Hello
Gentle Reader
One
of my favourite passages from Mu Xin’s collection of short stories, is a
description of spring:
“Spring
doesn’t arrive so easily. Spring is like a melancholic yet dignified man. It is
no wonder then that a person with deep addictions is sometimes is likened to
spring,” – from “Weimar in Early Spring.”
In
autumn we are ageless; come spring though, time it’s a more hurried and its
pace is quickened. Fall back; spring forward. This spring has the real air of
melancholy unlike the two years past; the sky is overcast with a thin sheet of
cloud. The sun lurks somewhere overhead, but does not shine. The trees are
bald, barren and brown. Yet this morning, a robin trilled and trumpeted the
arrival of spring. Despite these signs of waning snow, and tweeting robins—we
are not necessarily out of the woods just yet for winters last triumphant and vitriolic
blast to still strike.
Spring
is not a season which attracts my favour. It’s muddy, dirty, and barren—spring here
is like looking at the edge of the world, and seeing the end. Thankfully spring
is an adolescent season; it’s awkward in growth, inconsistent in appearance,
and as sullen as they come. Yet thankfully it buds and blossoms into summer—who,
only lasts as long as a one night love affair.
All
said though, spring does herald the literary seasons beginning, with the Man
Booker International Prize longlist, and now the Best Translated Book Award’s longlist
for both fiction and poetry. The Best Translated Book Award is one of the more
interesting literary awards for translated fiction currently at work. Its lists
are often eclectic, exciting and invigorating. The awards longlist and
shortlist for both fiction and poetry, is diverse and often includes the well-known
with the up and coming, as there is always a chance to become better acquainted
with a new writer. This year’s longlist(s) are as diverse as so those in past. This
year’s longlist contains thirty-five works of prose and poetry. According to
the data this year’s judges received more then six hundred nominations for this
year’s award, of which there were writers from eighty seven different
countries, fifty-four different languages, and published by one-hundred and
seventy-nine different presses. The statistics are both staggering and
welcoming; perhaps the English language or the publishing industry is more open
to translated books from different languages, perspectives and people.
Without
further ado though my Dear Gentle Reader, list below is this year’s longlist
for the fiction and poetry prizes. First off is fiction, with the authors
listed with country and book nominated, in no particular order; following suit
is the poetry longlist with the author, country and nominated book, again in no
particular order.
The
Best Translated Book Award Fiction Longlist –
Maja
Haderlap – Austria/Slovenia – “Angel of Oblivion,”
Basma
Abdel – Egypt – “The Queue,”
Rafael
Chirbe – Spain – “On The Edge,”
Lidija
Dimkovska – Macedonia – “A Spare Life,”
Boubacar
Boris Diop – Senegal – “Doomi Golo,”
László
Krasznahorkai – Hungary – “The Last Wolf and Herman,”
Marie
NDiaye – France – “Ladivine,”
Sjon
– Iceland – “Moonstone: The Boy Who Never Was,”
Yoko
Tawada – Japan/German – “Memories of a Polar Bear,”
Laia
Jufresa – Mexico – “Umami,”
Sergei
Lebedev – Russia – “Oblivion,”
Javier
Marias – Spain – “Thus Bad Begins,”
Patrick
Modiano – France – “In The Café of Lost Youth,”
Antonio
di Benedetto – Argentina – “Zama,”
Banana
Yoshimoto – Japan – “Moshi Moshi,”
Enrique
Vila-Mattas – Spain – “Vampire in Love,”
Stefan
Hertmans – Belgium – “War and Turpentine,”
Santiago
Gamboa – Columbia – “Night Prayers,”
Jakob
Wassermann – Germany – “My Marriage,”
Yoss
– Cuba – “Super Extra Grande,”
Ananda
Devi – Mauritius – “Eve Out of Her Ruins,”
Daniel
Saldaña París – Mexico – “Among Strange Victims,”
Lúcio
Cardoso – Brazil – “Chronicle of the Murdered House,”
Alessandro Baricco – Italy – “The Young Bride,”
Pedro
Cabiya – Dominican Republic – “Wicked Weeds,”
There
it is Gentle Reader, the fiction longlist for this year’s Best Translated Book
Award. Twenty five books, by twenty five different writers. The list holds host
to numerous new authors as well as established writers. I was delighted to see Maja
Haderlap on the list with her beautiful and lyrical novel “Angel of Oblivion,”
which tackles guilt and grief as both pandemic and personal affliction, as well
as history and its tragic ability to be thwarted and interpreted. Nobel Laurate
in Literature, Patrick Modiano also sits on the list with his novel “In The Café
of Lost Youth,” which currently resides in my hands as I begin to read, yet
another one of his wistful and melancholic novels, which most certainly will add
another chapter to his mansion of half remembered memories. The Spanish language
is well represented on the list with nine novels written in the language; yet
only two writers herald from Spain itself: Javier Marias and Enrique
Vila-Mattas. I always imagine Marias and Vila-Mattas, two of the best writers
in Spain currently at work; in my mind they are always envisioned as great
friends, but fiercely competitive with each other, in the friendliest manner
possible. South and Central America are represented strongly with writers from
Columbia, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina as well as Cuba; an exciting year for the
southern hemisphere.
