April (first week) 2017 Reads

This week I read two superb novels, a mystery, a classic short story anthology, a couple of online things, and, of course, my weekly story for Deal Me In...

 “Deal Me In 2017!”

Story: Cosmo Girl by Nadia Villafuerte; Translated from the Spanish By Julie Ann Ward
"She picks up her suitcase. Gets in line. Shows her ticket without letting her fist tremble. Checks her luggage. They’re not going to stop me, she repeats silently until she finally settles into seat twenty-nine." Elena is on her way north to Juárez. She doesn't plan to cross the border--until the time is right. But even while still far south in Mexico the bus is stopped at internal checkpoints...

Card: Three of Spades from metrodeck a card deck "Printed on found and repurposed New York City subway fare cards, metrodeck attempts to visually capture the common thread between commuters, public transportation, and chance.
Every card has been gathered at random, after having been purchased, used, and discarded by either a visitor or resident of New York City. Some have been signed or otherwise marked, making each card unique with its own narrative potential."
OK so our story is set in Mexico, not New York City, and it's on a bus, not a train...but still the cautions on this card could apply to many forms of transportation. A bit of a stretch for a connection, but it's a cool concept deck. Follow the "process" link on the metrodeck site menu for some neat pictures of how the cards are made.

from my "owned-but-unread" shelf...


Eve out of Her Ruins by Ananda Devi, J.M.G. (Introduction), Translated from the French by Jeffrey Zuckerman
An absolutely stunning, crushing story of four teenagers in an impoverished area of Port Louis, Mauritanius. Lyrical first person narrations alternate between two girls and two boys as they tell a tale of sex and violence that can only end in tragedy. 
My copy from Deep Vellum subscription.
Cover design by Anna Zylicz
On the Best Translated Book Award (BTBA) Longlist 2017



 
Chronicle of the Murdered House by Lúcio Cardoso,  (Translated from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa and Robin Patterson; Introduction by Benjamin Moser
A classic family tragedy played out in a crumbling villa. Beautifully told through multiple points of view in a series of documents (letters, diaries, statements, reports).
My copy from Open Letter Press subscription.

On the Best Translated Book Award (BTBA) Longlist 2017



A note about Best Translated Book Award (BTBA) Fiction Longlist 2017:
It's a terrific list. So far I have read five -- the above two and A Spare Life, Umami, and Oblivion. 
No way can I say one of these is better than the others.



After the Crash by Michel Bussi, Translated from the French by Sam Taylor
A plane crashes, an unidentifiable infant is the only survivor, not an easy identification to make because there were two babies on board and this was in 1980 before DNA....So two families go to battle for custody, a private investigator spend eighteen years trying so solve the dilemma (and pocket plenty of cash)....Plenty to keep me reading. A couple of times I thought I had it figured out, but I was wrong--sort of.

Advanced review copy I rec'd a couple of years ago--sorry I just got around to it. It was a good read.

  
Gutenberg find... 

Brazilian Tales by Albuquerque, Coelho Netto, Dolores, and Machado de Assis Translation and Introduction by Isaac Goldberg (Published in 1921 by The Four Seas Company, Boston, Massachusetts)

Contents: Preliminary Remarks: An overview of the state of Brazilian literature (in 1921) as well as information on the writers in this collection.
  The Attendant's Confession By Joaquim Maria Machado De Assis: Murder of self-defense?
  The Fortune-Teller By Joaquim Maria Machado De Assis: a story of a love triangle.
    Life By Joaquim Maria Machado De Assis: a dialog between Ahasverus (The Wandering Jew) who is the last mortal on Earth and Prometheus.

    The Vengeance Of Felix By José Medeiros E Albuquerque: "Old Felix had followed his trade of digger in all the quarries that Rio de Janeiro possessed. He was a sort of Hercules with huge limbs, but otherwise stupid as a post." Or was he?
    The Pigeons By Coelho Netto: "When the pigeons leave, misfortune follows.—Indian superstition."

