opinionated commentary on literary matters - from the complete review

The Literary Saloon Archive

21 - 28 February 2025

21 February: New World Literature Today | Translating Dazai Osamu | LLMs tracking societal bias
22 February: Frankétienne (1936-2025) | Walter Scott Prize longlist
23 February: Dulat Issabekov (1942-2025)
24 February: Percival Everett Q & A | Anime and Manga | Books in fashion-advertising
25 February: Krasznahorkai László Q & A | Mass-market paperback distribution
26 February: International Booker Prize longlist | Iran's Book of the Year Awards | Die Trying review
27 February: The book market in ... Russia | The Hashish Films of Customs Officer Henri Rousseau [...] review
28 February: Nordic Council Literature Prize nominees | Pierre Joris (1946-2025) | Republic of Consciousness Prize shortlist

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       Nordic Council Literature Prize nominees

       They've announced the nominees for this year's Nordic Council Literature Prize, the leading Scandinavian book prize, with entries from all the countries and territories in the region -- fourteen finalists.
       Several of the nominees have had books translated into English before, including Madame Nielsen (Denmark), Johan Harstad (Norway), and Andrzej Tichý (Sweden).
       This prize has a very good track record and we can expect to see the winning title translated into English; ten previous winners are under review at the complete review.
       The winner will be announced on 21 October.

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

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       Pierre Joris (1946-2025)

       Poet and translator Pierre Joris has passed away; see, for example, Claudia Kollwelter's report, De Lëtzebuerger Auteur Pierre Joris ass gestuerwen at RTL (as Joris was also Luxembourgeois).

       I have and have been meaning to get to Always the Many, Never the One -- Pierre Joris in conversation with Florent Toniello; see the Contra Mundum publicity page, or get your copy at Amazon.com, Bookshop.org, or Amazon.co.uk.

       See also his official site.

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

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       Republic of Consciousness Prize shortlist

       The Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses (in the UK and Ireland) has announced their shortlist for this year's prize -- though not yet at the official site, last I checked -- but see, for example, their Substack post.

       The Republic of Consciousness Prize - USA and Canada has apparently also announced their shortlist -- but not yet at the official site, last I checked, and they don't seem to have a 'Substack'.

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

       The book market in ... Russia

       At Realnoe Vremya "Director General of AST-Azbuka Publishing House Tatyana Gorskaya spoke about who reads and buys books the most, how literary niches have changed in 2024 and how the low birth rate affects the book industry", in Literature in a demographic pit.
       Only 6.8 million men bought books in Russia last year -- compared to 10.8 million women who bought books.
       One positive sign:

Book purchases among young people are also the highest: 46.4% of young people buy books at the age of 16-19, and 44% in the 20-24 age group.

       Two areas that declined were: books on esotericism, and 'oriental comics' -- though the latter may be down to the fact that: "The American company that provided us with comics left the Russian market" and manga-juggernaut "Shueisha stopped cooperating with Russia".

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

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       The Hashish Films of Customs Officer Henri Rousseau and Tatyana Joukof Shuffles the Cards review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of A Novel against Psicho-Analise by Emil Szittya, The Hashish Films of Customs Officer Henri Rousseau and Tatyana Joukof Shuffles the Cards -- just about out from Wakefield Press.

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

       International Booker Prize longlist

       They've announced the longlist for this year's International Booker Prize -- thirteen books (11 novels; 2 short story collections), selected from 154 (unfortunately not revealed) submissions.
       Only two of the longlisted books are under review at the complete review:

• On the Calculation of Volume (I) by Solvej Balle
  
  
• Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami

       I just got a copy of Vincenzo Latronico's Perfection on Monday, and I also have Solenoid, but I haven't seen any of the others.
       The shortlist will be announced 8 April, and the winner on 20 May.

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

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       Iran's Book of the Year Awards

       They've announced the winners of this year's Iran Book of the Year Awards, in its many categories -- see the full list here or, for example, the Tehran Times report, Iran's Book of the Year Awards reveals winners.
       Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian handed out the awards, with Majid Qeisari's سنگ اقبال ('Stone of Iqbal') winning for best novel; see also the Cheshmeh publicity page.

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

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       Die Trying review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Lee Child's Die Trying -- the second of his Jack Reacher-novels (and the twelfth under review here).

