i would like a translation into english!
Fue en el año de 1994, hace ahora más de seis años, cuando oí hablar por primera vez del fusilamiento de Rafael Sanches Mazas. Tres cosas acababan de ocurrirme por entonces: la primera es que mi padre había muerto; la segunda es que mi mujer me había abandonado; la tercera es que yo había abandonado mi carrera de escritor. Miento. La verdad es que, de esas tres cosas,las dos primeras son exactas, exactísimas, no así la tercera. En realidad, mi carrera de escritor no había acabado de arrancar nunca, así que dificílmente podía abandonarla. más justo sería decir que la había abandonado apenas iniciada. En 1989 yo había publicado mi primera novela; como el conjunto de relatos aparecido dos años antes, el libro fue acogido con notoria indiferencia, pero la vanidad y una reseña elogiosa de un amigo de aquella época se aliaron para convencerme de que podía llegar a ser un novelista y de que, para serlo, lo mejor era dejar mi trabajo en la redaccion del periodico y dedicarme de lleno a escribir. El resultado de este cambio de vida fueron cinco años de anguista económica, física y metafísica, tres novelas inacabadas y una depresión espantosa que me tumbó durante dos meses en una butaca, frente al televisor. Harta de pagar las facturas, incluida la del entierro de mi padre, y de verme mirar el televisor apagado y llorar, mi mujer se largó de casa apenas empecé a recuperarme, y a mí no me quedó otro remedio que olvidar para siempre mis ambiciones literarias y pedir mi reincorporación al periódico.
Acababa de cumplir cuarenta años, pero por fortuna - o porque no soy un buen escritor, pero tampoco un mal perodista, o, más probablemente, porque en el periódico no contaban con nadie que quisiera hacer mi trabajo por un sueldo tan exiguo como el mío ? me aceptaron. Se me adscribió a la sección de cultura, que es donde se adscribe a la gente a la que no se sabe dónde adscribir.
3 Answers
It was around 1994, about six years ago, when I first heard a discussion about the execution of Rafael Sanches Mazas. Three things had recently happened to me during that time: first, my father had died; second, my wife had abandoned me; and third, I had given up on my writing career. I'm lying. The truth is that of those three things, the first two are true, very true, but the third not so much. In reality, my writing career had never really taken off, so I couldn't have very well given it up. It would be more apt to say that I had abandoned it from the beginning. In 1989 I published my first novel; as a compilation of stories from two years before, however the book was received with notorious indifference, but my vanity and a favorable review on behalf of a friend of that time came together to convince me that I could become a novelist and in order to do so, the best thing would be for me to leave my job for the newspaper and dedicate myself to writing full time. The end result of this lifestyle change was five years of economic, physical and metaphysical ruin, three unfinished novels and an amazing depression that took its toll on me for months on an armchair in front of the TV. Tired of paying bills, such as my father's funeral costs, and of seeing me watch a TV that was turned off while crying, my wife left the house. It was then that I began to recover and reentered the newspaper business.
I had just turned forty years old, when as luck would have it - or perhaps because I am not a good writer, but at the same time not a bad journalist or more probably because the newspaper office couldn't find anyone to fill my position for such meager pay - I was accepted back. I was assigned to the culture section which is generally where people are assigned if there is no other place for them.
En realidad, mi carrera de escritor no había acabado de arrancar nunca, así que dificílmente podía abandonarla. más justo sería decir que la había abandonado apenas iniciada.
This sentence might be hard, being so long, so I'll start it for you.
The truth is, my career as a writer hadn't even taken off the ground, so that you really couldn't say I'd abandoned it. It would be more accurate to say that I had left it with only barely having started it.
Ummm Laura, this is awfully long. Your profile says you're at an intermediate level, so please get as far as you can & then feel free to post any questions about sentences which you're still struggling with.
