opinionated commentary on literary matters - from the complete review

The Literary Saloon Archive

1 - 10 December 2019

1 December: More best book lists | Scotland's National Book Awards | Hans profile
2 December: Society of Authors' Translation Prizes shortlists | African literary prizes | The Woman and the Puppet review
3 December: 'Language hacking' | Bad Sex in Fiction Award | Swedish Academy turmoil | Nikolai Nikolaevich and Camouflage reviews
4 December: Milan Kundera, re-Czeched | All That is Evident is Suspect review
5 December: Jan Michalski Prize | FT and McKinsey & Company Business Book of the Year | RBC Taylor Prize longlist | 61 Hours review
6 December: Prix Marguerite Yourcenar | Nobel days
7 December: Crossword Book Awards shortlists | Perseus Digital Library Q & A | When I Whistle review
8 December: Nobel Prize in Literature lectures | Women and the novel
9 December: Guadalajara International Book Fair | Revenge of the Translator review
10 December: Ayu Utami Q & A | Saba Literary Prize | New Perec collection !

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       Ayu Utami Q & A

       At the Asymptote weblog Lara Norgaard has Personal Histories, Sexual Politics: An Interview with Ayu Utami.
       Utami's Saman is a landmark Indonesian text; hopefully, we'll get to see more of her work.

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

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       Saba Literary Prize

       They've announced the winners of this year's Saba Literary Prize, the leading Georgian literary prize; see also the Georgia Today report, 2019 Saba Literary Prize Winners Revealed.
       Aka Morchiladze's კუპიდონი კრემლის კედელთან ('Cupid at the Kremlin Wall') won for best novel; see also the Bakur Sulakauri publicity page. (Two Morchiladze titles are under review at the complete review: Journey to Karabakh and Obolé.)

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

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       New Perec collection !

       Oh, here is a volume I would love to get my hands on: a massive (over 1100 page) Georges Perec collection, of interviews and various stray texts, Entretiens, conférences, textes rares, inédits, just out from Éditions Joseph K; see their publicity page, or get your copy at Amazon.fr.
       They have an excerpt at BibliObs.

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       Guadalajara International Book Fair

       The Guadalajara International Book Fair ran 30 November to 8 December, with India as the guest of honour this year.
       At Publishers Weekly Ed Nawotka reports on how Guadalajara Book Fair Continues to Grow in Importance.

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       Revenge of the Translator review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Brice Matthieussent's Revenge of the Translator.

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

       Nobel Prize in Literature lectures

       The two Nobel Prize in Literature laureates honored this year -- 2018 winner Olga Tokarczuk and 2019 winner Peter Handke -- were among Nobel Prize winners who delivered their Nobel lectures yesterday (another batch does so today).
       You can watch and read both online now

• Olga Tokarczuk: 'The Tender Narrator' - video / text
  
  
• Peter Handke: video / text

       They are very different kinds of lectures, and no doubt the Tokarczuk is the more memorable (and accessible) one. The fuss around Handke has not died down -- though everyone was all decorum at the lecture --, in no small part because Handke really does not know how (or, apparently, want) to help (or. more specifically, explain) himself, witness the Friday press conference (see, for example, the report in The Guardian) -- but his lecture reflects his art, and his focus on (his personal) experience and art, which has an unworldly feel in this hyper-politicized day and age (and in contrast to, for example, Tokarczuk). We seem to expect activism and position-taking at near every turn from our contemporary authors; as Handke's unfortunate and very limited (in every respect) forays out of his comfort zone and into that area suggest, maybe that's not always desirable.

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       Women and the novel

       In The Observer Johanna Thomas-Corr reports that Without women the novel would die: discuss -- based on Helen Taylor's forthcoming Why Women Read Fiction (see the Oxford University Press publicity page, or pre-order your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk).
       I am a bit surprised to learn that:

The idea that fiction is a female domain is taken for granted by most people involved in books. According to Nielsen Book Research, women outbuy men in all categories of novel except fantasy, science fiction and horror.

