No era exactamente guapa, ni dejaba de serlo.

01:19 Jul 17, 2019 

By no means am I trying to influence anyone's vote. If anything, I am just giving you guys some feedback on my own reading of the Spanish phrasing -in case it helps. My own choosing is rather irrelevant here but as a means to choose or write whatever fits the nuances I am trying to point out. Indeed, you could infer from what I wrote that Paula's rendering (there was a certain beauty about her) is very accurate as for what the original conveys as a whole (she was "somehow" pretty). And your own rendering (She was not exactly a great looker, but neither did she belie the description) is rather precise. I did not mention it before because "great looker" makes me think of (muy) atractiva rather than guapa and because the second part (neither did she belie the description), although beautiful, it sounds a bit too explicit here -but it might be because "the description" takes me back again to "great looker". Truth is that the more I read it, the more I like it (ni dejaba de serlo/neither did she belie the description); she was not exactly [pretty] neither did she belie the description.

Anyhow, I am afraid I might be breaking some rules again. Not my intention, really. Not at all!

19:56 Jul 16, 2019 

If you had agreed with my suggestion, then I wouldn't have mentioned a Kudoz Site rule:

'3.4 The only acceptable means of commenting on another's answer is by using the peer comment feature.

Using the discussion area, the answer posting form or the answer explanation box to comment on another's suggestions is not allowed.'

By the same token, I would not venture to influence your own vote:

'3.6 No attempt may be made to influence others' decisions.
Encouraging an asker to choose one's own suggested translation, or peers to agree with one's own answers and/or disagree with answers provided by others, is prohibited. '

19:43 Jul 16, 2019 

Also speaking as a non-native, I would go with Linda's rendering, although I would take the "but" off -just as John has suggested.
She wasn't exactly pretty, nor was she not.
The idea, in full agreement with John's argument, is that she was actually pretty, not just plain; she was "somehow" pretty. Marie's rendering does actually say it all; not exactly pretty, but neither was she plain. And yet, this might be just a too clear reading in contrast.

17:09 Jul 15, 2019 

Thanks for your help John. Yes you're certainly right in saying that there is a casualness and contemporary twang to her writing! Although this is a historical novel, it is told though a series of flashbacks so there is definitely a modern voice to be communicated to the reader.

16:42 Jul 15, 2019 

from the preface to the novel, (2006) by a current Spanish author, the "casualness" seems intentional to my Castilian ears. I think all of the answers have it more or less right. But there is a "progressive" quality in the original that I don't know how it can be conveyed in English. All the English versions use "but" but even if implied in Spanish, it is not stated, which makes it more elegantly colloquial. Like in a "funny" cliché such as "ni sí ni no, sino todo lo contrario". She was not exactly gorgeous, neither was she failing to be it. (The author is saying she was attractive) At any rate. My "Henglish" might be horrendous, but I am pretty certain of my "Ejpañol". The writing sounds to me pretty contemporary, and if this is addressed to a current readership, I would not mince words, but try to communicate with clarity. Well, either that, or the exact opposite! ;-))

15:57 Jul 15, 2019 

"nor was she not" sounds slightly too colloquial/casual to my UK EN ears - more spoken than written, but perhaps not even that at the time. So maybe a bit too modern even for the 1930's? I'm quite old (but post 1930s!), and can remember a time when this expression would have sounded rather odd, in the UK at any rate.

14:27 Jul 15, 2019 

It is set in the historical context of the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). Thank you all for your help! with regard to this part, "como a quien no se le puede deber el olvido" what do you think of - She wasn’t exactly pretty, but nor was she not. She was very tall and also very sure of herself. She was someone who is not easily forgotten.

14:24 Jul 15, 2019 

Yes, I think it is somewhat difficult for a contemporary translator not to put their own contemporary biases into their work.

14:21 Jul 15, 2019 

Very good point, as I noted in my response. Whatever choice you make is going to depend on the time period of the novel, as well as how well the original author reflects that time period. (Again, I can't help but think of the difference in how Georgette Heyer words things in her historical novels, and how some more modern historical romance writers tend to take a more modern tone in both narration and dialogue.)

14:18 Jul 15, 2019 

See my answer below.

13:47 Jul 15, 2019 

Does this description date to a certain period in history? It could be that "gorgeous" is too modern - along with "great looker"