My friend David has been on a Tolstoy kick lately. He has seen a Tolstoy documentary and is reading “The Idiot.” I asked him whether he was reading a translation. He gave me a wry look and admitted to reading a translation. “I have some trouble with the names,” he said. I know what he means. I do not understand. IF they are going to translate a book into English, why do they insist on leaving the names in a foreign language so we still have to struggle? Why cannot Dmitri Schostovanovovistavlich be Fred Smith? Would this not be better?