“The book begins with the account of the funeral of Prince Harry’s grandfather, Prince Philip, in the spring of 2021. This sad event occurred two months after Harry and his wife Meghan renounced their status as active members of the Royal family. After his grandfather’s funeral, Harry secretly met his brother and father. They talked about the weather, how the funeral had gone. typical small talk British. It was only after Charles and William started discussing Harry’s new life. »
If the memoirs of Prince Harry (The Alternate, Fayard, 544 pages, 26.50 euros) do not have the reputation of being a summit of world literature, its brand new Russian version, released on Thursday February 16, breaks the little charm that remained. At least we can console ourselves: purchased online in its electronic version, Zapasnoi only cost us 139.50 rubles (1.75 euros). And the test is quickly overcome: the book is only 16 pages, against 544 for its French version.
This is the new trend of the moment in Russia. To get around the sales bans decided by Western publishing houses (in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine), Russian publishers are falling back on summarized versions, told in indirect speech, of certain best-sellers of non -fiction.
Sign of the persistent interest of the Russians for the British royal family, despite the lowest relations with London, the book of prince Harry inaugurates the genre. Two competing versions were thus released in quick succession, in mid-February, by Smart Reading (the one we leafed through) and by Eksmo-AST, one of the giants of the publishing sector, which will also publish the “told” book. in paper version.
“Foreign Agents”
The practice is not entirely new, and it exists elsewhere – playing on readers’ laziness or lack of time. But experts believe that it is destined to grow in Russia, for lack of alternatives. It is moreover a new revolution in this sector, after the adoption of the law on “homosexual propaganda”, in November 2022, which led to the disappearance of the shelves of certain works, and that on “agents of the ‘foreign’, which obliges booksellers to present the books of several authors in cardboard packaging making them invisible.
Asked by the daily Kommersant, the two Russian houses publishing Prince Harry acknowledge having chosen the summary in the indirect form because of the sanctions and restrictions imposed by Western publishers. Next publication for Eksmo-AST: the series of You Are a Badass by motivational coach Jen Sincero, translated “Don’t Cry”. “The author reads the book in English and rewrites it with his wordsthey say at the publisher, a newcomer to this market. We are very scrupulous with the rules regarding quotes. »
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