#whose dream job for over a decade was translating literature? i would not have forgotten that

[natsunes]

okay so bc i still cant get over this: yesterday i found out that my grandmother, who has led (and still leads) a probably happy enough, but extremely normal and unremarkable adult life (with all my love but she had a basic office job she hated), was Apparently (in the 70's, still living in sweden) offered the chance to make the finnish translation of the gulag archipelago....and Refused

#idk the exact circumstances but i am so so upset about this. how did i never know. my mom says shes told me before but as a child #whose dream job for over a decade was translating literature? i would not have forgotten that #like i cant believe it. sure shed never done any translating before so maybe it was a win for the translated literature in finland scene #that this professional and multiple times awarded translator did it....but consider it could have been my grandmother #mind you i most definitely would not exist in this scenario #not just any work but so lzhenitsyn???????? god #going on the finnish wikipedia page for this book will teach you a lot about the pilitical climate and drama surroundinh this translation.. #this may partially explain why she was asked to do it. but it will NEVER explain to me HOW SHE REFUSED #i already ranted abt this to friends but goooooood #i still dream of translating