The Mookse and the Gripes discussion

For those of us with a particular interest in translated fiction I thought I would mention this prize I just found out about, which is awarded to promote literature from emerging economies. The prize money is divided between the author and the translator. The shortlist is:

All The World's A Stage: Erast Fandorin 11 by Boris Akunin (original language: Russian)
Belladonna by Daša Drndić (original language Croatian)
The Traitor's Niche by Ismail Kadare (original language Albanian)
The Red-Haired Woman by Orhan Pamuk (original language Turkish)
Istanbul Istanbul by Burhan Sönmez (original language Turkish)
Maryam: Keeper of Stories by Alawiya Sobh (original language Arabic)

The winner will be announced on 10 April 2018.

Website is here: http://www.ebrd.com/news/2018/ebrd-literature-prize-2018-shortlist-announced.html

Thanks

Have read two of those - the Pamuk and Kadare, both very good.

And Belladonna was high on my list of books to acquire at some stage - looks very much to my Sebaldian tastes.

I have read The Winter Queen by Akunin which was Erast Fandorin Mystery #1, and wasn't too impressed, so doubt I will be getting to book 11! Seems an odd inclusion alongside Belladonna, although seems the judges desire was to promote the wide range of translated fiction.

The other two are new to me.

The prize also took the unusual step of announcing the longlist simultaneously with the shortlist - there were another 6 books that didn't make the final cut.

I thought the Akunin seemed out of place on the list too. I have read one of his: She Lover Of Death which I liked as an old fashioned mystery but didn't seem especially literary.

I haven't read any of the shortlist, but have read The Equestrienne from the longlist, which I think deserves wider reading as quite possibly one of the oddest coming-of-age tales I've ever read!

The short-list was oddly whittled down to an even-shorter-list:

All The World's A Stage: Erast Fandorin 11 by Boris Akunin (original language: Russian)
Belladonna by Daša Drndić (original language Croatian)
Istanbul Istanbul by Burhan Sönmez (original language Turkish)

And last night Istanbul Istanbul was announced as the winner

Thanks for posting this, Viv!
Interesting interview on Words without Borders with Rosie Goldsmith who chaired the jury for this prize (she said one of their biggest challenges was defining what constitutes a novel):
https://www.wordswithoutborders.org/dispatches/article/rosie-goldsmith-on-the-inaugural-ebrd-literature-prize

Interesting that she cites the MBI-longlisted which didn't actually make their longlist so perhaps they decided it wasn't a novel!

She says "the EBRD itself is based in so many countries that it can reach out to each of its countries of operation and encourage them to submit" and it does seem they did a good job of soliciting a more diverse range of entries from different countries compared to the MBI.

Incidentally on the rather odd feature where they announced the longlist and shortlist on the same day, I spoke to someone associated with the prize and I think they won't be repeating that next year.

Paul wrote: "Incidentally on the rather odd feature where they announced the longlist and shortlist on the same day, I spoke to someone associated with the prize and I think they won't be repeating that next year. ..."

That seems like a wise choice. Separating the announcements just seems like a win for everyone--generates more interest in the prize, more interest in the selections, gives a better chance of widening the audience/interest, etc.

The 2019 longlist is out:

Lala by Jacek Dehnel, translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones (One World) Language: Polish

Soviet Milk by Nora Ikstena, translated by Margita Gaelitis (Peirene Press) Language: Latvian

The Devils' Dance by Hamid Ismailov, translated by Donald Rayfield (with John Farndon) (Tilted Axis Press) Language: Uzbek

My Name is Adam: Children of the Ghetto Volume I by Elias Khoury, translated by Humphrey Davies (MacLehose Press) Language: Arabic

The Clash of Images by Abdelfattah Kilito, translated by Robyn Cresswell (Darf Publishers) Language: French (Moroccan)

The Peace Machine by Özgür Mumcu, translated by Mark David Wyers (Pushkin Press) Language: Turkish

Drive your Plow over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones (Fitzcarraldo Editions) Language: Polish

