HA NOI — The novel Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov, printed in the Vietnamese language, will be on show at a book festival in HCM City.

The 300-page orginial version was translated into Vietnamese by poet and translator Duong Tuong.

Tuong, 80, spent over two years and referred to many sources to provide notes for his translation. The translation had about 500 footnotes which take time and energy to read, Tuong said.

Tuong has translated more than 50 book titles in various languages, including over 20 classic French books, among them The Flanders Road by Nobel Laureate in Literature Claude Simon and Ring Roads and Missing Person by the Prix Goncourt winner Patric Modiano.

The 436-page Vietnamese version was printed by the Nha Nam Publishing House and Writers Association Publishing House. A website of www.lolitavietnam.com has also been launched. — VNS