{"id":305826,"date":"2017-04-07T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-04-07T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wdev.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent-dev\/2017\/04\/07\/why-this-book-should-win-so-far\/"},"modified":"2018-05-04T14:29:02","modified_gmt":"2018-05-04T14:29:02","slug":"why-this-book-should-win-so-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/2017\/04\/07\/why-this-book-should-win-so-far\/","title":{"rendered":"“Why This Book Should Win” So Far . . ."},"content":{"rendered":"

Unless someone surprises me with a new write-up, we don\u2019t have any Why This Book Should Win<\/a> posts for today. That leaves fifteen books to be covered next week, leading us right into the April 18th announcement of the BTBA<\/span> fiction and poetry finalists.<\/p>\n

But for today, I thought I\u2019d just post links to all twenty of the entries in this series so far, with a line or two from the actual post. So if you\u2019re looking for a book to pick up this weekend, here are twenty good leads.<\/p>\n

From the Fiction Longlist:<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Queue<\/em><\/a> by Basma Abdel Aziz, translated from the Arabic by Elisabeth Jaquette (Egypt, Melville House)<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone can relate to the frustrating helplessness governmental institutions can enact (remember your last trip to the DMV<\/span>); it\u2019s incredibly easy to imagine how an administration can turn on the faucet of needless bureaucracy to demoralize dissidents.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Wicked Weeds<\/em><\/a> by Pedro Cabiya, translated from the Spanish by Jessica Powell (Dominican Republic, Mandel Vilar Press)<\/p>\n

\u201cBut this is no gross-zombies-lurching-around-trying-to-eat-brains kind of zombie novel. Rather, it\u2019s a sophisticated exploration of the mind-body duality, the place of zombies in popular culture, the history of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and the study of plant-human interactions.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chronicle of the Murdered House<\/em><\/a> by L\u00facio Cardoso, translated from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa and Robin Patterson (Brazil, Open Letter Books)<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a fully-formed universe taking place in a run-down mansion rotting away in the jungle.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On the Edge<\/em><\/a> by Rafael Chirbes, translated from the Spanish by Margaret Jull Costa (Spain, New Directions)<\/p>\n

\u201cRendered from the Spanish by the incomparable Margaret Jull Costa (who has four books on this year\u2019s BTBA<\/span> longlist), On the Edge is a riveting and disquieting work of fiction\u2014one that speaks to the horrors of individual and collective calamity. On the Edge\u2019s import cannot be overstated, nor can the lingering effects of this singular novel.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Night Prayers<\/em><\/a> by Santiago Gamboa, translated from the Spanish by Howard Curtis (Colombia, Europa Editions)<\/p>\n

\u201cWith an electrifying, well-paced plot, Gamboa\u2019s novel engages and entertains like the very best of crime fiction, yet reflects and philosophizes like a more measured literary work.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Umami<\/em><\/a> by Laia Jufresa, translated from the Spanish by Sophie Hughes (Mexico, Oneworld)<\/p>\n

\u201cUmami\u2019s balance\u2014of light and dark, of cultivation and deluge, of presence and absence\u2014is what makes it such a welcoming home for the reader, one that feels profoundly lived-in (one can almost sense the neighbors\u2019 heartbeats) as well as haunted (one can also sense the hovering shadows of Luz, Noelia, the children Alfonso and Noelia did not have, the parents Marina never quite had, the mother Ana\u2019s mother might have been\u2014but never was\u2014and the abandoning, abruptly returning mother of Ana\u2019s best friend Pina).\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Last Wolf and Herman<\/em><\/a> by L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Krasznahorkai, translated from the Hungarian by George Szirtes and John Batki (Hungary, New Directions)<\/p>\n

\u201cTaken together, the novellas represent a powerful overview of the author\u2019s virtuosity, acuity, and mastery over language, along with the translators\u2019 astonishing abilities in terms of transforming what I imagine is very difficult, dense Hungarian into such fluid and striking English. If that\u2019s not what the Best Translated Book Award is meant to honor, than I have been grossly misled.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Thus Bad Begins<\/em><\/a> by Javier Mar\u00edas, translated from the Spanish by Margaret Jull Costa (Spain, Knopf)<\/p>\n

\u201cMar\u00edas may be our only living author worthy to be called a successor to Henry James.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the Caf\u00e9 of Lost Youth<\/em><\/a> by Patrick Modiano, translated from the French by Chris Clarke (France, New York Review Books)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis book should win because of the melancholy of memory, what once was so present and undeniable becomes sorrowful nostalgia for youth, a yearning to be where we once were. Wistful and haunting, In the Caf\u00e9 of Lost Youth a testament to Modiano\u2019s skill at confronting how memory truly imbues our perception of who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ladivine<\/em><\/a> by Marie NDiaye, translated from the French by Jordan Stump (France, Knopf)<\/p>\n

