opinionated commentary on literary matters - from the complete review

The Literary Saloon Archive

21 - 31 March 2022

21 March: Morocco Book Prize | The Genesis of Technoscientific Revolutions review
22 March: Dublin Literary Award shortlist | Yuz Aleshkovsky (1929-2022) | 50 best sci-fi books ? | The Wind Spirit review
23 March: IPAF shortlist | Rathbones Folio Prize | Ukraine and literature
24 March: EBRD Literature Prize shortlist | The Birds of Verhovina review
25 March: Q & As: Lydia Davis - Josh Rothes | In the Margins review
26 March: Sheikh Zayed Book Award shortlists
27 March: Republic of Consciousness Prize shortlist | Resurrection review
28 March: Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize | What is American Literature ? review
29 March: Adam Tooze profile | New direction for Peirene Press | Bookstore revival ? | The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe review
30 March: Windham-Campbell Prizes | Duke University Press profile | Lars Gyllensten review
31 March: Prix Le Point du Polar européen

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       Prix Le Point du Polar européen

       They've announced the winner of this year's prix Le Point du Polar européen, a leading French prize for the best European crime novel published in French, and it is Terra Nullius by Victor Guilbert; see also the Hugo publicity page.
       While this year's winner is by a French author, many have been works in translation. The prize has a solid list of previous winners; they include: Philip Kerr's The One from the Other (2009), Pierre Lemaitre's Inhuman Resources (2010), Hannelore Cayre's The Godmother (2017), and Malin Persson Giolito's Quicksand.

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

       Windham-Campbell Prizes

       They've announced the winners of this year's Windham-Campbell Prizes, eight writers who get US$165,000 each to support their work, two each in the categories fiction, non, drama, and poetry.
       The fiction winners are Nervous Conditions-author Tsitsi Dangarembga and Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu.

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

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       Duke University Press profile

       In The New Yorker Jennifer Wilson profiles Duke University Press editor Ken Wissoker, in The Editor Who Moves Theory Into the Mainstream.

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       Lars Gyllensten review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Hans Isaksson's monograph on Lars Gyllensten, a 1978 volume in the Twayne's World Authors Series.

       Gyllensten was Permanent Secretary of the Nobel Prize-deciding Swedish Academy from 1977 to 1986, and then the chairman of the Nobel Foundation (1987-1993); he was also a prolific novelist.
       I would rather be reviewing some of his fiction, but little is available in translation, and what there is seems very hard to come by.

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

       Adam Tooze profile

       The New York cover piece this week is Molly Fischer's profile of Adam Tooze, Galaxy Brain.
       I reviewed The Wages of Destruction in 2007 and was very impressed by it; Tooze is also one of the more interesting non-literary Twitterers I follow.

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

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       New direction for Peirene Press

       As Ruth Comerford reports in The Bookseller, Sabin and Tookey to helm Peirene Press as Ziervogel steps down.
       Peirene Press was founded by Meike Ziervogel; it is now under new ownership -- and has moved to Bath. They have a great tradition to build on; here's hoping they can continue bringing out such a great selection of books.

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

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       Bookstore revival ?

       At Bloomberg CityLab Alexandra Lange reports on how A Bookstore Revival Channels Nostalgia for Big Box Chains.
       Having lived through the heyday of mall bookstores this is not what I would have expected -- but, hey, more bookstores always sounds good.

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       The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of D.G.Compton's The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe, which New York Review Books re-issued a few years ago.

       This was also made into a film -- Death Watch, directed by Bertrand Tavernier and starring Romy Schneider, Harvey Keitel, and Harry Dean Stanton; you can actually watch it (at least in the US) here.

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       Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize

       They've announced the winner of this year's Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize, awarded to an Indian publication, and it is Ishan Khosla, for the cover of Anukrti Upadhyay's Kintsugi; see also the Harper Collins India publicity page.
       At Scroll.in Chitra Ahanthem has all six finalists discuss their shortlisted covers, inspirations, challenges, and the prize, in Meet the six designers shortlisted (including the winner) for the Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize.

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       What is American Literature ? review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Ilan Stavans' What is American Literature ?, recently out from Oxford University Press.

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       Republic of Consciousness Prize shortlist

       They've announced the five-title shortlist for this year's Republic of Consciousness Prize, promoting and celebrating small presses in the UK and Ireland; see also, for example, Ruth Comerford's report in The Bookseller.
       Only one of the titles is under review at the complete review: Our Lady of the Nile by Scholastique Mukasonga (which came out in the US several years ago, but is new to the UK).

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       Resurrection review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis' first novel, Resurrection, just out from Dalkey Archive Press.

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       Sheikh Zayed Book Award shortlists

       They've announced the shortlists for three more categories of the Sheikh Zayed Book Awards, including for Translation and for 'Arab Culture in Other Languages'.
       In the translation category three finalists were selected from 148 nominations; two of the finalists are translations into Arabic, and one is a translation from Arabic.
       The eight 'Arab Culture in Other Languages'-shortlisted titles were selected from 188 nominations, and are of works in six different languages.

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

       Q & A: Lydia Davis

       The most recent of the 'Conversations with Tyler' (Cowen) is his wide-ranging Q & A with Lydia Davis on Language and Literature -- well worth a listen/read.

