Bambi, Or Life in the Forest by Felix Salten (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Bambi, Or Life in the Forest by Felix Salten Monica Strauss Felix Salten, Bambi, Or Life in the Forest. Translated by Damion Searls, with an afterword by Paul Reitter. New York: The New York Review of Books, 2022. 146 pp. Thanks to the enduring appeal of Walt Disney's animation, "Bambi" has become a household name. When the copyright on the 1928 English version of Felix Salten's 1923 novel recently lapsed, it was inevitable that a new English translation would be in the offing. Surprisingly, not one but two new translations were published one after the other in 2022. Princeton University Press was the first off the mark with Jack Zipes's contribution, titled The "Original" Bambi, The Story of a Life in the Forest, published in February. The hardcover volume includes a lengthy introduction by Zipes and illustrations by Alenka Sottler (see my review in JAS 56.1, Spring 2023). In September 2022, the New York Review of Books came out with their own version. A plainer presentation in paperback—one that even does without chapter numbers—is translated by Damion Searls, with a brief afterword by Paul Reitter. In 2015, Professor Reitter had published a book with the provocative title Bambi's Jewish Roots and Other Essays on German-Jewish Culture (Bloomsbury Press). In his essay on Salten, he points out that, unlike most of the other Jewish members of the Jung Wien group, Salten had been sympathetic to Theodor Herzl's Zionist vision. Taking this into account, Reitter suggests that Bambi could be read as a parable of the persecution of the Jews with the wise Old Prince, Bambi's father and mentor, as a stand-in for Herzl. Though Reitter touches on this theme in his afterword to the new translation (which [End Page 134] he urged Damion Searls to take on), he is more convincing when he reminds the reader that Salten's primary intention was to "humanize animals" and evoke sympathy for the way they were treated. A challenge for the translator, Bambi is an ambitious novel going far beyond a tale of a young deer's life from birth to maturity. What Salten conveys in a variety of tonalities is the struggle for survival of all the animals in the forest. He illuminates the physical demands of the changing seasons, the shifts from plenitude to famine, and the overarching fear of the deadly incursions of man. Salten's animals speak—each in a version of their own tongue. A chattering chorus of commentary by birds, smaller beasts, and occasionally insects accompanies the action throughout. Bambi's own inner life moves the narrative forward. His is a bewildered voice confused by new experiences and the instincts that propel him. Clarity comes from his father, the Old Prince of the forest, who helps decipher Bambi's drives and discoveries for him. Although Searls's translation maintains the narrative flow of the German, there are three particular problems throughout the text. These are omissions of key words, infelicities of usage, and rare but crucial misinterpretations that change the author's intent. The first two issues are already evident in the first chapter when the nosy magpie cannot resist asking questions of Bambi's exhausted mother about her newborn. SALTEN: So ein Kind […] kommt in dieser Sekunde zur Welt und kann gleich auf den Beinen stehen. Ich find es vornehm. […] Und kann es GLEICH auch laufen? SEARLS: Just a baby … born a second ago and already standing on his own legs. I think it's splendid. […] CAN HE RUN TOO? Without that qualifying "gleich" (already), the humor is taken down a notch. Bambi's mother then tells the magpie she is too busy with her child to hear what he is saying. He flies off. SALTEN: Die Elster flog davon. "Dumme Person," dachte sie für sich, "VORNEHM aber dumm." Die Mutter bemerkte es kaum. Sie fuhr fort das Neugeborene eifrig zu waschen. Sie wusch es mit ihrer Zunge, und das war alles in einem, KÖRPERPFLEGE. Wärmende Massage und Liebkosung. SEARLS: The magpie flew off. Stupid creature, she thought. SPLENDID, but still stupid! The mother deer barely noticed her [End Page 135...