The Aviator by Eugene Vodolazkin, translated by Lisa C. Hayden (One World) Publisher: Russian

The Book of Whispers by Varujan Vosganian, translated by Alastair Ian Blyth (Yale University Press) Language: Romanian

Shatila Stories by 9 authors, translated by Nashwa Gowanlock (Peirene Press) Language: Arabic

I have read 5/10: Soviet Milk, The Devil's Dance, My Name is Adam, Drive your Plow and Shatila Stories,

Of those my favourite was The Devil's Dance. Soviet Milk is strong. Shatila Stories is very worthy. Drive your Plow is not Tokarczuk's best. And My Name is Adam was a little too metafictional for my taste. Reviews are up for all 5 on the book pages.

Adding a link to the longlist and chair's comments: https://www.ebrd.com/news/2019/ebrd-l...

(It is chaired by Rosie Goldsmith who also runs the European Literature Network - for which Tony of the Tony's Reading List blog, and a member of this group, has reviewed books.)

Interesting they include a book from Yale University Press (Vosganian) while all the others have UK based publishers. Their criteria must be different from the MBI - maybe distribution, like the BTBA?

Interesting. The rules state “UK-based publishers with a UK ISBN.”

Mystery solved - thanks Sunita.

Thanks! A few more to add to the MBI lists then by the looks of it.

I bought a few of the books on this list last year, but have only just got around to reading them. I have enjoyed The Aviator, Devil's Dance and the 20% I have read of Drive your Plow, so I think it is a very good list.

Shortlist is out and consists of three small independent press books:

Soviet Milk
The Devils' Dance
Drive your Plow over the Bones of the Dead

Strong list. Of those I'd pick the 2nd. The judge's said:

With The Devil’s Dance, Drive Your Plough Over the Bones of the Dead and Soviet Milk you have three bold and beautiful works of fiction which represent the world of literature today. As judges, choosing three from our perfect and popular longlist of ten felt like a betrayal, but in these three novels, spanning eastern Europe, the Baltics and Central Asia, you have a wide world distilled - and we couldn’t be more thrilled. Samantha, Ted, Gabriel and I hope you’ll enjoy reading them as much as we did: the William Blake-loving, funny and furious eco-warrior Polish vegetarian; a painful mother-daughter novel struggling through decades of Soviet suppression in Latvia, and, the first-ever novel translated from Uzbek into English, replete with poetry and magical, tragical tales from Central Asia. Each novel is wonderfully different but they all share the ability to reflect their own culture as well as telling universal stories to touch us all. The three authors and three translators are already major voices in their own cultures and languages. We hope passionately that the EBRD Literature Prize can also help promote them and literature in translation here in the UK.

Surprised about Soviet Milk! I loved Ismailov's The Dead Lake. Would like to read The Devil's Dance too for the full set, but I should probably concentrate on MBI-eligible books and a couple of GR group reads.

Surely the winner has to be Tokarczuk or Ismailov.

Link to finalists' announcement: https://www.ebrd.com/news/2019/ebrd-l...

And the winner is Devils Dance.

Oh, nice for Ismailov to get some recognition. He seems to work away fairly unféted but his work is really interesting. (Have read two of his books although not this one.)

Good.

Brilliant translation as well. One translator taught himself Uzbek to work on the book. They brought in a specialist to translate the poems. And the author was heavily involved.

Seems a nice chap and his two translators very impressive. But all the authors and translators came across very well. Olga T was unable to join as recovering from a small op. Rather randomly Diane Abbott was in the audience.

The translator thought his Turkish (he has played with it since University and has a Turkish daughter in law) would get him through the book put found out that whereas Ataturk basically cleaned up Turkish and eliminated much of the Persian and Arabic influences; no one ever did that to Uzbek. The author (who actually works for the BBC and speaks very fluent English) being in hand helped a lot and he made extensive use of internet searches. He particularly quoted a site of someone who photographs graffiti in Uzbek and translates to Russian which was very helpful for translating the stronger language in the original.

