opinionated commentary on literary matters - from the complete review

The Literary Saloon Archive

21 - 28 February 2021

21 February: Klara and the Sun countdown | Translating Bangla literature | Iranian Book of the Year Awards
22 February: 'Crime fiction from the Maghreb' | Bookselling in ... South Korea | Your Story, My Story review
23 February: Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire longlists | Layli and Majnun review
24 February: Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919-2021) | Walter Scott Prize longlist | Prix Jean Monnet de littérature européenne longlist | Bookselling in ... Istanbul
25 February: 'Georgia's Fantastic Tavern' | Publishing in ... Japan | Tower review
26 February: Philippe Jaccottet (1925-2021) | Nordic Council Literature Prize finalists
27 February: NYTBR review | ACFNY Translation Prize event | The Adventures and Misadventures of [...] Joan Orpí review
28 February: Jhumpa Lahiri profile | Andriy Kurkov Q & A

go to weblog

return to main archive

       Jhumpa Lahiri profile

       In Publishers Weekly Daniel Lefferts reports on What Jhumpa Lahiri Has Found in Translation.
       As Lahiri wrote about in Other Words, she took up Italian -- translating from it (e.g. Domenico Starnone 's Ties), and then also writing a novel , which is now coming out in English as Whereabouts; see also the publicity pages from Knopf and Bloomsbury, or pre-order your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.

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

---

       Andriy Kurkov Q & A

       At Craft Ari van der Ent has a Q & A with Andriy Kurkov, “Modern Ukrainian writers want to be read”.
       Among the responses:

So the new generation of writers wants to write for fun ?

They want to be read. And they think because the older generation wrote so complicated and not interesting books, the readers are used to reading foreign literature instead of Ukrainian. They are bitter, they are angry, they are trying to please the readers, but massreaders are choosing traditionally foreign literature because they don't believe in Ukrainian literature anymore.

       Several Kurkov titles are under review at the complete review (e.g. Death and the Penguin); the latest of his books published in English, Grey Bees, is out in the UK -- see the MacLehose Press publicity page -- but unfortunately not (yet ?) in the US.

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

       NYTBR review

       As The New York Times Book Review 'celebrates its 125th anniversary, Parul Sehgal, a staff critic and former editor at the Book Review, delves into the archives to critically examine its legacy in full', in Reviewing the Book Review.
       Okay, maybe expecting: "its legacy in full" to be covered in a single article is a bit more than one can ask for, but it's an interesting surface-scratch.
       Among the interesting titbits, her observations about: "that signature, seignorial remove", as:

Reviewers almost never use “I,” long discouraged by the paper, but the magisterial “we.”

       Also

Note that language. It reappears in the reviews of the interlopers — the nonwhite writers, women writers and especially L.G.B.T.Q. writers. Their books are not written, they are not crafted— they are expelled, they are excreted, almost involuntarily.

       And:

Where Black writers are concerned, another pattern can be detected. Reviewers might impute cultural importance to the work, but aesthetic significance only rarely. And if aesthetic significance was conferred, it often hinged on one particular quality: authenticity.

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

---

       ACFNY Translation Prize event

       I've mentioned that Georg Bauer won this year's Austrian Cultural Forum New York Translation Prize for his translation of Walter Kappacher's Der Fliegenpalast, and tomorrow you have the opportunity to hear him in conversation with Andrew Singer on Trafika Europe Radio at 14:00 EST, with contributions by Michael Maar and New Vessel Press publisher Michael Wise, too; New Vessel Press will publish the full translation, The Palace of Flies in 2022.
       (I was one of the judges for this prize.)

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

---

       The Adventures and Misadventures of [...] Joan Orpí review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Max Besora's The Adventures and Misadventures of the Extraordinary and Admirable Joan Orpí, Conquistador and Founder of New Catalonia, recently out from Open Letter.

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

       Philippe Jaccottet (1925-2021)

       Swiss-born poet and translator Philippe Jaccottet has passed away; see, for example, Thierry Clermont's piece in Le Figaro.
       There's a volume of his work in the Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, and quite a bit of his work has been translated into English; Seagull Books have a great selection.

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

---

       Nordic Council Literature Prize finalists

       They've announced the titles that will be competing for this year's Nordic Council Literature Prize, the leading Scandinavian literary prize, with finalists chosen from all the Nordic countries and languages.
       Authors who have had previous books translated into English who also placed books this year include Ursula Andkjær Olsen, Pajtim Statovci, Niviaq Korneliussen, Andri Snær Magnason, and Vigdis Hjorth.
       Quite a few previous winners of this prize are under review at the complete review.
       The winner will be announced 2 November.

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

       'Georgia's Fantastic Tavern'

       An online festival of Georgian writers, music, and food, Georgia's Fantastic Tavern: Where Europe Meets Asia runs today through the 28th, with several of the British Library online events livestreamed.
       This looks good -- and see also some of the supporting material, as it were, in this month's issue of Words without Borders with their 'Café Culture: Writing from a Georgian Literary Festival'-feature (scroll down a bit).

       See also the Georgian literature under review at the complete review.

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

---

       Publishing in ... Japan

       At nippon.com they report that Japan's Publishing Industry Sees Higher Sales During Pandemic -- though there are lots of caveats here, including that this includes both electronic and print publications (electronic: up a lot; print: down slightly), and that print publications extend beyond books to magazines and comics; indeed, apparently it was: "the explosive popularity of the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba manga lifted overall sales for publishing in 2020".
       (That series is also available in English.)

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

---

       Tower review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Bae Myung-hoon's Tower, just out in English from Honford Star.