Ananda
Devi strikes me as unique voice amongst the listed writers. She heralds form
Mauritius and writes in French. She is one of those literary prodigies, whose
talents came through early on, when she won a short story competition at the
age of fifteen. Her nominated novel “Eve Out of Her Ruins,” tracks the lives of
four lust driven teenagers, in a poor suburb of the capital of Mauritius; they
each tackle and fight with the concepts of identity and sexuality, beneath the unforgiving
son of the southern island nation.
Marie
NDiaye, is one of Frances literary prodigies as well. She began writing at the
age of twelve, and was discovered early on by the late Jerome Lindon (editor of
the famous Éditions de Minuit); who
published such famous writers as Samuel Beckett, Marguirte Duras, and Claude
Simon. Since her debut, at the age of seventeen Marie NDiaye, has been a
literary star in France; though she currently resides in Berlin in self-exile,
escaping the monstrous political atmosphere of France. Her longlisted novel “Ladivine,”
was also longlisted for the Man Booker International Prize last year. Boubacar
Boris Diop and Marie NDiaye have something in common. Boubacar Boris Diop is a Senegalese
writer and Marie NDiaye, though French is half Senegal, from her father; though
he had returned to Senegal when she was just an infant. Boubacar Boris Diop’s
novel “Doomi Golo,” is a remarkable and extrodinary piece of translation, as it
is the first literary work to be translated from Wolof, into the English
language. “Dommi Golo,” is about the one sided conversation of a grandfather
attempting to communicate to his grandson before he dies. The grandfather’s
life and his observations are accounted into six notebooks. The novel has been
defined as moving like a piece of musical composition, paradoxically, it is
both meandering and loose, while also maintain a cohesive and interwoven to
give a completed picture. “Dommi Golo,” is one of the most exciting novels
currently on the list.
László
Krasznahorkai is a giant on the international literary scene. He has won the
Best Translated Book Award twice; in two consecutive years. First Krasznahorkai
won the award with his debut novel translated into English “Satantango,” in
two-thousand and thirteen; in two-thousand and fourteen he would receive the
award again with: “Seiobo There Below.” This is a testament to László
Krasznahorkai talent and reputation as a major writer on the world stage. Personally
though, I often myself at odds with the Hungarian master of the apocalypse; his
work is incredible in style, breadth and scope; yet I often find myself
finishing his worth with a great sigh of exhaustion. His winding and seemingly
endless sentences are a labyrinth, and much like the purpose of the Minotaur’s labyrinth,
one gets the impression that they are insignificant, small and most certainly
get lost within it. Despite my own hesitations with the writer, I cannot deny
him his glory or praise, which I often agree he justly deserves. He is just not
necessarily my cup of tea in all circumstances. Krasznahorkai is back as a
veteran and seasoned writer with his short novel: “The Last Wolf and Herman.” It’ll
be curious to see if precedence follows, and whether or not Krasznahorkai ends
up on the shortlist, and the potential as a winner. The Icelandic writer, Sjon,
also finds himself on the longlist once again, after making it there in
two-thousand and fourteen with his novel “The Whispering Muse.” There can be no
denying Sjon is a great writer. His short and beautifully crafted novel “The
Blue Fox,” was much fairy story and folktale, as it was a heartbreaking piece
of work of family and human cruelty. Reaching the longlist a second time, only
solidifies Sjon’s growing reputation and respect. Another curious veteran writer
makes on to this year’s longlist: Lidija Dimkovska, from Macedonia. In two-thousand
and thirteen Lidija Dimkovska was on the poetry shortlist with her collection of
poems: “pH Neutral History,” now four years later, she is back with her novel “A
Spare Life.” Though Dimkovska did not win poetry section of the Best Translated
Book Award, four years ago, her novel recently translated as “A Spare Life,”
did receive the European Union Prize for Literature alongside eleven other
writers.