\u201cNDiaye\u2019s books are illuminating while retaining so much mystery, or, rather, they are illuminating because they retain so much mystery. For example, the lines between characters often feel blurry to the point I sometimes don\u2019t quite know who\u2019s on the page anymore, and yet this confusion is the very moment I see light.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Among Strange Victims<\/em><\/a> by Daniel Salda\u00f1a Par\u00eds, translated from the Spanish by Christina MacSweeney (Mexico, Coffee House Press)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe novel revolves around Rodrigo, a young functionary, a \u2018knowledge administrator,\u2019 a title he has invented for himself, who works in a museum, a slacker to borrow from Coffee House\u2019s tagline, who\u2019s content to go through life without making any decisions. Or what there is of his life.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Moonstone<\/em><\/a> by Sj\u00f3n, translated from the Icelandic by Victoria Cribb (Iceland, FSG<\/span>)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sense of danger from the outside pervades the novel, not just in relation to the actual, literal infection that the Danes bring with them on their ship, but also in the corrupting power of foreign films.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Memoirs of a Polar Bear<\/em><\/a> by Yoko Tawada, translated from the German by Susan Bernofsky (Japan, New Directions)<\/p>\n

\u201cMemoirs<\/em>, while an exquisite speculative study of the relationship between humans and polar bears and of polar bear consciousness, is ultimately a story about human relationships, exile, and cultural ignorance.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Vampire in Love<\/em><\/a> by Enrique Vila-Matas, translated from the Spanish by Margaret Jull Costa (Spain, New Directions)<\/p>\n

\u201cA reader needn\u2019t have experienced any of Vila-Matas\u2019s incredible novels to appreciate and enjoy these tremendous stories. Funny, eerie, worldly and strange, Vila-Matas is a master of the form.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My Marriage<\/em><\/a> by Jakob Wassermann, translated from the German by Michael Hofmann (Germany, New York Review Books)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe book pulled me in immediately. It isn\u2019t happy reading, but it is an exquisite rendering of pain that is brought on by union and separation at once.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Super Extra Grande<\/em><\/a> by Yoss, translated from the Spanish by David Frye (Cuba, Restless Books)<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything about YOss seems to be a signature, from his name (his birth name is Jos\u00e9 Miguel S\u00e1nchez G\u00f3mez) to his heavy-metal appearance. But after spending time with him in his native Havana, I realized that nothing about this Cuban author is superficial or clich\u00e9. More importantly, he is not a dilettante. He can speak as intelligently and passionately about Proust as he can Philip K. Dick.\u201d<\/p>\n

And now, from the Poetry Longlist:<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Berlin-Hamlet<\/em><\/a> by Szil\u00e1rd Borb\u00e9ly, translated from the Hungarian by Ottilie Mulzet (Hungary, New York Review Books)<\/p>\n

\u201cPart confession, part correspondence, part phantasmagorical travelogue through scenes of collective cultural trauma, Borb\u00e9ly\u2019s poetry is haunting, melancholic, and tender.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Of Things<\/em><\/a> by Michael Donhauser, translated from the German by Nick Hoff and Andrew Joron (Austria, Burning Deck Press)<\/p>\n

\u201cMundane things like a thicket, a manure pile, a marigold, gravel, or a tomato gain an almost talismanic power as the poet tries to understand them by describing their appearances, the associations they evoke, their historical contexts.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Instructions Within<\/em><\/a> by Ashraf Fayadh, translated from the Arabic by Mona Kareem, Mona Zaki, and Jonathan Wright (Palestine, The Operating System)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe book is about Fayadh\u2019s experience as a Palestinian refugee. It is about fundamentalist religion in Saudi Arabia. It is also about the hypocrisies of a world in which Western governments, supposed protectors of freedom and democracy, maintain financial ties with Saudi Arabia, turning a blind eye to the country\u2019s human rights offenses at the expense of people like Ashraf Fayadh in order to keep a steady supply of oil.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Thief of Talant<\/em><\/a> by Pierre Reverdy, translated from the French by Ian Seed (France, Wakefield Press)<\/p>\n

\u201cReverdy was a master of playing with space and language, simultaneously using one to alter the other\u2014a quality that has garnered him a reputation for being notoriously difficult to translate.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unless someone surprises me with a new write-up, we don\u2019t have any Why This Book Should Win posts for today. That leaves fifteen books to be covered next week, leading us right into the April 18th announcement of the BTBA fiction and poetry finalists. But for today, I thought I\u2019d just post links to all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":292,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67476],"tags":[35996,64586,48766,49386,1646,37876],"class_list":["post-305826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-best-translated-book-awards","tag-btba","tag-btba-2017","tag-btba-fiction","tag-btba-poetry","tag-review","tag-why-this-book-should-win"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/292"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=305826"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305826\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":396702,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305826\/revisions\/396702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=305826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=305826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/College\/translation\/threepercent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=305826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}