Best Translated Book Award 2015 – Fiction & Poetry Longlist

Best Translated Book Award 2015 – Fiction & Poetry Longlist

Hello Gentle Reader

The Best Translated Book Award is one of those awards, that promotes translation and dialogue between cultures and languages, via translators. It is one of those literary awards, which wishes to see translated books of literary merit, to be pushed from three percent (hence “Three Percent Review,”) to a far more desirable percentage. One of the greatest aspects of The Best Translated Book Award, is that it is one of those novels that does not limit itself or shy away from complex narratives, and offers a complete feast for literary delights in its longlists and its shortlists. Without further ado, the following list(s) are the longlists for the Fiction and Poetry prize this year.

The Best Translated Book Award – Fiction longlist

“Things Look Different in the Light,” by Medardo Fraile (Spain)
“Paris,” by Marcos Giralt Torrente (Spain)
“Baboon,” by Naja Marie Aidt (Denmark)
“Pushkin Hills,” by Sergei Dovlatov (Russia)
“Letters from a Seducer,” by Hilda Hilst (Brazil)
“Harlequin’s Millions,” by Bohumil Hrabal (Czech Republic)
“Rambling On: An Apprentice’s Guide to the Gift of the Gab,” Bohumil Hrabal (Czech Republic)
“Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay,” by Elena Ferrante (Italy)
“Fantomas Versus the Multinational Vampires,” by Julio Cortázar (Argentina)
“Adán Buenosayres,” by Leopoldo Marechal (Argentina)
“Talking to Ourselves,” by Andrés Neuman (Argentina)
“La Grande,” by Juan José Saer (Argentina)
“Letters from a Seducer by Hilda Hilst (Brazil)
“Monastery,” by Eduardo Halfon (Guatemala)
“Faces in the Crowd,” by Valeria Luiselli (Mexico)
“Winter Mythologies and Abbots,” by Pierre Michon (France)
“Street of Thieves,” by Mathias Énard (France)
“1914,” by Jean Echenoz, (France)
“Works,” by Edouard Levé (France)
“The Author and Me,” by Éric Chevillard (France)
“The Woman Who Borrowed Memories,” by Tove Jansson (Finland)
“Granma Nineteen and the Soviet’s Secret,” by Ondjaki (Angola)
“Our Lady of the Nile,” by Scholastique Mukasonga (Rwanda)
“Last Words from Montmartre,” by Qiu Miaojin (Taiwan)
“Snow and Shadow,” by Dorothy Tse (Hong Kong)
“The Last Lover,” by Can Xue (China)

The Best Translated Book Award – Poetry longlist

“Collected Poems,” by Rainer Brambach (Switzerland)
“End of the City Map,” by Farhad Showgh (Germany)
“Lazy Suzie,” by Suzanne Doppel (France)
“Openwork,” by André du Bouchet (France)
“The Posthumous Life of RW,” by Jean Frémon (France)
“Guantanamo,” by Frank Smith (France)
“Where Are the Trees Going?,” by Venus Khoury-Ghata (Lebanon)
“Nothing More to Lose,” by Najwan Darwish (Palestine)
“I Am the Beggar of the World: Landays from Contemporary Afghanistan,” Anthology (Afghanistan)
“Soy Realidad,” by Tomaž Šalamun (Slovenia)
“Compleat Catalogue of Comedic Novelties,” Lev Rubinstein (Russia)
“In Praise of Poetry,” by Olga Sedakova (Russia)
“Rain of the Future,” by Valerie Mejer (Mexico)
“Diorama,” by Rocío Cerón (Mexico)
“Diana’s Tree,” by Alejandra Pizarnik (Argentina)
“Sorrowtoothpaste Mirrorcream,” by Kim Hyesoon (South Korea)
“Salsa,” by Hsia Yü (Taiwan)

So ends the longlists of The Best Translated Book Award. There are numerous writers and poets being longlisted for this year’s award. Judging from the fiction list, I have only read: ““Things Look Different in the Light,” by Medardo Fraile,” and ““Winter Mythologies and Abbots,” by Pierre Michon.” The list(s) compiled are interesting, and unique. Two books by the same author appear on the Fiction list, and an anthology of poetry by various poets and women, appear on the list for poetry. Popular writers like Elena Ferrante have beat out other popular names thrown around for such awards – Karl Ove Knausgård, and Haruki Murakami. Newly discovered books by well known writers, make their appearance: “Fantomas Versus the Multinational Vampires,” by Julio Cortázar. The true Chinese Kafka Can Xue, escapes honorable mentions this time wither novel “The Last Love.” And it were to seem that South America (Argentina in particular) has been an interest in the authors – or at least has shown its own rising literary qualities, as they make their way into the English language.

It is interesting to see a South Korean poet reach the longlist. As of late there has been more interest from South Korea to promote, translations of South Korean literature into other languages – the most coveted language: English. What is interesting to see the poet that has been shortlisted is Kim Hyesoon – the peculiar part; she is a woman. South Korea is incredibly patriarchal. Despite this Hyesoon was one of the few women to be published in the magazines: “Literary and Intellect,” and “Creation and Criticism.” Hyesoon is also the first women poet of South Korea to win the prestigious literary prizes: Midang Award and Kim Su-yŏng Conteporary Poetry Award. Two poetry awards named after two of the greatest contemporary poets of South Korea. However the poetry of Kim Hyesoon is not what is defined as ‘feminine,’ poetry. Her poetry is in fact, a resistance against the defined conventions outlined for her – and other women poets of South Korea. Language therefore changes, becomes surreal as well as grotesque but is a fantastic rebellion against confined conventions, in a quiet resistance that discusses the complexities of the female part of the human experience; one that goes beyond: daughter, mother, and grandmother. I can only wonder if Kim Hyesoon will now sit next to the perennial Nobel contender Ko Un, in the cultural dialogue of the Korean and English language – to ambassadors that discuss a similar country in different elements and ways.

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M. Mary