opinionated commentary on literary matters - from the complete review

The Literary Saloon Archive

21 - 30 November 2023

21 November: Replacement-Costa Awards shortlists | Comic Fiction Prize | Baku Book Center Q & A
22 November: NYTBR 100 Notable Books of 2023 | ពានរង្វាន់ព្រះនាងឥន្ទ្រទេវី | Cavafy Archive | Typewriters ! | Die Ballade des letzten Gastes review
23 November: Royal Society Science Book Prize | Irish Book Awards | Blancpain-Imaginist Literary Prize | Bremer Literaturpreis
24 November: Warwick Prize for Women in Translation | Damion Searls on translating Jon Fosse
25 November: (Maltese) National Book Prizes | Thomas-Mann-Preis
26 November: Srinath Perur Q & A
27 November: Booker Prize | The Jib Door review
29 November: Pope congratulates Jon Fosse | NYTBR 10 Best Books of 2023 | Prix de la littérature arabe
30 November: Paweł Huelle (1957-2023) | Lutz Seiler Q & A | Joyce's Ulysses in Kurdish | 'Signed and First Edition Books Museum'

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       Paweł Huelle (1957-2023)

       Polish author Paweł Huelle has passed away; see, for example, the report at TVP.
       The only one of his works under review at the complete review is Mercedes-Benz.

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

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       Lutz Seiler Q & A

       Exberliner has a Q & A with the Kruso-author, Büchner Prize winner Lutz Seiler on poetry, prose and the second life of translations.

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

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       Joyce's Ulysses in Kurdish

       At The Markaz Review Kaya Genç writes On the Herculean Task of Translating Joyce's Ulysses into Kurdish; see also the Avesta publicity page.

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

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       'Signed and First Edition Books Museum'

       In Daily Sabah Buse Keskin reports on Istanbul's literary gem: Türkiye's 1st 'Signed Books Museum' -- the İlk Baskı ve İmzalı Kitaplar Müzesi.
       An ... interesting idea.

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

       Pope congratulates Jon Fosse

       Pope Francis is apparently a fan of Nobel laureate Jon Fosse's -- and the Norwegian Catholic Church has the fan letter to prove it.
       Fosse is a convert to Catholicism, and the Pope wrote, among other things:

In a particular way, I am confident that your ability to evoke Almighty God's gifts of grace, peace and love in our often darkened world will surely enrich the lives of those who share the pilgrimage of faith.

       Fortunately, Fosse's work also works for those of us who have managed to avoid that particular pilgrimage.
       (I am, however, kind of -- actually: very -- disappointed the Pope wrote in English, rather than Latin. Also: come on ! I was sure the Pope would/should be an Oxford-comma man.)

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

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       NYTBR 10 Best Books of 2023

       Lots of 'best-of-the-year'-lists are coming out -- hey, it's almost December, after all -- including now The New York Times Book Review's 10 Best Books of 2023 (presumably paywalled).
       I've only seen one of these -- the Maylis de Kerangal, which I do hope to get to.

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

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       Prix de la littérature arabe

       They've announced the winner of this year's prix de la littérature arabe, and it is Je me souviens de Falloujah, by Feurat Alani; see, for example, the Livres Hebdo report.
       See also the JC Lattès publicity page.

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

       Booker Prize

       They've announced the winner of this year's Booker Prize, the leading English-language novel award, and it is Prophet Song, by Paul Lynch.
       I haven't seen this one yet -- it's not out in the US yet (but is due out shortly); meanwhile, see the publicity pages from Oneworld and Atlantic Monthly Press , or get your copy at Amazon.co.uk, or pre-order at Amazon.com or Bookshop.org.

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

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       The Jib Door review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Marlen Haushofer's 1957 novel, The Jib Door.

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

       Srinath Perur Q & A

       At Scroll.in Sayari Debnath has a Q & A with the translator of Vivek Shanbhag's Ghachar Ghochar (and now also his Sakina's Kiss), in ‘Translators need to employ the craft of fiction writing to do their work well’: Srinath Perur. Srinath Perur was also chair of this year's JCB Prize for Literature jury.
       I always make the case that fiction-writers should do translations, but, sure, it works the other way as well.

