With my recent dive into the Dao De Jing and the Zhuangzi I’ve been been reminded that some authors are just better at writing in english than others.
Admittedly the goals of these different translations were divergent – some of them are actual translations while others are only renditions.
Not surprisingly however, the books that gave up fidelity to the original text gained the freedom to really write fluently in the new language.
I’m certain the imprimatur of a famous author didn’t hurt my reception of Ursula K. Le Guin’s Tao Te Ching or Thomas Merton’s Chuang Tzu. But then again higher expectations often lead to greater disappointment.
In these two cases, they did not disappoint. Their years of writing for a popular audiences prepared them with the subtle tools to excel in their craft, and it shows.