Best Translated Book Award 2017, Longlist

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