       Meanwhile, they've now also announced that Davis will be giving "The annual lecture on literary translation", The Sebald Lecture 2022, on 1 June; she'll be: "reflecting back over her distinguished career as a translator from French, and discussing her recent collection Essays Two, about translation and foreign language-learning". It will be online-only -- but that makes it easy for you to watch, just register.

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       Q & A: Josh Rothes

       A fun variation on the traditional Q & A, at minor literature[s], as Tobias Ryan has an "interview" with Josh Rothes -- publisher of Sublunary Editions.
       As Ryan explains:

(R)ather than organise a formal interview, I sent Josh a list of quotes asking only that he respond to them in any way he pleased. The quotes were taken from a variety of sources, including acknowledged influences, others which seemed apropos, some from Sublunary Editions’ backlist and a few Josh suggested himself. Once I had received Josh’s reply, where necessary, I followed up by email.

       Nice to see a creative variation on the traditional Q & A.

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       In the Margins review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Elena Ferrante On the Pleasures of Reading and Writing, in In the Margins, just out from Europa Editions.

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

       EBRD Literature Prize shortlist

       They've announced the shortlist for this year's EBRD Literature Prize, rewarding: "the best work of literary fiction originally written in a language from one of [the nearly 40 countries where the Bank invests], which has been translated into English and published by a UK or a Europe-based publisher", and: "recognises both the writer and translator in equal measure".
       Two of the shortlisted titles are under review at the complete review:

• The Birds of Verhovina, by Bodor Ádám, in Peter Sherwood's translation (just reviewed !)
• The Orphanage, by Serhiy Zhadan, in Reilly Costigan-Humes and Issac Stackhouse Wheeler's translation

       (A third of the Hodrová is also under review, but I haven't gotten to the full translation now available as City of Torment yet.)
       I've only seen one more of these (and didn't take to it), but there's certainly more here that sounds of interest.
       The three finalists will be announced 16 May, and the winner in early June.

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

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       The Birds of Verhovina review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Bodor Ádám's The Birds of Verhovina, now out from Jantar Publishing -- and just (yesterday !) shortlisted for this year's EBRD Literature Prize.

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

       IPAF shortlist

       They've announced the six-title shortlist for this year's International Prize for Arabic Fiction, the leading Arabic-language novel prize.
       The winner will be announced 22 May.

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       Rathbones Folio Prize

       They've announced the winner of this year's Rathbones Folio Prize, and it is Colm Tóibín's Thomas Mann-novel, The Magician; see also the official press release (warning ! dreaded pdf format !).
       I haven't seen this one; see the publicity pages from Scribner and Penguin, or get your copy at Amazon.com, Bookshop.org or Amazon.co.uk.

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

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       Ukraine and literature

       As Vladimir Putin's outrageous and ill-conceived war against Ukraine and the terrible toll it is taking continue there has been quite a lot of coverage of Ukrainian writers and writing: recent pieces now include Philipp Jedicke at Deutsche Welle considering Can literature rise up against Russia's war in Ukraine ? and in Tablet Vladislav Davidzon and and Kate Tsurkan offer a survey of The Landscape of Ukrainian Literature.

       (Updated - 24 March): See now also John Self on The stories that reveal the soul of Ukraine at the BBC.

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

       Dublin Literary Award shortlist

       They've announced the six-title-strong shortlist for this year's Dublin Literary Award; it includes two titles in translation.
       The finalists are:

• The Art of Falling by Danielle McLaughlin
• The Art of Losing by Alice Zeniter
• At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop
• The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi
• Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
• Remote Sympathy by Catherine Chidgey

       The winner will be announced on 19 May.

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

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       Yuz Aleshkovsky (1929-2022)

       Russian author Yuz Aleshkovsky has passed away; see, for example, reports in The Moscow Times and at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

       The only book by Aleshkovsky under review at the complete review is the two-novella collection Nikolai Nikolaevich and Camouflage.

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

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       50 best sci-fi books ?

       Yet more lists: at Esquire Adrienne Westenfeld offers a list of The 50 Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time -- though they undermine that claim by having the ridiculous "one book per author"-limitation (that remains far too popular with these kind of lists).
       With Neal Stephenson placing 49th (with Snow Crash), Stanisław Lem 46th (with Solaris), and William Gibson 45th (with Neuromancer) they're setting the bar pretty high -- and there is a bit of a contemporary bias (i.e. more relatively recent works than deserve to be there), so overall it is, as most such lists are, a mixed and debatable bag. Still, a lot of good books here.

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       The Wind Spirit review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of An Autobiography by Michel Tournier, The Wind Spirit.

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

       Morocco Book Prize

       So they announced the nine winners of the Morocco Book Prize three months ago, but apparently there has been some issue about the prize money: the prize winners apparently were under the impression that they would and should each receive the announced MAD 120,000 ($12,253) in prize money while the government apparently expected them to share it ..... leading now to, as Oumaima Latrech reports at Morocco World News, Ministry of Culture Withdraws Moroccan Book Prize from 9 Writers.
       So, yeah, that seems to have worked out real well .....

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

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       The Genesis of Technoscientific Revolutions review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Venkatesh Narayanamurti and Jeffrey Y. Tsao on The Genesis of Technoscientific Revolutions: Rethinking the Nature and Nurture of Research, out from Harvard University Press.

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