2020 longlist:

Not Saying Goodbye by Boris Akunin, translated by Andrew Bromfield (Orion Books). Language: Russian. Country: Russian Federation.

Sacred Darkness by Levan Berdzenishvili, translated by Brian James Baer and Ellen Vayner (Europa Editions). Language: Russian translation from Georgian. Country: Georgia.

Mrs Mohr Goes Missing by Maryla Szymiczkowa, Jacek Dehnel and Piotr Tarczyński, translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones (Oneworld Publications). Language: Polish. Country: Poland.

Bellevue by Ivana Dobrakovová, translated by Julia and Peter Sherwood (Jantar Publishing). Language: Slovakian. Country: Slovak Republic.

ICE by Sonallah Ibrahim, translated by Margaret Litvin (Seagull Books). Language: Arabic. Country: Egypt.

Devilspel by Grigory Kanovich, translated by Yisrael Elliot Cohen (Noir Press). Language: Russian. Country: Lithuania.

Every Fire You Tend by Sema Kaygusuz, translated by Nicholas Glastonbury (Tilted Axis Press). Language: Turkish. Country: Turkey.

Under Pressure by Faruk Šehić, translated by Mirza Purić (Istros Books). Language: Bosnian. Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Pixel by Krisztina Tóth, translated by Owen Good (Seagull Books). Language: Hungarian. Country: Hungary.

Zuleikha by Guzel Yakhina, translated by Lisa C. Hayden (Oneworld Publications). Language: Russian. Country: Russian Federation.

Nice touch which other prizes could incorporate.

Each judge reviews (briefly) all of the longlisted books, starting with the Chair

https://www.eurolitnetwork.com/riveti...

Paul wrote: "Nice touch which other prizes could incorporate.

Each judge reviews (briefly) all of the longlisted books, starting with the Chair

https://www.eurolitnetwork.com/riveti......"

That's a lovely idea. In general I'd always appreciate more information on the thinking behind most prizes, even when I agree with them.

2020 shortlist

Devilspel by Grigory Kanovich, translated by Yisrael Elliot Cohen (Noir Press). Language: Russian. Country: Lithuania.

Pixel by Krisztina Tóth, translated by Owen Good (Seagull Books). Language: Hungarian. Country: Hungary.

Zuleikha by Guzel Yakhina, translated by Lisa C. Hayden (Oneworld Publications). Language: Russian. Country: Russian Federation.

https://www.ebrd.com/news/2020/shortl...

Excludes those I've read so I can't comment on their relative merits.

Winner on 22 April: "t the Award Ceremony due to be held at the EBRD's London Headquarters on 22 April has been cancelled, due to the COVID-19 situation, but interviews and features on the winning book will be available online."

Glad to see Noir Press recognised - they don't seem to have had much attention otherwise

They all sound good, but I just ordered Pixel

I will root for Zuleikha.

Have you read all three, Sam? I would gladly get and read all 3, but I am really, really trying not to acquire new books until I’ve read what I have.

I only read Zuleikha. It is more of a traditional historical novel, romanticizing the material, so it didn't get much recognition from the west. I enjoyed it though and my measure of value increasingly becomes how well I remember the book and I remembered this one.

I hope to read all 3 at some point. Do you plan on reading the other two?

WndyJW wrote: "I hope to read all 3 at some point. Do you plan on reading the other two?"

I am so behind in my reading at present, I am not making further reading plans for translation until I catch up wth the Booker International and BTBA lists, Of course I.say that and change my mind. I just bought the three newest books from Open Letter.

I have the same struggle, Sam. I vowed no new books, other than the subscriptions, until I make significant progress on last years new books and now I really need to be wise in case any of my 4 adult kids need financial helps since each household is down one income, but I have not stopped buying books I feel I must have.

WndyJW wrote: "I have the same struggle, Sam. I vowed no new books, other than the subscriptions, until I make significant progress on last years new books and now I really need to be wise in case any of my 4 adu..."

I looked at the other two contenders after you texted and Devilspel looked interesting but neither it or Pixel had ebooks available to me. I rarely buy the hard copies any more.

