Wednesday 4 September 2013

Varjak Paw Around The World, #6

#6: Poland


This was one of the very first Varjak Paw translations that appeared, so it still means a lot to me.  It felt totally magical to see the cover with a different language on it; amazing to think that there would be people who thought of this book as 'Sny Kota Warlapa'.


At the time, a Polish friend told me the title meant something like 'The Dreams Of Warlap The Cat'.  I really like that.  I love the idea of putting the dreams right up there in the title, as they really are central to the book.


I'm not quite sure why they changed his name from Varjak to Warlap, but I've heard from another friend that 'Varjak' actually means 'warrior' in Polish.  (I wish I could say I knew that when I wrote it, but I didn't!)  I think that would make it a good name for a cat who dreams of becoming a great warrior – but maybe they wanted to avoid confusion...


If there are any Polish speakers looking at this blog, I'd love to hear from you!  And if you would like to see more Varjak Paw translations, have a look here...

16 comments:

Ilya said...

Dear SF Said
When I was 13, I read a book Varjak paw, now I'm 20 years old, I'm still waiting for book 3.
Tell me please:
You have not yet thought to write a third book Varjak?
You write about it in my blog?

SF Said said...

Hi Ilya, thank you for your comment. Yes, I will definitely write a third Varjak book one day. I've written a bit about this question here.

In the meantime, I hope you will try my new book Phoenix - it might sound different, with humans & aliens instead of cats & dogs, but I think underneath the surface it's a similar story, and if you enjoyed Varjak, I hope you will enjoy it too!

Ilya said...

Thank you
I'll wait for the third book and read Varjak paw, Phoenix as soon as it will translate into Russian!

SF Said said...

Thank you Ilya! So far there's no Russian translation of Phoenix, but maybe if you write to the Russian publishers of Varjak Paw (Azbooka) and tell them that you would like to read it, they might do it!

Ilya said...

I can try, but I do not think that they will hear.

SF Said said...

Thank you! And you never know what might happen if you try...

Do you have other friends who also enjoyed Varjak Paw? If so, it might be an idea to ask some of them to write to the publishers too, to show them that there are people who would read Phoenix in Russian... It might even be worth trying to set up some sort of internet campaign?

Ilya said...

It's a good idea!
I have no friends who read Varjak, but I know Varjak fan community, I can write to them!

SF Said said...

Great idea! Good luck, Ilya - please let me know how it goes!

Unknown said...

Varjak does not mean Warrior in Polish, "Wojownik" does (pronounced:Voyovnik). Great book though (I read the English one even though I'm Polish.

-Olaf

SF Said said...

Dear Olaf,

Thank you very much for the information! Does the word 'Varjak' or 'Varyak' have a specific meaning in Polish?

And thank you for your kind comment on the book - it means a lot to me.

Keep the Way alive!
SF

Anonymous said...

Dear SF Said,

I am from Poland and I love your book "Varjak paw"! It was given to me as a birthday present when I was a child. I have read it several times and I still go back to it sometimes. Time has passed since that memorable birthday and one day I realized I have never checked if there is a sequel of the book. I have found your official website and some information of sequel, even third part of the book. Have you started writing it yet? :)
The only sad thing is that it is not easily to find your second book "The outlaw Varjak paw" in Poland or it is very high-priced. The first part of Varjak's adventures I have read in Polish, the second I am going to read in English. Please, wish me luck to latch onto one piece!
Thank you for your work, you are awesome :) And thanks to Mr McKean for the illustrations - they bring unusual climate over reading.

Dagmara

SF Said said...

Dear Dagmara,

Thank you so much for your wonderful comment, and your kind words about my work! It always means a lot to hear from readers, but it's especially amazing to know that my books have found readers around the world.

Good luck in finding The Outlaw Varjak Paw! There will be a third book about Varjak Paw one day; I haven't started writing it yet, but will have written a bit about my idea for it here.

In the meantime, do you know about my new book Phoenix? It's not about Varjak, or even about cats, but I think if you enjoyed Varjak Paw, you will enjoy it too, as it comes from the same place!

With thanks and best wishes,
SF Said

Tiscat said...

I am trying to find the Polish translation 'Sny Kota Warlapa' to buy for my sister who is learning Polish. Any suggestions of where I can buy? I have tried google, ebay, amazon.pl etc. with no luck so far....
Regards
Tiscat

SF Said said...

Dear Tiscat,

Thank you very much for your message. I'm afraid I don't know where you can by the Polish translation - I think quite a few were printed, so it should be possible to find it second-hand. The Polish publishers were called Amber.

With best wishes,
SF Said

Emma40 said...

Dear SF Said,
I have asked my Year 4 students to empathise with Varjak and write a letter back home (to Elder Paw) describing what he has seen/ heard in the big city. We have just finished chapter 16 so they still do not know what happened to his family back home. It would be amazing if you could write few lines of the letter so I could show it to them as a model text. They are mesmerised by 'Varjak Paw'. And could you mention '4 Goldstone' in your letter - that's my class. Thank you. I'm super excited about this lesson now!

SF Said said...

Dear Emma,

Thank you so much for working with Varjak Paw! I'm afraid I can't write a letter for you, but everything I know about Varjak's experiences is in the book, and they can find it all there.

But please say hello to 4 Goldstone for me, wish them all HAPPY READING and HAPPY WRITING – and tell them to keep the Way alive!

All the best,
SF Said