Asterix the Gaul

Asterix the Gaul

When Roman Centurion Crismus Bonus finds out about Getafix’s magic potion, he kidnaps the druid to force him to reveal the recipe. So Asterix joins his friend in captivity and together they two plan to whip up a surprise with truly hair-raising effects.

Product Details

Age Range: 10 and up
Grade Level: 5 and up
Series: Asterix
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0752866052
ISBN-13: 978-0752866055

Review

As for the English adaptations of Asterix, they represent a real triumph of the translator's art. Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge have finessed every allusion and tweaked every joke, so that their cascading English verbal wit seems to come straight from the heart of the original books -- Boyd Tonkin THE INDEPENDENT A cartoon drawn with such supreme artistry, and a text layered with such glorious wordplay, satire and historical and political allusion that no reader should ever feel like they've outgrown it...It is absurd that these wonderful books were ever out of print, and it's great to have them back -- Andrew Mueller TIME OUT If you're new to the indomitable Gauls, our favourite is Asterix in Britain, for its wry wit lampooning the Brits IRELAND ON SUNDAY There are plenty of Latin quips and snippets of Roman history, but enough low puns to make the stories as enjoyable as ever EVENING STANDARD.

Customer Reviews

The appeal of the Asterix books is universal, and timeless. For children there are terrific stories well told, and dazzling illustrations. For adults - the real audience - there are Rene Goscinny's wonderful jokes and marvellous puns, interspersed with quotations from classical authors, The Bible, Napoleon, Shakespeare and many many more. And Albert Uderzo's illustrations are often simply breathtaking. So, many of the visual ideas in 'Asterix and Cleopatra' come from the movie 'Cleopatra' with Elizabeth Taylor and Rex Harrison. In 'Asterix the Legionary' the pirates' ship is sunk by Asterix and Obelix (again). The image of the pirates on a raft in mid ocean is derived from a 19th Century French Romantic painting, now in the Louvre, 'The Raft of the Medusa' by Gericault. In the French version the pirate captain says to the reader 'Je suis meduse' ('I'm stunned'). In English this is rendered equally cleverly as 'We've been framed, by Jericho.'

Ah, the translations. Asterix owes his success in the English-speaking world to the brilliance of the translators, Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge. They've been responsible for all the Asterix books since 'Asterix the Gaul' first appeared in English in 1969, an astonishing record of continuity. So true is their work to the spirit of the French originals, that it's as though Goscinny and Uderzo had produced the books in English in the first place. Some of the jokes are arguably better in English than in French, especially the names.

24 books were written by Rene Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo. Then in 1977 Goscinny died at the tragically early age of 51. Uderzo has since produced seven more books on his own, as well as some collections of other material, and they're very good. But Rene Goscinny's genius is sorely missed.

The French versions have never been out of print - hardly surprising as Asterix is a French national icon. But the first 24 in the series, the classic books, have been unavailable in English for several years. Now British publishers Orion Books have put that right, and - for the most part - they've made a very good job of it. The work of re-coloring and re-inking the pages has transformed them, especially the earliest book, 'Asterix the Gaul'. The typefaces have also been recast, and are more legible and closer in style to the French edition. And the books are now printed on high quality glossy paper in the classic hardback format. All in all, it's a vast improvement and the English-language books are now produced to a higher standard than the current French edition from Hachette. That's quite an achievement.

But there are flaws. Many of the jokes come from the imaginative use of different typefaces, an area in which both Goscinny and Uderzo had a special interest. So the Goths speak in Gothic script, the Egyptians in hieroglyphics (which are often really symbols from the Michelin Guide) and so on. Some of this has been lost in the new Orion versions. So whenever Obelix shakes someone, their words should appear twice, overlapping, to suggest vibration. In the new books they don't, and a good joke has been missed. And the cover of 'Asterix and Cleopatra' no longer boasts it's 'the greatest story ever drawn', in a deliberate echo of movie posters, Uderzo being a big Hollywood fan. And there are some other silly mistakes that weren't there before.