    Aunt Zeze's Tears By Carmen Dolores: An old-maid faces reality.

online...

Build Your Own Pizza Oven: The Crust-Worthy Guide You Didn't Know You Kneaded an exercise for architecture students, complete with plans and instructions.
I'm not going to build one, but if I were ever build anything out of brick and mud this is a thing I would build...

But I wouldn't drink Bone Sake with my pizza...


Bone Sake Michael Pronko, a long time resident of Japan, meets his match in a drink that "...brought me closer to the essence of bone, a place I wasn’t sure I wanted to be."

Pronko is the author of three mystery/thrillers (set in Tokyo) and three collections of essays on Japan. In addition to his writer blog, he (along with Marco Mancini) runs the blog Jazz In Japan which features news, reviews, articles, club and venue information, and other related things.

Another Longlist

 2016  Best Translated Book Award - fiction longlist

 I've read some, others are in my possession but not yet read, some are on my to be acquired (purchase or borrow), and a few I know little about. 

Arvida by Samuel Archibald, translated from the French by Donald Winkler (Canada, Biblioasis)
Library doesn't own 

Beauty is a Wound by Eka Kurniawan, translated from the Indonesian by Annie Tucker (Indonesia, New Directions)
  Submitted request to library (3/30/16) Read it in May, really liked it

Berlin by Aleš Šteger, translated from the Slovene by Brian Henry, Forrest Gander, and Aljaž Kovac (Slovenia, Counterpath)
 Library doesn't own

The Big Green Tent by Ludmila Ulitskaya, translated from the Russian by Polly Gannon (Russia, FSG)
  Submitted request to library (3/30/16) 

The Body Where I Was Born by Guadalupe Nettel, translated from the Spanish by J. T. Lichtenstein (Mexico, Seven Stories Press)
 owned but not read (kindle)

The Complete Stories by Clarice Lispector, translated from the Portuguese by Katrina Dodson (Brazil, New Directions)
want to read, but in no rush. Library has

The Four Books by Yan Lianke, translated from the Chinese by Carlos Rojas (China, Grove Press) read, library book of the ones I've read, I liked this the least--but it is good and worthy of inclusion.

French Perfume by Amir Tag Elsir, translated from the Arabic by William M. Hutchins (Sudan, Antibookclub)
Library doesn't own

A General Theory of Oblivion by José Eduardo Agualusa, translated from the Portuguese by Daniel Hahn (Angola, Archipelago Books)
 Library doesn't own has, requested 6/4/2016

I Refuse by Per Petterson, translated from the Norwegian by Don Bartlett (Norway, Graywolf Press)
library request pending not sure about the subject matter, I may not stick with it. Status is "in transit" but library having delivery problems so it will be a week or so. Read in May, liked it

The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud, translated from the French by John Cullen (Algeria, Other Press)
 read, library book liked it

Mirages of the Mind by Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi, translated from the Urdu by Matt Reeck and Aftab Ahmad (India, New Directions)
Submitted request to library (3/30/16) read about half (in May) had to return it, will get again and finish it

Moods by Yoel Hoffmann, translated from the Hebrew by Peter Cole (Israel, New Directions)
Library has, but I may pass on this one

Murder Most Serene by Gabrielle Wittkop, translated from the French by Louise Rogers Lalaurie (France, Wakefield Press)
library doesn't own

Nowhere to Be Found by Bae Suah, translated from the Korean by Sora Kim-Russell (South Korea, AmazonCrossing)
library doesn't own

One Out of Two by Daniel Sada, translated from the Spanish by Katherine Silver (Mexico, Graywolf Press)
 Submitted request to library (3/30/16) read in April, really liked it

The Physics of Sorrow by Georgi Gospodinov, translated from the Bulgarian by Angela Rodel (Bulgaria, Open Letter)
 owned but not read