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

       (Maltese) National Book Prizes

       They've announced the (many) winners of the National Book Prizes in Malta, "selected from a shortlist of 61 titles, published in the preceding year, across fourteen competitive categories", with Marta Marta by Loranne Vella winning for best novel; see also the Ede Books publicity page.

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

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       Thomas-Mann-Preis

       Getting a really early start on the prizes to be awarded next fall, they've announced that Navid Kermani will receive the 2024 Thomas Mann Prize, a leading German author-award (not limited to German-writing authors -- Jonathan Franzen won it in 2022 -- but predominantly given to them), and it is Navid Kermani.
       He gets to pick up the prize on 27 September 2024 (!).

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

       Warwick Prize for Women in Translation

       They've announced the winner of this year's Warwick Prize for Women in Translation, and it is Your Wish Is My Command, by Deena Mohamed -- who both wrote and translated it (and thus takes the whole pot of prize money by herself); it is published as Shubeik Lubeik in the US because ... publishers, *sigh*.
       This is a graphic work of fiction; it sounds appealing -- but as a not-huge-fan of the graphic genres (or perhaps more accurately, as someone who sees them as something completely different from words-only books) I have some (tired, old) reservations. On the other hand: my interest has been piqued, and I'll probably try to have a look. (Also/not least: it's over 500 pages long suggesting something more substantial (yes, I'm easily won over by high page-counts).)
       See also the publicity pages from Granta and Pantheon, or get your copy at Amazon.com, Bookshop.org or Amazon.co.uk.

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

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       Damion Searls on translating Jon Fosse

       I have a copy but haven't yet reviewed Nobel laureate Jon Fosse's A Shining, and at Asymptote Georgina Fooks now has a Q & A with the translator, in Casting the Spell: Damion Searls on Translating Jon Fosse's A Shining.
       Well worthwhile, including for such points as:

(F)or better or for worse (mainly for worse), English is the language that matters professionally for world literature. A German publisher told me a couple of years ago that if they have a book, they can get it translated into five or six languages, but it’s not until it gets a review in the Guardian UK or in the New Yorker that they can sell it to twenty or thirty languages—and they also told me that this is increasingly the case. English really is the gateway to bigger success for every other language; it’s not going to be a worldwide, translated-everywhere success unless it goes through English first.

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

       Royal Society Science Book Prize

       They've announced the winner of this year's Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize and it is An Immense World, by Ed Yong.
       See also the publicity pages from Vintage and Random House, or get your copy at Amazon.com, Bookshop.org, or Amazon.co.uk.

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

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       Irish Book Awards

       They've announced the winners of this year's An Post Irish Book Awards, with the Novel of the Year Award going to The Bee Sting, by Paul Murray, and the Foras na Gaeilge Irish Language Fiction Book of the Year Award going to Imram agus Scéalta Eile, by Róise Ní Bhaoill (see also the Éabhlóid publicity page).

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

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       Blancpain-Imaginist Literary Prize

       They apparently announced the winner of the Blancpain-Imaginist Literary Prize -- which is meant to be : "a literary accolade that is impartial, authoritative, professional and enduring while honoring a work that is likely to stimulate international dialogue" -- a month ago, but only released the press release for the 300,000 yuan (ca. US$42,000) prize now, and it is 一团坚冰, by Yang Zhihan; see also Yang Yang's China Daily report, Writer delivers cold, hard fiction.

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

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       Bremer Literaturpreis

       Longlisted for the German Book Prize, and shortlisted for both the Austrian and Bavarian Book Prizes, Teresa Präauer's Kochen im falschen Jahrhundert fell just short with all the 2023 prizes but finds some redemption -- and €25,000 in prize money -- by taking the just-announced 2024 Bremen Literary Prize.
       With English rights apparently already sold -- to Pushkin Press -- the book looks set for more success down the line, too.

