opinionated commentary on literary matters - from the complete review

The Literary Saloon Archive

21 - 31 May 2019

21 May: Nanni Balestrini (1935-2019) | Rathbones Folio Prize | Caine Prize shortlist | Gordon Burn Prize longlist
22 May: Man Booker International Prize | Miles Franklin Award longlist | The Governesses review
23 May: European Union Prizes for Literature | Brod papers handed over to Israel | Binyavanga Wainaina (1971-2019) | Wellcome Book Prize pauses | სამხრეთული სპილო review
24 May: Princess of Asturias Award | Ian Rankin archive | Borges in ... Ukrainian
25 May: Prémio Camões de Literatura
26 May: Publishing in ... Scotland | The Face on the Cutting-Room Floor review
27 May: College library book use | On D.O.Fagunwa | The Ten Loves of Nishino review
28 May: 'Book blogs as tastemakers' | New Lem story ! | François Weyergans (1941-2019) | Han Kang in 'Future Library'
29 May: Erich-Maria-Remarque-Friedenspreis | French fantasy
30 May: Best Translated Book Awards | Fall; or, Dodge in Hell review
31 May: Tibetan literature Q & A | French translation prize | Litprom-Bestenliste Weltempfänger

go to weblog

return to main archive

       Tibetan literature Q & A

       At the Los Angeles Review of Books' China Channel Kevin McGeary has a Q & A with translator-of-The Handsome Monk Christopher Peacock about author "Döndrup’s work and the state of Tibetan literature", in Translating Tibetan Literature.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

---

       French translation prize

       They've announced the winner of this year's Grand Prix SGDL-Ministère de la Culture pour l'Œuvre de traduction, a career-translation prize worth €15,000 -- and it goes to translator from the Finnish Anne Colin du Terrail; no word yet at the official site, but see, for example, the Livres Hebdo report.
       She's translated a lot of Arto Paasilinna, as well as books by Johanna Sinisalo, Rosa Liksom, and Kari Hotakainen, among many others.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

---

       Litprom-Bestenliste Weltempfänger

       The German Litprom organization has a "“Weltempfänger” jury", and four times a year they: "compile a list of the seven finest book releases of the season" in Germany from Africa, Asia and Latin America; they've just published list 43, for Summer 2019.
       One title is a translation from the English, but a solid variety -- including several others that are also already available in English translation, including a Roberto Arlt.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

       Best Translated Book Awards

       They've announced the winners of this year's (American) Best Translated Book Awards.
       The fiction winner is Linda Coverdale's translation of Patrick Chamoiseau's Slave Old Man (published as The Old Slave and the Mastiff in the UK, because why give books in translation even a smattering of a chance ...); see The New Press publicity page, or get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk. This 1997 work by Chamoiseau is only now available in translation; I haven't seen a copy of it yet.
       The poetry winner is Laura Cesarco Eglin's translation of Hilda Hilst's Of Death. Minimal Odes.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

---

       Fall; or, Dodge in Hell review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Neal Stephenson's new novel, Fall; or, Dodge in Hell.

       That's the 14th Stephenson work under review at the site -- still quite a few behind the most-reviewed authors title-wise, but with their nearly 10,000 pages likely among the leaders as far as total pages/words covered.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

       Erich-Maria-Remarque-Friedenspreis

       The city of Osnabrück has announced that Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o has been awarded this year's Erich Maria Remarque Peace Prize, "chiefly with regard to his enlightening anti-colonialist topics, his reference to traditional African theatre and narrative art and his advocacy of the preservation of his mother tongue as a mark of identification"; he gets to pick it up on 29 November.
       This €25,000 prize has a solid list of previous winners -- including Svetlana Alexievich in 2001, long before her Nobel win.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

---

       French fantasy

       In Le Point Pop Lloyd Chéry considers Pourquoi la fantasy française se vend mal, as French readers are lapping up works by, for example, George R. R. Martin, David Eddings, and Terry Pratchett but no French work of fantasy has done particularly well in quite a while, with none selling more than 100,000 copies in the past decade, despite some 1500 new titles being published annually.
       Among the issues: very little makes it into translation:

Même les meilleurs titres de fantasy française ont dû mal à obtenir une traduction pour se faire une place à l'international. «Si on fait des romans trop originaux, les Anglo-Saxons ont peur que ça ne se vende pas. Et, sinon, ils estiment avoir déjà tout chez eux», résume la directrice des Imaginales Stéphanie Nicot.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

       'Book blogs as tastemakers'

       Via I'm pointed to Beth Driscoll's piece in Participations: Journal of Audience & Reception Studies, Book blogs as tastemakers (warning ! dreaded pdf format !), where she considers:

book blogs as shared expressions of readers’ aesthetic conduct, which may encompass a variety of tastes. I map two contrasting networks of blogs: highbrow literary blogs, and romance fiction blogs. Both networks demonstrate connections to the publishing industry, while also maintaining an autonomy based on readers offering authentic opinions as a service to other readers.

       The 'highbrow literary blogs' she focuses on are: Stephen Mitchelmore's This Space, Veronica Scott Esposito's Conversational Reading, and Daniel Green's The Reading Experience.
       Driscoll looks at the possible influence of these weblogs -- but without really committing herself one way or another:

The very blunt instrument of a Google Trend chart for Blanchot shows that interest has actually gone down in the period since Mitchelmore began blogging, but this doesn’t rule out a kind of slow-building interest amongst influential literary figures, the subtle word-of-mouth influence that operates in literary culture.

       (A quick check shows that the 'trend' for many similar authors ('literary', internationaly established/renowned but not really popular, foreign) is roughly very similar, starting out high (around 2004) and declining, first rapidly and then much more slowly, so I wouldn't really read too much into the Google Trend charts. On the other hand, anecdotal impressions don't strike me as particularly reliable either .....)
       Surely there must be more data to crunch to determine (possible) influence; it would be interesting to see more detailed analysis of it.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

---

       New Lem story !

       Via I'm pointed to a newly discovered (and translated) story by the great Stanisław Lem published at Przekrój, The Hunt; see also the piece by Stanisław Bereś on A Typescript Found in a Folder.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

---

       François Weyergans (1941-2019)

       Belgian author, Académie française-immortal (fauteuil 32), and prix Goncourt winner (2005, for Trois jours chez ma mère) François Weyergans has passed away; see, for example, the Le Monde obituary.

       None of his work appears to have been translated into English -- but he did both write and direct Flesh Color, a 1978 film starring both Dennis Hopper and Bianca Jagger.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

---

       Han Kang in 'Future Library'

       The Vegetarian-author Han Kang is the latest author to contribute a work to the Future Library in Norway -- a book that will only be made public and published in 2114.
       See also, for example, the report in The Korea Times, Han Kang hands over book to Norway's 'Future Library' project.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

       College library book use

       In The Atlantic Dan Cohen writes how: 'University libraries around the world are seeing precipitous declines in the use of the books on their shelves', in The Books of College Libraries Are Turning Into Wallpaper.
       It's not just that students (and faculty) are reading less:

With the rapidly growing number of books available online, that mode of slicing and dicing has largely become digital. Where students or faculty once pulled volumes off the shelf to scan a table of contents or index, grasp a thesis by reading an introduction, check a reference, or trace a footnote, today they consult the library's swiftly expanding ebook collection (our library's ebook collection has multiplied tenfold over the past decade), Google Books, or Amazon's Look Inside. With each of these clicks, a print circulation or in-house use of a book is lost.

       Still, it's a pretty shocking decline; for me, stack-browsing and reading library books I would otherwise never have come across was surely the most 'educational' part of my university experiences, considerably ahead of anything in the classroom .....

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

---

       On D.O.Fagunwa

       In The Guardian (Nigeria) Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye writes at considerable length on the author of Forest of a Thousand Daemons, in D.O.Fagunwa and his overbearing 'helpers': a novelist's predicament, noting in particular his choice to write in Yoruba, and how that has impacted his reception.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

---

       The Ten Loves of Nishino review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Kawakami Hiromi's The Ten Loves of Nishino, just about out in English.