Signs Preceding the End of the World by Yuri Herrera, translated from the Spanish by Lisa Dillman (Mexico, And Other Stories)
 read, own fantastic

The Sleep of the Righteous by Wolfgang Hilbig, translated from the German by Isabel Fargo Cole (Germany, Two Lines Press)
  owned but not read

Sphinx by Anne Garréta, translated from the French by Emma Ramadan (France, Deep Vellum)
 owned but not read   

The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante, translated from the Italian by Ann Goldstein (Italy, Europa Editions)
Someday I may read this, I have the first book but haven't read it

The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli, translated from the Spanish by Christina MacSweeney (Mexico, Coffee House Press)
 Submitted request to library (3/30/16)  Read in May, didn't like it

The Things We Don’t Do by Andrés Neuman, translated from the Spanish by Nick Caistor and Lorenza Garcia (Argentina, Open Letter)
 read, own really liked it

Tram 83 by Fiston Mwanza Mujila, translated from the French by Roland Glasser (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Deep Vellum)
read, own fantastic

War, So Much War by Mercè Rodoreda, translated from the Catalan by Maruxa Relaño and Martha Tennent (Spain, Open Letter)
 owned but not read

Longlist Time

Two long lists have been announced. I've underlined those I've read and briefly noted whether I liked what I read.

 Baileys' Women's Prize for fiction longlist:

Kate Atkinson: A God in Ruins liked it
Shirley Barrett: Rush Oh!
Cynthia Bond: Ruby
Geraldine Brooks: The Secret Chord
Becky Chambers: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
Jackie Copleton: A Dictionary of Mutual Understanding liked it a lot
Rachel Elliott: Whispers Through a Megaphone
Anne Enright: The Green Road
Petina Gappah: The Book of Memory
Vesna Goldsworthy: Gorsky
Clio Gray: The Anatomist’s Dream
Melissa Harrison: At Hawthorn Time
Attica Locke: Pleasantville
Lisa McInerney: The Glorious Heresies
Elizabeth McKenzie: The Portable Veblen did not like
Sara Nović: Girl at War
Julia Rochester: The House at the Edge of the World
Hannah Rothschild: The Improbability of Love
Elizabeth Strout: My Name is Lucy Barton liked it a lot
Hanya Yanagihara: A Little Life

  Man Booker International Prize long list:

José Eduardo Agualusa (Angola) Daniel Hahn, A General Theory of Oblivion (Harvill Secker)

Elena Ferrante (Italy) Ann Goldstein, The Story of the Lost Child (Europa Editions)

Han Kang (South Korea) Deborah Smith, The Vegetarian (Portobello Books)  liked it

Maylis de Kerangal (France) Jessica Moore, Mend the Living (Maclehose Press) 

  I read the American translation- The Heart translated by Sam Taylor -and liked it

Eka Kurniawan (Indonesia) Labodalih Sembiring, Man Tiger (Verso Books)

Yan Lianke (China) Carlos Rojas, The Four Books (Chatto & Windus) liked it

Fiston Mwanza Mujila (Democratic Republic of Congo/Austria) Roland Glasser, Tram 83 (Jacaranda) liked it a lot

Raduan Nassar (Brazil) Stefan Tobler, A Cup of Rage (Penguin Modern Classics)

Marie NDiaye (France) Jordan Stump, Ladivine (Maclehose Press)

Kenzaburō Ōe (Japan) Deborah Boliner Boem, Death by Water (Atlantic Books) liked it

Aki Ollikainen (Finland) Emily Jeremiah & Fleur Jeremiah, White Hunger (Peirene Press)

Orhan Pamuk (Turkey) Ekin Oklap, A Strangeness in My Mind (Faber & Faber) liked it a lot

Robert Seethaler (Austria) Charlotte Collins, A Whole Life (Picador)

About Those Longlists

Whew!  I've just finished two of the books from the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize.  Two very bleak and dark tales.   