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

       NYTBR 100 Notable Books of 2023

       The New York Times Book Review has released its list of their 100 Notable Books of 2023 (presumably paywalled).
       As best I can tell, eight of the books are works in translation.
       After having reviewed seven of their 2021 notable books by the time the list was published, and five in 2022, there are only four under review at the complete review this year:

• After Sappho, by Selby Wynn Schwartz
• Biography of X, by Catherine Lacey
• Forbidden Notebook, by Alba de Céspedes
• The Most Secret Memory of Men, by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr

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

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       ពានរង្វាន់ព្រះនាងឥន្ទ្រទេវី

       As Hong Raksmey reports in The Phnom Penh Post, Diverse talents shine at literary competition, as the Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts has announced the winners of this year's Indradevi Literary Awards, selected from "114 entries comprising 86 short novels and 28 poems". (I wonder why there are no long novels .....)
       Good to see support for the local literature; still, it's somewhat troubling when this is highlighted as a ... concern:

Un Sok Heang from the Novel Committee praises the commendable submissions, acknowledging their grounding in social reality and positive perspectives, notably in promoting women's values. However, he notes that, among the 86 works, when evaluating their meaning, genre and moral purpose, nearly all fell short in some aspects.

"Some writers should avoid choosing topics that do not benefit society," he opines.

       Very little Khmer writing makes it into English -- Suon Sorin's A New Sun Rises Over the Old Land is the only work under review at the complete review -- and I fear publishers and literary agents won't exactly be scouring the list of winners here either .....
       For more pictures from the award ceremony, see the CNC report.

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

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       Cavafy Archive

       The Onassis Foundation has apparently now opened the Cavafy Archive -- 'An archive open to all !' -- in Athens; see also the ekathimerini.com report
       Looks like it's worth a visit.

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

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       Typewriters !

       Heritage Auctions is auctioning off a neat but eclectic selection of celebrity-typewriters on 15 December.
       Harold Robbins' ! Philip Roth's ! Ted 'Unabomber' Kaczynski's ! John Updike's ! Andy Rooney's ! Truman Capote's ! Shirley Temple's ! Greta Garbo's ! Ray Bradbury's ! etc.
       See also Eric Grossman's report at Penta, Historic Typewriters Used by Literary Giants and Celebrities Up for Auction.

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

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       Die Ballade des letzten Gastes review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Nobel laureate Peter Handke's latest novel, Die Ballade des letzten Gastes.

       This just came out in German, so there isn't an English translation yet, but we can probably expect one in a year or two.

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

       Replacement-Costa Awards shortlists

       The Costa Book Awards recently called it quits, but another coffee outfit has quickly jumped into the void and so now they have the Nero Book Awards in the UK -- and these have just announced the shortlists for their inaugural award.
       (Only) four titles each, in the four categories: fiction, non, children's, and debut -- differentiating themselves slightly from the Costas, which had a biography, rather than full non-fiction category, as well as a fifth category, poetry.
       Like the Costas, they will name the winner in each category -- on 16 January -- and then pit those four titles against each other, selecting an overall winner which will receive ... the Nero Gold Prize, sometime in February.

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

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       Comic Fiction Prize

       They've announced the winner of this year's Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction -- who receives: 'a jeroboam of Bollinger Special Cuvée, a case of Bollinger La Grande Année, the complete set of the Everyman’s Library P.G. Wodehouse collection, and a pig named after his winning book' -- and it is The Satsuma Complex, by Bob Mortimer; see, for example, Bruce Dessau's report at Beyond the Joke.
       See also the Gallery UK publicity page.

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

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       Baku Book Center Q & A

       At Azernews Laman Ismayilova has a Q & A with the Baku Book Center's PR manager, Nigar Huseynova, about: "the activities of the Baku Book Center, readers' preferences, the Baku Book Fair, and the state of the book market in Azerbaijan", in Baku Book Center strives to create vibrant literary community.
       Among the observations: "This year there were no noticeable peaks of interest in any genre" -- and: "Readers stopped buying thick books".

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

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