The Independent Foreign Fiction Prize: Shortlist

Hello Gentle Reader

Karl Ove Knausgaard is a name one will recognizes a lot when discussing translated novels, and other works of written works. He is the contemporary Proust in some regards. His literary saga – confessing everything of a tumultuous life; of highs and lows, has gripped the literary scene not only in his native Norway, but also through the rest of the world. Knausgaard has become something of a literary pop celebrity. Now he finds himself on the shortlist for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, alongside other authors ranging from Europe to Iraq to Japan.

The shortlisted reads as follows:

Karl Ove Knausgaard “A Man in Love,”
Hassan Blasim “The Iraqi Christ,”
Yoko Ogawa “Revenge,”
Birgit Vanderbeke “The Mussel Feast,”
Hubert Mingarelli “A Mean in Winter,”
Hiromi Kawakam “Strange Weather in Tokyo.”

Good luck to all the authors, on the shortlist. The Best Translated Book Award, will be announced come this Friday, and will include the poetry finalists as well. My hope is that we will see “Her Not All Her,” by Elfriede Jelinek on the shortlist as well as “The African Shore,” by Rodrigo Rey Rosa and “The End of Love,” Marcos Giralt. I hope that László Krasznahorkai makes the shortlist as well; but I do not think the book warrants it to win again. As much as “Seiobo There Below,” had its moments of glint and true beauty, it also became monotonous in its reading as well. I hope that Mo Yan’s “Sandalwood Death,” also is omitted all together. Of course that’s just personal held beliefs. In the end the shortlist for both awards, should be interesting and the winner, will hopefully be well deserved, after debates and deliberations.

Thank-you For Reading Gentle Reader
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Stay Well Read
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M. Mary