I’m sorry to hear that. I hope they do before too long. It seems such an easy way for publishers to make more money with less cost that I’m surprised every book isn’t available as ebook.

WndyJW wrote: "I’m sorry to hear that. I hope they do before too long. It seems such an easy way for publishers to make more money with less cost that I’m surprised every book isn’t available as ebook."

I believe there's a fair amount of extra work in typesetting, and ebooks are subject to VAT but customers expect them to cost a fraction of the print copy. I can see that if only small sales are expected, it could be difficult to justify an e-book.

Oh, I thought once they set up an ebook it was simple to email it. No paper, ink, cover jacket.

And the winner is ... Devilspel

I started Zuleikha, one of the shortlisted books, last night just to get a feel for it and was up until 1am, far later than I should be awake, telling myself just one more paragraph. If Devilspel is even better this will be a prize to watch for me.

I started Devilspel at the weekend so will report back when finished (may be some time in my new Covid-19 induced slow pace). First impressions are that it is powerful and evocative of a lost world.

I can’t wait. I started Zuleikha, but am taking a day to read Echo on the Bay because it’s short and I’ve been waiting for it, then back to Zuleikha then on to Devilspel. I love stories set in schtetls.

I’ll be interested to hear what Echo in the Bay is like. I thought Lion Cross Point was very strong.

My review of Devilspel: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I don’t want to read the review until I finish it. Did you like it?

I am putting Echo on the Bay aside. I’m not enjoying it.

Yes it is definitely worth reading.

2021 longlist:

Love in the Days of Rebellion by Ahmet Altan, translated by Brendan Freely and Yelda Türedi (Europa Editions). Language: Turkish. Country: Turkey.

The Pear Field by Nana Ekvtimishvili, translated by Elizabeth Heighway (Peirene Press. Language: Georgian. Country: Georgia.

Grey Bees by Andrey Kurkov, translated by Boris Dralyuk (MacLehose Press, an imprint of Quercus). Language: Russian. Country: Ukraine

Carbide by Andriy Lyubka, translated by Reilly Costigan-Humes and Isaac Stockhouse Wheeler (Jantar Publishing Ltd). Language: Ukrainian. Country: Ukraine

Hana by Alena Mornstajnova, translated by Julia and Peter Sherwood (Parthian Books). Language: Czech. Country: Czech Republic.

No-Signal Area by Robert Perisic, translated by Ellen Elias-Bursac (Seven Stories Press). Language: Croatian. Country: Croatia.

The Highly Unreliable Account of the History of a Madhouse by Ayfer Tunc, translated by Feyza Howell (Istros Books). Language: Turkish. Country: Turkey.

The King of Warsaw by Szczepan Twardoch, translated by Sean Gasper Bye (Amazon Crossing). Language: Polish. Country: Poland.

Mr K Released by Matei Visniec, translated by Jozefina Komporaly (Seagull Books). Language: Romanian. Country: Romania.

Your Ad Could Go Here by Oksana Zabuzhko, translated by Nina Murray, Marta Horban, Marco Carynnyk, Halyna Hryn, and Askold Melnyczuk (Amazon Crossing). Language: Ukrainian. Country: Ukraine.

I've only read 2 - The Pear Field - my review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and The Highly Unreliable Account of the History of a Madhouse - my review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The latter is very good indeed

I liked Love in the Days of Rebellion - it's the second volume of a projected quartet and I'd strongly recommend reading volume one first: Like a Sword Wound.

Paul, I’m going to add links because I like this prize and will be looking them up anyway.

Love in the Days of Rebellion
The Pear Field
Grey Bees
Carbide
Hana
No-Signal Area
The Highly Unreliable Account of the History of a Madhouse
The King of Warsaw
Mr. K Released
Your Ad Could Go Here: Stories

I’m very interested in the Ottoman quartet, so I’ll start with Like a Sword Wound, and won’t read for this prize.

Most of these sound intriguing. I only ordered The King of Warsaw and Mr. K Released.