Narmenian??

[Bogdan]

Hi. I've just finished Blaze and I really enjoyed. I'm from Romania, thus I have read the Romanian edition (http://www.nemira.ro/galerie.php?id_produs=1411&poza=http://www.nemira.ro/poze_produse/1411/mari/0.jpg). There was a word that puzzled me: "Narmenian", refering to the nationality (?) of Joseph Gerard's wife. In the original text it goes like this:

And then there was the young Mr. and Mrs. Gerard. The young Mr. Gerard was Joseph Gerard III, and he really was young, just twenty. His wife was a Narmenian. George said that made her a spic. Blaze had thought only Italians could be spics.

I really have no idea what that's supposed to mean and I haven't found that word in online dictionaries. In the Romanian edition, there is a note from the translator, saying that "Narmenia is a fictional country from which the fighters of the Narmenian Regiment come from in the game Warhammer 40.000, which lead to a series of SciFi novels".

I feel that the given explanation really has nothing to do with the whole context of the novel, yet I could not find a better one. Does anyone know what Mr. King meant or what we should understant of it?

My apollogies if the answer is obvious and this post is worthless. Thank you!

[Bev Vincent]

I suspect it is a Blaze-ism for "An Armenian"

[Wanderer From Ys]

Bogdan, can you give a page number, or a chapter number, I'd like to look it up in my edition. If it's the same, I suspect it's a typo. "An Armenian" might have ran together.

[Bogdan]

Well, in the Romanian edition the word appeared more than once, so I doubt it was a typo. I did not have access to an US edition, but I did find a PDF preview of the first 2 chapters hosted right here, on the oficial site: link (http://www.stephenking.com/other/book_previews/blaze_chapters_1_and_2.pdf). There you can find the word on page 16. Thanks!

[Amosrn1]

In my edition (Simon & Schuster hardcover), it is Chapter 2, page 19, and the wording is the same "His wife was a Narmenian. George said that made her a spic." I'm not sure what that is about. Does anyone else know?:eyebrow:

[Moderator]

I believe that Bev Vincent (post #2) has it right.

[Bryan James]

Page 26 of the paperback. Pocket Books/S&S.

No doubt that it was Blaze jamming words together. No doubt a'tall.

[Lencho_of_the_Apes]

George said she was "an Armenian." Blaze misunderstood and thought she was "a Narmenian." Because of the thing where "a" becomes "an" in English when the noun starts with a vowel. It's a little joke, like a pun, to show limited Blaze's knowledge/understanding is.

We all float down here.

[Bogdan]

I guess that's a reasonable explanation, even though the naration is not in first person, from the character's perspective. Still, to better reflect his personality, the narrator's voice could use some of his wording or mental processes. Thanks to all who replied.

[Bryan James]

Too bad he didn't write "a Narnian." What sort of anthill would that have stirred up?

Fancy a Turkish Delight?

~BJS

[MirceaPricajan]

:oops:, I didn't get it at the time. And all the explanation I could find was that Warhammer thingy, which didn't seem to have any sense in the narrative (as Bogdan said). Though it was better than no explanation at all. Hence the footnote -- strange as it undoubtedly is. My mistake. :(

(And hi Bogdan, my fellow Narmen... eh, Romanian! :) )