Love's Not Lost in Translation - (Review: The Translation of Dr. Apelles), by David Treuer

David Treuer, an Ojibwe writer, weaves together two love stories, in a fairly elegant way, making for interesting fictional reading and contemplation. Dr. Apelles lives for his Fridays when he works as a translator of older languages. He draws meaning and love from his relationships with these texts. Apelles seems to be translating this beautiful story about young Native lovers, who go through a series of trials and tribulations, the reader is suspended through a landscape of desire through actions of  berry picking, trapping, walking through the woods. At moments of building intensity and self-discovery, Treuer switches back between the two tales, drawing the reader in.

In ancient Greece, Apelles was a renowned portrait painter - perhaps Treuer used this name for his main character to invoke the importance of the art of language to express cultural vitality and beauty. As Dr. Apelles dives more deeply into his translation, he seeks out human contact and discovers more about his own needs.  Ancient languages, once brought to life through the work of translators, take on new meanings for the readers. The ephemeral nature of his work and therefore life, though, is also seen, when Apelles' work is ingested by someone who wants to understand him more fully. Indeed, we go to great lengths and lines for those we love...