Il ladro di fulmini was a going away gift from my mom for study abroad. I consider it pretty high up there with my other most prized possessions: my absolutely destroyed copies of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, complete with original covers, deformed spines, and a whole lot of water damage. I've definitely treated this version much more kindly.
If you couldn't already tell, Rick Riordan’s work has had a big impact on me. I can say without a single doubt that it was his books that got me into avidly reading. I started with them in the first grade and devoured them as every series came out, all the way through high school. I owe my choice of major and (future, fingers crossed) profession to him. That being understood, The Lightning Thief is really important to me. So, when I opened Il ladro di fulmini and saw “Non ho scelto io di essere un mezzosangue,” I did what every respectable publishing and Italian double major does. I slammed it closed and I screamed.
To explain the absolute importance of the smallest detail changes in this translation, I'll very quickly dive into the original English. “Look, I never wanted to be a half-blood” is iconic, setting the sarcastic, bitter tone of the entire series. It's also a great quote in reflection because it's in past tense and doesn't reflect the character’s current feelings about his identity. I have written entire essays in text messages about this line, but that's not what this analysis is about.
The decision by translator Loredana Baldinucci to use “scegliere” instead of “volere” is the first thing I noticed. It speaks loads to the themes and undertones of Percy’s character and of the entire Camp Half-Blood Chronicles. “Scegliere'' means “to choose,” and Baldinucci adds an extra “io” right after the end of the verb, putting extra emphasis that this wasn't Percy’s choice. The English translation is, “I didn't choose to be a half-blood.” In my opinion, this translation directs the reader toward the journey Percy will go on in coming to terms with his identity as a demigod and hero. It doesn't just connect to his character as a twelve-year-old, but also to the seventeen-year-old Percy we see at the end of the Trials of Apollo series. Now, this wasn't translated when that series was out, but the fact that it holds up shows the effort Baldinucci put into understanding the work. My translation seminar professor once told me, “The person who knows the novel best after the author is the translator. Actually, maybe the translator knows even more.” This is a version I've had the chance to read—unlike my other Italian edition finds because I can't fit that many books into my carry on—and while I'm not fluent in Italian yet, I can say Baldinucci has done an amazing job translating the essence of Rick’s writing and Percy’s voice.
Mondadori bought the rights for the Italian edition in 2010 and copyrighted the Italian title logo (Percy Jackson e gli dei dell'olimpo) in 2014. The next version (same translation as 2010) was published under I Grandi (lit. the greats) in March 2011, then the first edition of their Oscar Bestsellers version was released in May 2016. The new edition of Oscar Bestsellers was published in 2019, and that's the version I own, complete with a new cover design.
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| The complete sagas |
Baldinucci translated this new 2019 edition, but the original was done by Laura Grassi. Baldinucci has translated the complete saga editions of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, and The Kane Chronicles. She has also translated Riordan’s Trials of Apollo series and his latest book, Daughter of the Deep (La figlia degli abissi). Grassi has translated Riordan’s short story collection, Percy Jackson racconta gli dei greci, and the first Italian runs of the series The Kane Chronicles and Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard.
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