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

       Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919-2021)

       American poet and founder of City Lights -- the bookstore and the publishing house - Lawrence Ferlinghetti has passed away; see, for example, the Lawrence Ferlinghetti page at City Lights, or the obituary in The New York Times.
       He was certainly a tremendously influential figure in American letters.

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

---

       Walter Scott Prize longlist

       They've announced the eleven-title-strong longlist for this year's Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction
       Always an interesting selection, which this year includes Hilary Mantel's The Mirror and the Light, Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet, and Paul Griffiths' Mr Beethoven.
       The shortlist will be announced at the end of April.

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

---

       Prix Jean Monnet de littérature européenne longlist

       They've announced the longlist for this year's prix Jean Monnet de littérature européenne, for a work by a European author written in or translated into French -- not yet at the official site, last I checked, but see, for example, the Livres Hebdo report.
       Eight titles from seven countries -- though notably nothing from the UK, nothing translated from the German.

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

---

       Bookselling in ... Istanbul

       In Daily Sabah Matt Hanson writes On the passage of books: In a reader's market by Galatasaray.

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

       Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire longlists

       They've announced the longlists for this year's Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire, a French prize for fantasy fiction, in the broadest sense.
       Among the titles in the French novel category are Hervé Le Tellier's prix Goncourt-winning L'Anomalie and new books by local favorites Jean-Marie Blas de Roblès (see the Zulma publicity page) and Mathias Enard (see the Actes Sud publicity page).
       Titles in the foreign novel category -- somewhat disappointingly, all translations from the English -- include works by Jeff VanderMeer, Ann Leckie -- and Doris Lessing; yes, they've really only gotten around to finishing translating the Canopus in Argos-series now .....
       Impressively, there is also a translation category -- though here too, disappointingly, it's all also from the English.

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

---

       Layli and Majnun review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Nezami Ganjavi's classic, Layli and Majnun, in Dick Davis' recent translation, now out as a Penguin Classic.

       This is the third of Nizami's (Nezami's) quintet under review at the complete review; I'd love to get to the remaining two as well, eventually.

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

       'Crime fiction from the Maghreb'

       At Al-Fanar Media M. Lynx Qualey finds that Crime Fiction From the Maghreb: Not So Hidden After All, a useful overview.
       Of course, too few of these are available in English -- but at least some titles are, including by Yasmina Khadra (e.g. Dead Man's Share) and Abdelilah Hamdouchi (e.g. Whitefly).

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

---

       Bookselling in ... South Korea

       While many bookstores in South Korea continue to struggle, Park Ji-won reports in The Korea Times that Despite falling book sales, number of small bookshops increases six times, increasing from 97 in 2015 to over 600 now.
       She talked with Nam Chang-woo, and:

He said that falling book sales ironically played a part in increasing the number of small indie bookstores.

"I think there is no future for physical books because people don't buy them," he said. The reason why indie bookstores flourish in terms of numbers, he said, is because they serve various purposes. We can buy books about our interests there, but also meet people with shared interests, according to Nam. Bookshop owners' motives also vary. Designers open bookshops to sell books about design and design products. Some people even open a travel bookstore while running a travel agency, he said.

       I'm still kind of hoping there is a future for physical books .....

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

---

       Your Story, My Story review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Connie Palmen's Sylvia Plath-Ted Hughes novel, Your Story, My Story.

       This 2015 novel got quite a bit of attention in Europe, but this recent English translation hasn't garnered much review-attention. I wonder how much of that is due to the fact that it's an AmazonCrossing title (certainly not a favorite of booksellers anywhere (very few stock this)). But the subject matter would seem to appeal to quite a large audience -- and, indeed, last I checked there were a staggering 1,223 customer ratings at the US Amazon.com for this title. (Few titles reviewed at the complete review get more than a handful of ratings.)

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

       Klara and the Sun countdown

       The release of Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun, on 2 March, is one of the big publishing events of the year, and the PR blitz is beginning.
       You can read 'exclusive' extracts at both The Guardian and npr, and at The Guardian Lisa Allardice also has a lengthy profile, Kazuo Ishiguro: 'AI, gene-editing, big data ... I worry we are not in control of these things any more'. And The Guardian has now also asked a variety of authors to name the: 'Kazuo Ishiguro novels closest to their hearts', in My favourite Ishiguro: by Margaret Atwood, Ian Rankin and more.
       Technically 'embargoed' until the second, there are nevertheless already reviews out from Publishers Weekly ("This dazzling genre-bending work is a delight") and Kirkus Reviews ("A haunting fable of a lonely, moribund world that is entirely too plausible"). I have my copy, but will wait to post a review until early March, with the first (no doubt huge) batch of reviews to link to.
       Meanwhile, pre-order your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.

       A couple of Ishiguro titles are already under review at the complete review: Never Let Me Go and When we were Orphans.

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

---

       Translating Bangla literature

       In The Daily Star Niaz Zaman looks at Navigating Bangla literary: Translations, addressing a variety of issue regarding translation from Bangla into English.

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

---

       Iranian Book of the Year Awards

       They've announced the Iranian Book of the Year Award winners, with President Hassan Rouhani handing out the prizes; see, for example, the Tehran Times report, Iran's Book of the Year Awards announces winners.
       The best novel prize went to Mansur Alimoradi's Mid-Day Incantations, which was also one of the three finalists for the Jalal Al-e Ahmad Literary Award a few months ago; see also the Nimaj publicity page.

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

previous entries (11 - 20 February 2021)

archive index

- search the site -

- return to top of the page -

© 2021 the complete review


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