       And even more surprised that: "surveys show they account for 80% of sales in the UK, US and Canadian fiction markets".
       As someone who values fiction (and specifically the novel) above all else, I'm baffled by anyone, male or female, who doesn't recognize the value and pleasure of fiction -- but given the disparity in what I read/cover -- less than 20 per cent of the reviewed titles at the complete review are by women --, regardless of other factors (notably availability: the focus here is on fiction in translation, and until recently male author were much, much more likely to be available in translation), gender obviously does play a role in the kind of literature I engage with -- and one that I should probably examine more closely.
       I do like Jonathan Coe's observation:

“Female readers in the signing queue will sometimes tell you directly how much a book has moved them, whereas male readers will say how much they share my enthusiasm for obscure bands like Hatfield and the North,” he says. “But I think, essentially, they are saying the same thing: it’s just that men sometimes need these proxies, these intermediaries – football, music, etc – as a way of voicing their emotions.”

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       Crossword Book Awards shortlists

       They've announced the shortlists for the Crossword Book Awards, one of the leading Indian literary prizes -- four jury shortlists (English fiction, English non-fiction, Children's writing, and Indian language translation), as well as six 'popular' shortlists.
       All the English fiction shortlisted titles are authored by women; the translation shortlist includes the twin novels by Perumal Murugan as well as a pair of 'anti-novels' by Subimal Misra.
       The winners will be announced 14 January.

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

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       Perseus Digital Library Q & A

       The Perseus Digital Library is an invaluable Latin and Greek online resource , and at Tufts Now Angela Nelson has a Q & A with editor in chief Gregory Crane, in Nothing Gets Lost in Translation in the Perseus Digital Library.

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       When I Whistle review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Endo Shusaku's 1974 novel, When I Whistle.

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

       Prix Marguerite Yourcenar

       The prix Marguerite Yourcenar is a relatively new French author prize awarded by Scam (the Société civile des auteurs multimedia) -- now for the fifth time -- and they've now announced that this year's prize goes to Pascal Quignard. (The previous two winners were Jean Echenoz (2018) and Annie Ernaux (2017).)

       A couple of Quignard titles are under review at the complete review -- On Wooden Tablets: Apronenia Avitia; The Roving Shadows; and A Terrace in Rome -- but I have a lot more I'd like to get to.

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       Nobel days

       It's Nobel ceremony time, and they're getting busy in Stockholm.
       Early today (13:00 CET) the two Nobel laureates, Olga Tokarczuk and Peter Handke, will be participating in a sure to be well-attended press conference, so that should be fun ..... (Will there be cake ? It's Handke's birthday -- he turns 77 today.)
       Tokarczuk and Handke will be delivering their Nobel lectures tomorrow -- and you can catch them (and all the Nobel lectures) online.
       Finally, the medals will be handed over 10 December at the official ceremony, with the fancy banquet to follow.

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

       Jan Michalski Prize

       They've announced that this year's Jan Michalski Prize -- a CHF50,000 prize "awarded for a work of fiction or non-fiction, irrespective of the language in which it is written" -- goes to Pain, by Zeruya Shalev; see also the Other Press publicity page, the ITHL information page, or get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.
       See also Shalev's acceptance speech (warning ! dreaded pdf format !).

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

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       FT and McKinsey & Company Business Book of the Year

       They've announced the winner of this year's Financial Times and McKinsey & Company Business Book of the Year Award -- bafflingly paywalled at the official site, but see, for example, Katie Mansfield's report in The Bookseller, Criado Perez wins FT and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award, as Caroline Criado-Perez has won for Invisible Women; see also the Chatto & Windus publicity page, or get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.

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       RBC Taylor Prize longlist

       They've announced the twelve-title longlist for next year's RBC Taylor Prize, awarded to: "enhance public appreciation for the genre known as literary non-fiction" -- the last time they'll be awarding the prize.
       The shortlist will be announced 8 January, and the winner 2 March.

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       61 Hours review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Lee Child's 61 Hours -- the fourteenth Jack Reacher novel, back from 2010.

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

       Milan Kundera, re-Czeched

       As widely reported, Milan Kundera's Czech citizenship renewed -- as Ruth Fraňková's report at Radio Praha International has it; see also the official Czech embassy in France announcement.
       Yes, the Czechoslovak (as it was still then) government stripped Kundera of his citizenship in 1979, and they've now gotten around to restoring it -- rather taking their time about it .....
       Long established in France, Kundera also took to writing in French, and considers the French versions the definitive ones of his novels; several are under review at the complete review

• The Curtain
• The Festival of Insignificance
• Identity

       (And see also François Ricard's Agnès's Final Afternoon.)