       The US title of this is: The Ten Loves of Nishino
       The UK title of this is: The Ten Loves of Mr Nishino
       Why this sort of things still happens, or is allowed to happen, is beyond me .....
       I understand that sometimes there are reasons to have different US/UK titles, but surely publishers must recognize that in this internet-age this is a really bad idea. Okay, in this case, it doesn't make much difference; it just looks silly. Still .....

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

       Publishing in ... Scotland

       With this year's Man Booker International Prize-winning book (Celestial Bodies) published by Scottish publisher Sandstone Press, Dani Garavelli reports in The Scotsman that that's just part of Against all odds: The rebirth of Scottish publishing, a useful longer overview.
       Good to hear also that: "Independent books shops are on the rise too, particularly in Edinburgh", while there are also more festivals.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

---

       The Face on the Cutting-Room Floor review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Cameron McCabe's 1937 classic, The Face on the Cutting-Room Floor.
       'Cameron McCabe' was the pseudonym of Ernest Borneman -- and while I don't usually pay much attention to the age of authors when they wrote particular works, this is about as precocious a novel as I've come across, published when he was twenty-two, and that as a recent émigré from Nazi Germany in a new language ..... His youth does not show here at all.
       It's one wild book, and certainly lives up to its reputation -- "the Tristram Shandy of whodunnits", one critic called it, and H.R.F.Keating found it: "full of dazzling technical snook-cocking" .....

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

       Prémio Camões de Literatura

       They've announced that the big Lusophone author prize, the Prémio Camões de Literatura, will go to Brazilian author Chico Buarque this year; see, for example, Harold Emert's report in The Rio Times, Brazil's Chico Buarque Wins Prestigious Camões Prize for Literature.
       Several of his works have been translated into English, but only Spilt Milk is under review at the complete review.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

       Princess of Asturias Award

       The Princess of Asturias Awards (formerly the Prince of Asturias Awards) are awarded in a number of areas, including literature, and they've now announced that Siri Hustvedt will receive this year's Princess of Asturias Award for Literature, beating out 27 other candidates.
       She and the other laureates -- including Lindsey Vonn (Sport) and Peter Brook (Arts) -- will pick up their prizes this fall.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

---

       Ian Rankin archive

       Ian Rankin apparently didn't cash in on his archive, but rather Ian Rankin gifts archive to the nation, having donated it to the National Library of Scotland.
       There are apparently: "50 boxes of material, which in shelving terms is more than 21 feet", from 1972 through 2018.

       (Updated - 26 May): See also Brian Ferguson's report in The Scotsman, Forgotten Ian Rankin scripts for supermarket sitcom and crime drama found in archive gifted to nation.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

---

       Borges in ... Ukrainian

       At Worldcrunch they have a translation of Daniel Mecca's article from Clarín, profiling Serhiy Borschevsky, Translating Borges Into Ukrainian (Spanish original):

Borschevsky describes himself as the last of four Ukrainian translators of Borges. "New translators appear but I couldn't say for sure whether or not they will stay. Earning a living from translation is very difficult. The fees are quite small."

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

       European Union Prizes for Literature

       They've announced this year's batch of winners of the European Union Prizes for Literature, each selected by a national jury.
       Since this is a prize for up and coming authors, few have had much work translated into English -- basically just stories or short excerpts. Surprisingly, however, a book by one of the winning authors is under review at the complete review -- Beqa Adamashvili's Bestseller (though, yes, it's not available in English yet -- and he won an EUPL for a different work; see also the Sulakauri foreign rights page).

