Hello
Gentle Reader
The
International Booker Prize Shortlist for 2020 has been dominated by women
writers in translation. The shortlist is comprised of six shortlisted writers
and their novels, five of which are women. The shortlist is somewhat surprising
due to some omissions in favour of others. Regardless Gentle Reader, the
following is the shortlist:
Yoko
Ogawa – Japan – “The Memory Police,”
Marieke
Lucas Rijneveld – The Netherlands – “The Discomfort of Evening,”
Fernanda
Melchor – Mexico – “Hurricane Season,”
Daniel
Kehlmann – Germany – “Tyll,”
Shokoofeh
Azar – Iran – “The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree,”
Gabriela
Cabezón Cámara – Argentina – “The Adventures of China Iron,”
When
compared to the previous longlist, the judges for this year’s Man Booker International
Prize, omitted some of the more high profile authors who were previously on the
longlist, such as: Enrique Vila-Matas, Jon Fosse, and Michel Houellebecq; they
also omitted previous nominee Samanta Schweblin. The omission of Willem Anker
is not entirely surprising, considering previous allegations of plagiarism raised
against the author.
Yoko
Ogawa remains one of the most prominent writers on the list. If she were to receive
the award, it may allow Ogawa the ability to move beyond the shadow of the
publishing companies seeking to find the next Murakami, and allow her to forge
her own literary identity and destiny in the English language, which would also
perhaps mean more translations of her work, rather than few that currently
exist.
Daniel
Kehlmann has been one of the most popular writers in the German language, and
has ssen a continual flow of translations into the English language. “Tyll,” is
no different, now being adapted by Netflix into a series, and being praised
across the board as a tour de force.
Marieke
Lucas Rijneveld is a powerful up and coming voice in Dutch literature, whose
debut in English: “The Discomfort of Evening,” has been critically praised, as
one of the most ambitious and powerful voices in translated literature. “The
Discomfort of Evening,” is a measured and quiet novel, about crisis, death,
grief, guilt, and the existential darkness of the human soul.
Fernanda
Melchor is yet another unique voice on the shortlist. Melchor’s novel “Hurricane
Season,” has been praised as an intense novel regarding the lawlessness of
rural Mexico, superstitions, and the ever present corruption and violence that
grips the country. “Hurricane Season,” is yet another powerful contender, which
will most certainly be debated alongside, “The Memory Police,” “Tyll,” and “The
Discomfort of Evening.”
Gabriela
Cabezón Cámara and her novel “The Adventures of China Iron,” struck me as the
most curious inclusion on the shortlist. My readings and research on the work
appeared unenthused, disengaged, and rather disinterested in the work. A
queer-feminist interpretation of one of Argentina’s classic literary text
appeared like a post-modern fashion statement; one more engaged with the social
interests and flavours of the contemporary, rather than the timelessness
literary pursuits. Still the novel has been regarded as masterful in poetic
form, historical revision, and literary acuity.
It
was rather disappointing to see Emmanuelle Pagano excluded from the shortlist
with her fragmentary novel: “Faces on the Tip of My Tongue.” The fragmentary prose
form is one that I have a special place for. “Faces on the Tip of My Tongue,” traces
makes rural France the theatre for the novel, where Emmanuelle Pagano traces
the peripheral people who live within these otherwise barren landscapes, with
all their closeness of community the interconnectedness of the inhabitants and
the vast distances that exist within the closeness, and how little each
individual knows about their neighbour and their friend. Perhaps what encumbers
this translation is the fact that it is not entirely the same as it’s original.
The English translation is far more taut and lean, while its original is far
more expansive and rolling. Still in the near future, I look forward to reading
this novella.
I
have suspcision that this year’s Man Booker International Prize will come down
to:
Yoko
Ogawa’s “The Memory Police,
Marieke
Lucas Rijneveld’s “The Discomfort of Evening,”
Daniel
Kehlmann’s “Tyll,”
Fernanda
Melchor’s “Hurricane Season,”
Of
these four I cannot say who has the better chance; but it may also move in a
completely different direction going to either: Shokoofeh Azar or Gabriela
Cabezón Cámara. My personal preference is Yoko Ogawa and her novel “The Memory
Police,” which though being treated as a dystopian authoritarian novel, is more
in tune as a treatise on memory, and the psychology of loss, trauma, and absence
as a reflection of our individual consciousness, but also the way in which collectively
individuals interact, navigate, and negotiate with society, interpersonal
relationships, and the environment as a whole.
Thank-you
For Reading Gentle Reader
Take
Care
And
As Always
Stay
Well Read
M.
Mary
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