was fascinated by the story and the writing style.
It contains some absolute gems, such as "A woman fallen has no future. A man risen has no past"
This relates to an observation by a Chinese goldminer, commenting on a prostitute and the rich businessman who hires her out.
Worth a read.
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
From the first few pages, I was fascinated by the story and the writing style.
It contains some absolute gems, such as "A woman fallen has no future. A man risen has no past"
This relates to an observation by a Chinese goldminer, commenting on a prostitute and the rich businessman who hires her out.
Worth a read.