Random
Great Translations of 2009
NPR posts their 5 picks for best foreign fiction this year. A nice idea, but would have liked to see more.
Here are a few other 2009 releases I read in translation this year and would highly recommend:
Homage to Czerny by Gert Jonke [Dalkey Archive]
The Other City by Michal Ajvaz [Dalkey Archive]
With Deer by Aase Berg (trans. Johannes Göransson) [Black Ocean]
Tranquility by Attila Bartis [Archipelago]
Killing Kanoko by Hiromi Ito [Action Books]
Jerusalem by Goncalo M. Tavares [Dalkey Archive]
Conquest of the Useless by Werner Herzog [HarperCollins]
Babyfucker by Urs Allemann [Les Figues]
Wittgenstein’s Nephew by Thomas Bernhard [Vintage]
What are some of your favorite translations or works from nonamerican authors from this year?
Tags: attila bartis, goncalo tavares, hiromi ito
I liked the Ajvaz a lot. I read it the same weekend as Phosphor in Dreamland by Ducornet. I was at my partner’s mother’s house in Oregon. It was kind of trippy.
I liked the Ajvaz a lot. I read it the same weekend as Phosphor in Dreamland by Ducornet. I was at my partner’s mother’s house in Oregon. It was kind of trippy.
Oh, fuck NPR on a cinnamon clove and toast. Those humorless twits wouldn’t know fun even if they were given a large map to an orgy with several handsome escorts pleasuring them along the way. The two translated books that were WAY MORE fun than ANY of the above titles were (suh-prize suh-prize!) from the SAME translator! Mara Faye Lethem. Jonathan’s sister. A panache for pulp voice, as one would expect. So that it doesn’t really read like your typical literary Natasha Wimmer let’s masturbate to dead author translation now in vogue. Exhibit A: Javier Cavlo’s WONDERFUL WORLD. Very little coverage. Scant mention even on these pages, save when Evenson mentioned it. Complicated the dynamic: Calvo and Lethem are married. Author and translator. How often does that happen? Exhibit B: Albert Sanchez Pinol’s PANDORA IN THE CONGO, which is far more compelling and crazy and contending with pulp racism and postmodern and expansive than COLD SKIN, which is good and all, and is safe enough to have garnered a bit of attention. But PANDORA is where it’s at.
Oh, fuck NPR on a cinnamon clove and toast. Those humorless twits wouldn’t know fun even if they were given a large map to an orgy with several handsome escorts pleasuring them along the way. The two translated books that were WAY MORE fun than ANY of the above titles were (suh-prize suh-prize!) from the SAME translator! Mara Faye Lethem. Jonathan’s sister. A panache for pulp voice, as one would expect. So that it doesn’t really read like your typical literary Natasha Wimmer let’s masturbate to dead author translation now in vogue. Exhibit A: Javier Cavlo’s WONDERFUL WORLD. Very little coverage. Scant mention even on these pages, save when Evenson mentioned it. Complicated the dynamic: Calvo and Lethem are married. Author and translator. How often does that happen? Exhibit B: Albert Sanchez Pinol’s PANDORA IN THE CONGO, which is far more compelling and crazy and contending with pulp racism and postmodern and expansive than COLD SKIN, which is good and all, and is safe enough to have garnered a bit of attention. But PANDORA is where it’s at.
DOOR LANGUAGES by Zafer Şenocak
DOOR LANGUAGES by Zafer Şenocak
I don’t know those, will have a look, but my #1 translator with two books would be (no surprise) Susan Bernofsky for fiction (The Tanners, Tawada’s The Naked Eye, both for ND) and Johannes Goransson for poetry (word, of course, to With Deer but also Johon Jonson’s Collobert Orbital from Displaced Press), with honor too to Karen Emmerich (Karapanou and Sotiropoulos for the arising Clockroot Books) or, to take the translated, two by Gherasim Luca: Inventor of Love & Other Writings (Julian Similian for Black Widow Press) and Passive Vampire (Krzysztof Fijalkowski for Twisted Spoon Press) but in principal I agree: you can forget 3 of the NPR 5 (tho it’s good to see Season of Ash of the tireless Open Letter topping their list), for there are at least 6 more novels on Dalkey Archive alone [beyond the three on Blake’s list: can’t wait to read Ajvaz, Tavares is too good, there were two more Jonke out this year–Homage was actually 2008–both translated by Vincent Kling: Blinding Moment on Ariadne and System of Vienna on Dalkey] that are more “Top 5” as are the just out 7 Poets from Berlin (new Chicago Review, ed. Christian Hawkey) and Aufgabe 8: Russian Poetry and Poetics, ed. Matvei Yankelevich + all 9 on Blake’s list and Burning Deck’s double sequel to Ulf Stolterfoht’s Lingos I-X, DICHTEN = #10, 16 New (to American Readers) Poets, which, wait, makes Rosmarie Waldrop double #1, for in addition to editing (and translating much of) this, she did Jean Daive’s Under the Dome: Walks with Paul Celan (from French) and, perhaps the best of all, Peter Waterhouse’s Poem/Novel, Language Death Night Outside (from German), if only someone would commission her to do the Bachmann/Celan letters…
