opinionated commentary on literary matters - from the complete review

The Literary Saloon Archive

21 - 30 September 2024

21 September: The Empusium review
22 September: Reading in ... China | Richard Powers profile
23 September: Fredric Jameson (1934-2024) | Early Film Writings review
24 September: Wolfson History Prize shortlist | Crime-Cologne-Award
25 September: Olga Tokarczuk Q & A | The Talnikov Family review
26 September: Prix de la Page 111 longlist | Publishing jobs in the US
27 September: Jan Michalski Prize finalists | Grand Prix du Roman longlist | Brontës get their diaereses
28 September: Italo Calvino in the Bibliothèque de la Pléiade
29 September: Prix Sade | Galaxy Awards | A Borrowed Man review
30 September: Reading in ... Japan | Frank Wynne Q & A

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       Reading in ... Japan

       In The Mainichi they wonder What is causing people in Japan, especially youth, to turn away from books ? as a 2023 survey finds: "Some 60% of Japanese people do not read even one book in a given month, the first time that has been true for a majority of the population" -- a huge jump in non-reading.
       Also: "69.1% of respondents said they were reading less than they did before" -- though that is only: "up 1.8 percentage points from the previous survey in fiscal 2018".
       Literary critic Kaho Miyake is quoted:

I believe the reason for the decline in reading can be attributed to a phenomenon that is Japanese people's move to distance themselves from long texts.

       Sigh.

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

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       Frank Wynne Q & A

       At the Irish Examiner Marjorie Brennan has a Q & A with him, in: Books are my business: Writer and translator Frank Wynne.
       Among his responses:

What do you like most about what you do ?

If I am a writer, there are some books I can write, if I am a translator I can be 40, 60 completely different writers and write novels that I could never have imagined.

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

       Prix Sade

       They've announced the winner of the prix Sade -- and of lots of category-winners, too: BD/manfa, literary history, even DVD; see, for example, this tweet.
       The main prize went to L'Art assassin, by Pauline Mari; see also the Rouge Profond publicity page.

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

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       Galaxy Awards

       As the Global Times reports, China's prestigious sci-fi literary Galaxy Awards embrace web literature, with 造神年代 ('Age of the Godmakers') winning the best novel category.

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

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       A Borrowed Man review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Gene Wolfe's 2015 novel, A Borrowed Man.

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

       Italo Calvino in the Bibliothèque de la Pléiade

       The latest addition to the Bibliothèque de la Pléiade is a volume of Italo Calvino's novels; see the Gallimard publicity page; see also the report in Marianne by Ève Charin, "Le Baron perché", "Marcovaldo"… Italo Calvino, l’enchanteur lucide enfin publié en Pléiade.

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

       Jan Michalski Prize finalists

       They've announced the three finalists for this year's Jan Michalski Prize for Literature, "awarded annually for an outstanding work of world literature" in any genre.
       Two of the works are available in English -- and the Mathieu Belezi will surely come out in translation soon; it's already been featured in a piece (presumably paywalled) in The New York Times -- with one of them a graphic work; see the Drawn & Quarterly publicity page.
       The winner will be announced 27 November.

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

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       Grand Prix du Roman longlist

       The Académie française has announced the longlist for their Grand Prix du Roman.
       Quite a few previous winners of this prize are under review at the complete review.
       The winner will be announced 24 October.

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

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       Brontës get their diaereses

       As a great fan (to the irritation of many readers) of diaereses, I am pleased to see the Brontë-sisters finally get theirs set in stone, as Westminster Abbey has finally added the long-missing dots to the memorial in Poets' Corner; see their story on the Happy ending for Brontë memorial in 85th anniversary year.

       (In defense, and for an explanation, of the use of the diaeresis -- not to be confused with the very different (if identical-looking) Umlaut -- see Mary Norris on The Curse of the Diaeresis in The New Yorker.)

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

       Prix de la Page 111 longlist

       They've announced the longlist for this year's prix de la Page 111, the French prize which judges books by the best ... page 111; see, for example, the Livres Hebdo report.
       The winner will be announced 23 October -- and, yes, the prize money amounts to all of ... €1.11, paid out in 111 cent-coins.

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

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       Publishing jobs in the US

       At Publishers Weekly Thad McIlroy and Jim Milliot report on how in the US: 'Government statistics suggest the number of publishing jobs has declined dramatically since the 1990s', as: "the number of people employed in book publishing in the United States fell to 54,822 in 2023, down from 91,100 in 1997", in Over 30 Years, 40% of Publishing Jobs Disappeared. What Happened ?
       They argue: "context is key", but still .....

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

       Olga Tokarczuk Q & A

       At the Literary Hub they have a Q & A with the author, in On Returning to and Reinterpreting the Classics: Olga Tokarczuk in Conversation with Translator Antonia Lloyd-Jones -- about her novel, The Empusium, just out in English.

       The early reviews have generally been very positive -- see quotes and links at my review -- but at Vulture Robert Rubsam is so underwhelmed that he wonders Has Olga Tokarczuk Been Struck by the Nobel Curse ?

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

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       The Talnikov Family review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Avdotya Panaeva's The Talnikov Family, a nineteenth century novel finally available in English, from Columbia University Press.

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

       Wolfson History Prize shortlist

       They've announced the shortlist for this year's Wolfson History Prize, "the UK's most prestigious history writing prize".
       The winner will be announced 2 December.

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

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       Crime-Cologne-Award

       They've announced the winner of this year's Crime Cologne Award, a leading prize for a German-language mystery, and it is Die Spiele, by Stephan Schmidt; see, for example, the Börsenblatt report.
       See also the DuMont publicity page

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

       Fredric Jameson (1934-2024)

       It's been widely reported that noted literary critic and theorist Fredric Jameson has passed away; see, for example, the note at the London Review of Books.
       (Updated - 24 September): See now also Duke Flags Lowered: Fredric Jameson, Influential Cultural Theorist and Literary Critic, Dies at Duke Today and Farewell to Fredric Jameson at Duke University Press.

       Verso has published many of his books; I've read a few, but it's been a while; none are under review at the complete review.

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

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       Early Film Writings review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of the collection of Chris Marker's Early Film Writings, recently out from the University of Minnesota Press.

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

       Reading in ... China

       At Radio Free Asia Zhu Liye reports that China targets high-ranking officials who read banned books, as:

Nowadays, any publication not entirely in line with orthodox Marxism-Leninism or the official view of Communist Party history is likely to be seen as "reactionary," as is any information about China's highest-ranking leaders, both past and present, according to a senior figure in the Chinese publishing industry who spoke to RFA Mandarin on condition of anonymity.

       Yes, apparently:

President Xi Jinping is coming for their personal libraries and private browsing habits in a bid to instill the same ideas in all party members regardless of rank.

       They've reached the point where:

Even dialectical materialism and critical thinking have become evidence of guilt.

       Disappointing.

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

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       Richard Powers profile

       At The Guardian Alex Clark profile the novelist, in ‘I no longer have to save the world’: Novelist Richard Powers on fiction and the climate crisis.

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

       The Empusium review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of A Health Resort Horror Story by Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk, The Empusium, now out in English, from Riverhead in the US and Fitzcarraldo Editions in the UK.

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

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