Back to Back by Julia Franck and translated from the German by Anthea Bell (Harvill Secker) and  The Dark Road by Ma Jian and translated from the Chinese by Flora Drew (Chatto & Windus).

I'm too spent to make comment about either one, except to say that of the two I thought The Dark Road was more well written.  

It didn't help that I was also finishing Uprising: A New Age is Dawning for Every Mother's Daughter by Sally Armstrong. This is a discussion of the progress on women's rights around the world.  Another difficult read.

These were such heavy narratives  that it was a relief to take breaks and read the pretty much plot-less  A Man in Love by Karl Ove Knausgaard and translated from the Norwegian by Don Bartlett (Harvill Secker).  This  one is on both the IFFP list and the BTBA list.  I'm taking it in small doses and probably won't finish it before the library reclaims it.  Knausgaard tells me more than I ever wanted to know about one man.  I find him much more interesting when he writes about literary topics than when he writes about himself and his rather mundane day-to-day activities.

I've made no progress on the Baileys Women's Prize longlist.  Right now I want something light and fluffy.

Best Translated Book Award Longlist

Read six, loved three of those, didn't like three. Have one more in hand to read. Have easy access to six more. That leaves twelve that I might not see for months, if ever.

The ones I've read:

 Tirza by Arnon Grunberg - Liked it, 5 star liked it.
 The Missing Year of Juan Salvatierra by Pedro Mairal - One of my favorites- 5 star
 The Infatuations by Javier Marías - A real struggle
 A True Novel by Minae Mizumura -  Loved it! 5 star
 In the Night of Time by Antonio Muñoz Molina - Slogged through, not a favorite
 City of Angels, or, The Overcoat of Dr. Freud by Christa Wolf  - Don't understand the fuss, just not my kind of thing

Next to read:
 My Struggle: Book Two by Karl Ove Knausgaard
Just got from library, haven't started it.

Available from local libraries:
 Horses of God by Mahi Binebine
 Textile by Orly Castel-Bloom
 The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante
 Seiobo There Below by László Krasznahorkai
 Autobiography of a Corpse by Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky 
 The Whispering Muse by Sjó

If I want to read any of the rest, I'll have to beg, buy, or search libraries out of local system. Which are worth buying or tracking down? Maybe a couple will show up in local library now that they are on this longlist.

Blinding by Mircea Cărtărescu
Sleet by Stig Dagerman
Her Not All Her by Elfriede Jelinek
The African Shore by Rodrigo Rey Rosa
Through the Night by Stig Sæterbakken
Commentary by Marcelle Sauvageot
Leg Over Leg Vol. 1 by Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq
The Forbidden Kingdom by Jan Jacob Slauerhoff
The Devil’s Workshop by Jáchym Topol
The End of Love by Marcos Giralt Torrente
Red Grass by Boris Vian

Another longlist--Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2014

I read a lot of fiction in translation, so I've heard of most of these. Most are on my TBR list. What surprised me is:  I have read only one of them, The Infatuations (I didn't especially like it). Part of why I haven't read any of the others is accessibility: local libraries don't have very many of them.

Will wait for Best Translated Book Award longlist and then start with books I haven't read that are on both lists. I have probably read three or four on the BTBA list.

