Book review: 'Peter Davies, Wtiness Between Languages. The Translation of Holocaust Testimonies in Context, Camden House, 2018'

In this book Peter Davies sets out to combine the study of Holocaust testimony with Translation Studies, with a view to examining how testimony is adapted and received across various cultures. To tackle this question, the author challenges some widespread assumptions on the unmediated authenticity of witness discourse. As Davies argues, despite its critical success, the notion of “trauma” as a literary concept or analytical tool is not easily reconciled with a literary object of study, which is by definition constructed. Davies therefore draws attention to the role of cultural and memory contexts, as well as specific genre expectations, in mediating testimony. Davies also highlights the impact of the institutional context, which may involve certain editing processes or marketing strategies, possibly reflected in the paratextual features. The author therefore raises an important point about the (co-)constructed nature of testimony. The process of co-construction is particularly prominent in the context of translation, even though this remains often overlooked. By increasing the visibility of the translation process, Davies aims to raise critical awareness and understanding of this type of textual mediation.