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Get it while itMay 1st I stopped in to browse in a bookstore and what should I see but the Chinese translation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It was 50 RMB ($6), about twice the cost of most books in China, but I bought it anyway. I figured if somehow the real translation had gotten released early it would be a great scoop, and if it were a fake it would be a good addition to the web site. I got it home and started reading it (slowly). It didn't make a lot of sense to me - there was a lot of talk about "Prince Lei-di-nuo", a name I could not match up with any HP character I could recall. |
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| My nieces gave me the answer. When I showed it to them they laughed and told me they could buy that book for 8 RMB (about $1), that it was a Japanese fantasy series that is pretty popular. On the title page it proudly states, "This book's cover, lining, and paper are made of special anti-privacy paper". The ISBN number is for The Order of the Phoenix, and the publication date is given as May 1, which coincidentally is the day I saw it in the store. When I get a chance I will look again and translate the first chapter if it looks worth it, but my first glance at it left me more confused than amused. |
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| Update: on August 6 I bought HBP on the street, both Chinese and English versions. Marked price was 188RMB ($22) for the English version and 56 RMB ($7) for the Chinese, she asked 88RMB ($11) apiece for them, and I bought the 2 for 30 RMB ($4). I should add, I had already bought the official book in the bookstore the day it was released, so I am not getting it from pirates - and the 15 RMB/book is low enough so the pirates didn't make any money off me either. * (as of May 1, fake Chinese version only) |
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