Dr. Erika Bianchi has expanded her list of accomplishments by translating The Price of Silence by Camilla Trinchieri into Il prezzo del silenzio. When the original English edition was published in 2007 it garnered such reviews as “a taut psychological thriller…a gripping, intelligent read…a literary crime novel.” Dr. Bianchi found the novel engrossing (“it grabs you in the gut and never lets you go”) and the work of translating it satisfying on a personal level (“it was like putting on a dress made just for you.”) The rendering of American slang into the Italian vernacular presented particular difficulties, the solving of which went beyond literal translation. Prof. Bianchi handled the problem creatively, using contemporary Italian slang to convey the spirit of the original to a non-American audience. The Italian edition was published in June of this year, with book signings and discussions in Florence and Rome.

The project developed into a close relationship between the author and translator. An unexpected benefit of this collaboration is that Camilla Trinchieri will be delivering a series of writing workshops this fall at the Institute. The workshops will be integrated into Professors Elena Bandinelli’s and Serena Baldini’s Italian language classes, which will provide a unique opportunity for their students to ponder the different approaches to writing in Italian and English.