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

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       All That is Evident is Suspect review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of All That is Evident is Suspect: Readings from the Oulipo 1963-2018, edited by Ian Monk and Daniel Levin Becker.

       I finally got my hands on a (library) copy of this; next, I hope to eventually get to see a copy of The Penguin Book of Oulipo, edited by Philip Terry (see the Penguin Classics publicity page, or get your copy from Amazon.co.uk) -- I can never get enough of Oulipo titles .....

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

       'Language hacking'

       In the Harvard Data Science Review Gregory Crane writes about Beyond Translation: Language Hacking and Philology, pointing to a path: "between linguistic mastery and reliance upon translation".
       It also points to a variety of interesting internet resources -- well worth a look.

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

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       Bad Sex in Fiction Award

       They've announced the winners of this year's Literary Review Bad Sex in Fiction Award -- not yet at the official site, last I checked, but see, for example, Sian Cain in The Guardian reporting on the Bad sex award twosome: prize goes to Didier Decoin and John Harvey.

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       Swedish Academy turmoil

       The attempts to get their act together do not seem to be proceeding particularly well: the Swedish Academy has announced that two external (i.e. not Academy) members of the Nobel committee -- Gun-Britt Sundström and Kristoffer Leandoer -- have had enough and have quit.
       See also, for example, the Reuters report by Johan Ahlander, Two members leave Nobel literature committee, criticizing Swedish Academy. Leandoer is quoted as having written in Svenska Dagbladet:

The Academy and I have a different perspective on time, one year is far too long in my life and far too short in life of the Academy

       Meanwhile, they haven't exactly impressed anyone with their handling of the awarding of this year's prize to Peter Handke.

       Handke's Nobel Lecture is scheduled for 7 December, at 17:30 CET; you'll be able to watch it here. That should be interesting.

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

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       Nikolai Nikolaevich and Camouflage reviews

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Yuz Aleshkovsky's Nikolai Nikolaevich and Camouflage, two short novels, recently out from Columbia University Press in their Russian Library-series.

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

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       Society of Authors' Translation Prizes shortlists

       They've announced the shortlists for the seven 2019 Society of Authors' Translation Prizes -- six language-specific prizes (for translations from the German, French, Spanish, Arabic, Dutch, and Hebrew), as well as the TA First Translation Prize.

       I'm disappointed to see how few of these books I've seen -- but a few are under review at the complete review:
        - Schlegel-Tieck Prize: Damion Searls' translation of Uwe Johnson's Anniversaries and Simon Pare's translation of Christoph Ransmayr's The Flying Mountain
        - Scott Moncrieff Prize: Tina Kover's translation of Négar Djavadi's Disoriental
        - TA First Translation Prize: Charlotte Whittle (translator) and Bella Bosworth (editor) for Norah Lange's People in the Room

       The winners will be announced 12 February.

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       African literary prizes

       At The Conversation Doseline Kiguru finds that African literary prizes are contested -- but writers' groups are reshaping them.

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       The Woman and the Puppet review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Pierre Louÿs' The Woman and the Puppet, recently re-issued by Dedalus.

       This story has been adapted for the big screen several times -- most notably as The Devil is a Woman, directed by Josef von Sternberg, starring Marlene Dietrich (and with John Dos Passos getting a screenwriting credit), and then as That Obscure Object of Desire, directed by Luis Buñuel.

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

       More best book lists

       The Guardian offers a variety of Best books of 2019 lists -- notably also the one of author-selections, where: 'Bernardine Evaristo, Lee Child and more pick the best books of 2019'.

       The Irish Times also asked a bunch of authors for their choices, in What writers are reading: The Irish Times books of the year 2019.

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

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       Scotland's National Book Awards

       They've announced the winners of this year's Scotland's National Book Awards -- as well as the winner of the inaugural Saltire Society Scottish Lifetime Achievement Award, the great Alasdair Gray; see also Brian Ferguson's Lanark author Alasdair Gray honoured with lifetime achievement award for his contribution to Scottish literature in The Scotsman

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

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       Hans profile

       In The Caravan Nishant Kauntia profiles "India's most prestigious Hindi literary magazine", Hans -- founded in 1930 by Premchand, with Gandhi on its editorial board, and then revived after a thirty year hiatus in 1986 -- in The Intruders.

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

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