    A Man in Love by Karl Ove Knausgaard and translated from the Norwegian by Don Bartlett (Harvill Secker)
    A Meal in Winter by Hubert Mingarelli and translated from the French by Sam Taylor (Portobello Books)
    Back to Back by Julia Franck and translated from the German by Anthea Bell (Harvill Secker)
    Brief Loves that Live Forever by Andreï Makine and translated from the French by Geoffrey Strachan (MacLehose Press)
    Butterflies in November by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir and translated from the Icelandic by Brian FitzGibbon (Pushkin Press)
    The Corpse Washer by Sinan Antoon and translated from the Arabic by the author (Yale University Press)
    The Dark Road by Ma Jian and translated from the Chinese by Flora Drew (Chatto & Windus)
    Exposure by Sayed Kashua and translated from the Hebrew by Mitch Ginsberg (Chatto & Windus?
    The Infatuations by Javier Marías and translated from the Spanish by Margaret Jull Costa (Hamish Hamilton)
    The Iraqi Christ by Hassan Blasim and translated from the Arabic by Jonathan Wright (Comma Press)
    The Mussel Feast by Birgit Vanderbeke and translated from the German by Jamie Bulloch (Peirene Press)
    Revenge by Yoko Ogawa and translated from the Japanese by Stephen Snyder (Harvill Secker)
    The Sorrow of Angels by Jón Kalman Stefánsson and translated from the Icelandic by Philip Roughton (MacLehose Press)
    Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami and translated from the Japanese by Allison Markin Powell (Portobello Books)
    Ten by Andrej Longo and translated from the Italian by Howard Curtis (Harvill Secker)

Comments on The Baileys Women's Prize longlist

First of all I don't read something just because it is on one of these lists. But if I'm trying to decide whether to read a book a list like this may tip the scale--or not. This list has a few I've read, a few I've already rejected, I few already on my TBR list, and some I know little (or nothing) about.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah (Fourth Estate)
  I've been considering this one, still not sure about it
Margaret Atwood, MaddAddam (Bloomsbury)
  Part of a series? I haven't read the others...probably won't get to this
Suzanne Berne, The Dogs of Littlefield (Fig Tree)
  I'm drawing a blank. Must look into this.
Fatima Bhutto, The Shadow of the Crescent Moon (Viking)
  ditto
Claire Cameron, The Bear (Harvill Secker)
  Wavering because of a couple of iffy reviews. I'll probably give it a try
Lea Carpenter, Eleven Days (Two Roads)
   The first I've heard of this one.
M.J. Carter, The Strangler Vine (Fig Tree)
   Another unknown to me.
Eleanor Catton, The Luminaries (Granta)
   Someday I'll probably read this.
Deborah Kay Davies, Reasons She Goes to the Woods (Oneworld)
   Uhh? Why haven't I heard of these books. 
Elizabeth Gilbert, The Signature of All Things (Bloomsbury)
   I loved this book!
Hannah Kent, Burial Rites (Picador)
  Maybe I'll read.
Rachel Kushner, The Flamethrowers (Harvill Secker)
   Read a description, several reviews, thumbed through it at library. Decided it's not something I want to read.
Jhumpa Lahiri, The Lowland (Bloomsbury)
   I read part, didn't like it, set it aside, won't go back to it
Audrey Magee, The Undertaking (Atlantic Books)
  Another blank.  Will investigate.
Eimear McBride, A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing (Gallery Beggar Press)
  What is this? the title sounds coming of ageish. Will follow up.
Charlotte Mendelson, Almost English (Mantle)
   Another blank.  Is it because I'm in the USA?
Anna Quindlen, Still Life with Bread Crumbs (Hutchinson)
  Been meaning to read this one.
Elizabeth Strout, The Burgess Boys (Simon and Schuster)
  I really liked this. Enough to checkout and read some of her other books.
Donna Tartt, The Goldfinch (Little, Brown)
  Worst book I've tried to read this year. Made it to page 200. 
Evie Wyld, All The Birds, Singing (Jonathan Cape)
  Want to read.

So.  Seven I never heard of, two I read and loved, two I tried to read and rejected, one I consciously decided not to read, and eight I've been considering. This is pretty typical of my experience with long lists for prizes.

Humm...I just read in The Guardian that only four of these (Carter, Davies, Mendelson, and Wyld) are British authors. That accounts for three of the seven that were unfamiliar to me.

I like this list but I don't choose books by the gender of the writer.  I won't choose one of these just because the author is a woman, but I'm glad this list is drawing attention to these titles.