Two
Japanese writers also make their way on to this year’s longlist in fiction; and
they could not be any more different. Yoko Tawada is one of the most unique
voices currently at work in both Japanese and German. She is a writer of a dual
identity and language. Her work is often noted for its distinct Japanese
surrealism (with its slight focus on bodily functions as is the case of “The
Bridegroom and the Dog,”) she is noted as a writer completely distinct from the
influence of Haruki Murakami. Her longlisted novel “Memories of a Polar Bear,”
is a unconventional family sage, recounting the lives of three generations of
polar bears. The novel has been remarked to showcase the hallmark strangeness of
Yoko Tawada’s previous work, as it recounts the unique polar bears living
amongst the human society, from Soviet Russia, to Canada, to the former East
German, to the tragic real story of Knut born in the Leipzig zoo. Yoko Tawada traverses
the world. By comparison, Banana Yoshimoto is the more strikingly Japanese
writer, of the two. Alongside Haruki Murakami, Banana Yoshimoto is considered
one of Japans most popular writers. Much like Haruki Murakami, Banana Yoshimoto
uses casual surrealism to discuss the existential dread facing the urban bound
Japanese youth, as they do their best to carve their name out in a
post-consumerist world. Yoshimoto has stated her goal in writing is to help
people, and in her novel “Moshi Moshi,” Yoshimoto tackles the death of a
parent, and the all-consuming grief. With light prose and her casual yet detached
surrealism Banana Yoshimoto creates a coming of age ghost story.
Basma
Abdel is the only writer represented on the list hailing from the Middle East
and the Arabic language. Basma Abdel is a writer, psychiatrist and visual
artist, as well as being a columnist with a leading newspaper in Egypt. She earned
her nickname or badge: “The Rebel,” because she continually fights against
corruption, torture, and injustice in her home country. Her longlisted novel “The
Queue,” is a scathing and yet all too realistic perspective of life after the
failed Arab Spring. It’s a potent novel which expresses through subtle and intelligence
writing Basma Abdel explore the nature of authoritarianism, and how it
manipulates the everyday populace in an information saturated age; and its
complete disregard for all those under its thumb, including those faithful and
supportive of it.
The
Best Translated Book Award, Poetry Longlist:
Ashraf
Fayadh – Palestine/Saudi Arabia – “Instructions Within,”
Sara
Uribe – Mexico – “Antígona González,”
Anna
Świrszczyńska – Poland – “Building the Barricade,”
Abdellatif
Laâbi – Morocco – “In Praise of Defeat,”
Yideum
Kim – (South) Korea – “Cheer Up, Femme Fatale,”
Michael
Donhauser – Austria – “Of Things,”
Alejandra
Pizarnik – Argentina – “Extracting the Stone of Madness,”
Szilárd
Borbély – Hungary – “Berlin-Hamlet,”
Pierre
Reverdy – France – “Thief of Talent,”
Víctor
Rodríguez Núñez – Cuba – “Tasks,”
There
is the ten longlisted poetry collections nominated for this year’s Best
Translated Book Award in the poetry section. I am a casual poetry reader (at
best) so my thoughts are limited and non-existence. Though it is interesting to
note, on the poetry short list lies on writer from one of the most politically
charged areas in the world: Ashraf Fayadh, a Palestinian born poet currently
residing in Saudi Arabia. Also noted on the longlist is a lack of European domination
with only four poets of the nine heralding from the continent, the rest come
from Asia, South and Central America.
This
year’s longlist is as expected: is it eclectic, eccentric and exciting. On the
longlist there are numerous writers and novels which I am currently interested
in pursuing further, while I begin compiling a new books I would like to read
and buy in the coming months. The best part about all literary awards is the
exciting venture of discovering a new writer, new talent, and a new book to
enjoy.
Best
of luck to all the writers and it will be exciting to see how the difficult
decision is made to dwindle down the list to a shortlist; a job I do not envy.
Thank-you
For Reading Gentle Reader
Take
Care
And
As Always
Stay
Well Read
M.
Mary