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

       Krasznahorkai László Q & A

       At The Yale Review Hari Kunzru has a Q & A with Krasznahorkai László.
       Krasznahorkai concludes:

Only the ordinary person exists. And they are sacred.

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

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       Mass-market paperback distribution

       At Publishers Weekly Jim Milliot reports that Readerlink Will Stop Distributing Mass Market Paperbacks at the End of 2025 (paywalled) -- a major blow, as: "Readerlink’s customers [...] account for as much as 60–70% of mass market paperback sales in the U.S.".
       As Milliot notes:

According to BookScan, mass market paperback sales fell 19.3% in 2024, to roughly 21 million units sold.

       I am baffled by this fall-out-of-fashion: the mass-market paperback size remains -- by far ! -- my favorite: it's handier (than trade paperbacks, much less hardcovers) and I can fit more books on my shelves. Every book -- at least every work of fiction -- should come in this format ! But this will presumably only hasten its near-demise (at least in the US).

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

       Percival Everett Q & A

       At The Observer Tim Lewis has a Q & A with James-Writer Percival Everett: ‘Deciding to write a book is like knowingly entering a bad marriage’.
       Among Everett's repsonses re. James:

You must be thrilled by the response to the book, no ?

Of course, it’s a positive thing, but I’m so sick of this book. [...] I don’t delude myself; my self-worth is not invested in this and it has very little to do with me at this point. Am I proud of it ? I don’t think so. But it’s interesting to watch.

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

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       Anime and Manga

       At nippon.com Nakano Haruyuki considers Anime or Manga ? Examining the Different Hit Formulas in Japan and Abroad.
       Among the observations:

Despite Astro Boy making its US debut as an anime in the 1960s, it took over 30 years for its translated Japanese manga to gain significant attention. This delay can be attributed to several factors, including the absence of a Japanese-style manga magazine culture overseas, the complexity of right-to-left reading, and the relative simplicity of anime as a medium. Fundamentally, the lag in manga’s popularity abroad can be traced to the tendency for manga volumes to follow in the wake of anime adaptations.

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

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       Books in fashion-advertising

       In the Wall Street Journal Katie Deighton writes about The Hottest Thing in Fashion Advertising ? Books.
       As one 'brand consultant' explains:

Reading -- not being always online, not always being connected, not having the phone constantly next to you -- has come to imply that you are just operating at a different level.

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

       Dulat Issabekov (1942-2025)

       Kazakh author Dulat Issabekov has passed away; see, for example, the Kazinform News Agency report, Kazakh classic literature author Dulat Issabekov passes away.

       Several of his works have been translated into English: The Confrontation -- get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk --, The Little Pearl -- get your copy at Amazon.co.uk --, and the play Bonaparte's Wedding -- get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk -- but I haven't seen any of these.

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

       Frankétienne (1936-2025)

       Haitian author Frankétienne has passed away; see, for example the obituary in The Haitian Times and Dánica Coto's AP obituary (here at ABC).
       Several of his works have been translated into English, including Dézafi -- see the University of Virginia Press publicity page -- and the only one of his books under review at the complete review, Ready to Burst.

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

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       Walter Scott Prize longlist

       They've announced the twelve-title longlist for this year's Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction.
       Only one of the titles is under review at the complete review: Ferdia Lennon's Glorious Exploits.
       The shortlist will be announced 15 April.

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

       New World Literature Today

       The March-April issue of World Literature Today is now out.
       As always, a lot of good material -- including the extensive book review section.

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

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       Translating Dazai Osamu

       At Counter Craft Lincoln Michel has a Q & A with the translator, in 'On translating comedy, men as erratic and emotional creatures, and "the original bad boy of modern Japanese fiction"', in Processing: How Sam Bett Translated Osamu Dazai.
       Bett's translation of Dazai's The Beggar Student is just out -- see the New Directions publicity page --; the only Dazai under review at the complete review is A Shameful Life.

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

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       LLMs tracking societal bias

       In New Scientist Matthew Sparkes reports on how AI trained on novels tracks how racist and sexist biases have evolved (paywalled) -- reporting on the recent paper Fine-Tuned LLMs are “Time Capsules” for Tracking Societal Bias Through Books (warning ! dreaded pdf format ! there's also an version) by Sangmitra Madhusudan, Robert Morabito, Skye Reid, Nikta Gohari Sadr, and Ali Emami
       Hardly surprising, but interesting nevertheless.

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

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