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

---

       Brod papers handed over to Israel

       As Cristina Burack reports at Deutsche Welle, Germany returns papers of Franz Kafka's friend Max Brod to Israel; see also the BKA press release, and the National Library of Israel report, German Police Transfer Max Brod Papers to the National Library of Israel.
       While most of Franz Kafka's papers that Brod had have already been installed at the national library, this haul is mainly of Brod's own papers -- though it does include one postcard from Kafka .....
       For more on the whole Brod-estate mess, see Benjamin Balint's Kafka's Last Trial.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

---

       Binyavanga Wainaina (1971-2019)

       Caine Prize-winning author Binyavanga Wainaina has passed away; see, for example, Alison Flood's report in The Guardian.
       His 2005 piece on How to Write About Africa is a classic.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

---

       Wellcome Book Prize pauses

       The Wellcome Book Prize -- a prize that considers both fiction and non, as long as the book has: "a central theme that engages with some aspect of medicine, health or illness" -- announced that they have: "decided to take a pause and reflect". Meaning, presumably, no prize next year.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

---

       სამხრეთული სპილო review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Archil Kikodze's სამხრეთული სპილო.

       Georgia was guest of honour at last year's Frankfurt Book Fair, and this has helped see quite a bit of Georgian literature get translated into German -- but it doesn't seem to have helped much in the US/UK market. Shockingly, the American Translation Database has no translations from the Georgian listed for either 2018 or 2019. (well, there is one -- Levan Berdzenishvili's Sacred Darkness -- but that's incorrectly listed: it's a translation from the Russian.)
       Now apparently there's talk of closing (or in some way consolidating with other organizations ...) the admirable Georgian National Book Center -- leading the Kurt Wolff Stiftung to write a letter of protest, signed by a great many German publishers, among others; see also the FAZ report, Erfolgreich, gefeiert, gefeuert ?
       I've been very impressed by Georgian efforts to spread the word -- and books ! -- but they certainly seem to be having a hard time breaking into the English-speaking world. This book/author even got a write-up in The Bookseller -- but, apparently, so far has had no takers. (Admittedly, it probably wouldn't be my first choice of must-get-to titles .....)
       Dalkey Archive Press did a couple of Georgian titles a few years ago, but haven't followed up recently, and besides theirs and Donald Rayfield's efforts at Garnett Press, there's really very little to see.
       I still have a pile of German translations to get to/through -- but it'd be great to see more in English ..... (See also the Georgian literature under review at the complete review.)

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

       Man Booker International Prize

       They've announced that Celestial Bodies, by Jokha Alharthi and translated by Marilyn Booth, has won this year's Man Booker International Prize.
       I haven't even seen this one yet; see the Sandstone Press publicity page, or get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

---

       Miles Franklin Award longlist

       They've announced the longlist for this year's Miles Franklin Literary Award, a leading Australian novel prize.
       The shortlist will be announced 2 July, and the winner on 30 July.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

---

       The Governesses review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Anne Serre's The Governesses.

       This came out from New Directions in the US and is a finalist for this year's Best Translated Book Award -- and is now also available in a UK edition from Les Fugitives.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

       Nanni Balestrini (1935-2019)

       Italian author Nanni Balestrini has passed away; see, for example, the Artforum report.
       Several of his works have been translated into English, including We Want Everything; see the Verso publicity page, or get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

---

       Rathbones Folio Prize

       They've announced that The Perseverance, by Raymond Antrobus, has won this year's Rathbones Folio Prize, the £30,000 prize for: "the best work of literature of the year, regardless of form".
       See also the Penned in the Margins publicity page, or get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

---

       Caine Prize shortlist

       They've announced the shortlist for the 2019 Caine Prize for African Writing.
       Two of the stories were originally published in McSweeney's, and one in The Baffler.
       The winner will be announced 8 July.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

---

       Gordon Burn Prize longlist

       They've announced the longlist for this year's Gordon Burn Prize, which: "seeks to reward a published title -- fiction or non-fiction -- which represents the spirit and sensibility of Gordon's literary methods" -- not yet at the official site, last I checked, but see, for example, Benedicte Page's report at The Bookseller.
       None of the longlisted titles are under review at the complete review -- but three of Burn's books are, including The North of England Home Service.
       The shortlist will be announced in July and the winner in October.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

previous entries (11 - 20 May 2019)

archive index

- return to top of the page -

© 2019 the complete review


Main | the New | the Best | the Rest | Review Index | Links