----- Original Message -----
From: Dmitri Nabokov
To: D. Barton Johnson
Sent: Friday, June 27, 2003 5:07 AM
Subject: note to Alexey Sklyarenko

Dear Alexey,
 
Juist a word to say I hope you are not offended by my comments. I have liked and praised your work ever since Olga Voronina sent me the sample chapters. I do not consider myself a juror, and, even if I were one, I would certainly not feed you to the lions, even if they are hungry for the flesh of some translators. I agree with much of what you say, and respect you for your resistence to Sovietese and post-Sovietese. You are gifted and have a bright future, and Ada is certainly no piece of cake. On the other hand, it was inevitable that the act of submitting your work to the List would elicit comments and comparisons. In fact you did say you were glad I had responded when I tried to suggest improvements to what was already a good job on your part, although my word is certainly not Gospel.  In fact, I had hoped to see more responses. Naturally, you have every right to have your say. Rest assured that in your case my thumbs are up.
 
Cordial greetings,
 
DN