I don’t know those, will have a look, but my #1 translator with two books would be (no surprise) Susan Bernofsky for fiction (The Tanners, Tawada’s The Naked Eye, both for ND) and Johannes Goransson for poetry (word, of course, to With Deer but also Johon Jonson’s Collobert Orbital from Displaced Press), with honor too to Karen Emmerich (Karapanou and Sotiropoulos for the arising Clockroot Books) or, to take the translated, two by Gherasim Luca: Inventor of Love & Other Writings (Julian Similian for Black Widow Press) and Passive Vampire (Krzysztof Fijalkowski for Twisted Spoon Press) but in principal I agree: you can forget 3 of the NPR 5 (tho it’s good to see Season of Ash of the tireless Open Letter topping their list), for there are at least 6 more novels on Dalkey Archive alone [beyond the three on Blake’s list: can’t wait to read Ajvaz, Tavares is too good, there were two more Jonke out this year–Homage was actually 2008–both translated by Vincent Kling: Blinding Moment on Ariadne and System of Vienna on Dalkey] that are more “Top 5” as are the just out 7 Poets from Berlin (new Chicago Review, ed. Christian Hawkey) and Aufgabe 8: Russian Poetry and Poetics, ed. Matvei Yankelevich + all 9 on Blake’s list and Burning Deck’s double sequel to Ulf Stolterfoht’s Lingos I-X, DICHTEN = #10, 16 New (to American Readers) Poets, which, wait, makes Rosmarie Waldrop double #1, for in addition to editing (and translating much of) this, she did Jean Daive’s Under the Dome: Walks with Paul Celan (from French) and, perhaps the best of all, Peter Waterhouse’s Poem/Novel, Language Death Night Outside (from German), if only someone would commission her to do the Bachmann/Celan letters…
I know I’ve mentioned it here before, but I still can’t believe no one is talking about Vilnius Poker by Ricardas Gavelis. I’m guessing it’s because no one has read it. To which I say SHAME.
I know I’ve mentioned it here before, but I still can’t believe no one is talking about Vilnius Poker by Ricardas Gavelis. I’m guessing it’s because no one has read it. To which I say SHAME.
NYRB released a new translation of Andrey Platonov’s The Foundation Pit earlier this year, translated by the team of Robert and Elizabeth Chandler and Olga Meerson. It’s one of the best books I’ve read this year, translated or otherwise.
NYRB released a new translation of Andrey Platonov’s The Foundation Pit earlier this year, translated by the team of Robert and Elizabeth Chandler and Olga Meerson. It’s one of the best books I’ve read this year, translated or otherwise.
any idea how it compares to the northwestern edition, edited by mirra ginsburg?
any idea how it compares to the northwestern edition, edited by mirra ginsburg?
No, sorry. The only other version I read is the first translation from the late 60’s that confused the hell out of me. Did you like the Ginsburg version?
No, sorry. The only other version I read is the first translation from the late 60’s that confused the hell out of me. Did you like the Ginsburg version?
Yes, I liked it very much. It was recommended to me by a professor who was born and raised in Moscow. It’s a wonderful book. I think I’m going to try the NYRB edition as well. I like the idea of team translations–they can produce very lucid results. Thanks for mentioning. It’s always nice to see Platonov’s name.
Yes, I liked it very much. It was recommended to me by a professor who was born and raised in Moscow. It’s a wonderful book. I think I’m going to try the NYRB edition as well. I like the idea of team translations–they can produce very lucid results. Thanks for mentioning. It’s always nice to see Platonov’s name.
Has anyone read Savage by Jacques Jouet yet? — http://www.dalkeyarchive.com/catalog/show/585
I really liked Mountain R, and I was sort of surprised that I liked it so much since the book is mostly dialogue and journalistic prose, not what I would normally favor, but it worked so well. And the premise was brilliant.
The description of Savage doesn’t intrigue me as much, but I could also see being surprised again.
I would love to see more tranlsations from this “La République roman cycle ” of which Mountain R is an installment.
Has anyone read Savage by Jacques Jouet yet? — http://www.dalkeyarchive.com/catalog/show/585
I really liked Mountain R, and I was sort of surprised that I liked it so much since the book is mostly dialogue and journalistic prose, not what I would normally favor, but it worked so well. And the premise was brilliant.
The description of Savage doesn’t intrigue me as much, but I could also see being surprised again.
I would love to see more tranlsations from this “La République roman cycle ” of which Mountain R is an installment.
how did i miss that one… gonna have to buy it now. thanks jack
how did i miss that one… gonna have to buy it now. thanks jack
You know, I really love Thomas Bernhard but Wittgenstein’s Nephew didn’t do it for me. Felt like Bernhard going through the motions on themes he did better elsewhere. I want to read that Herzog though.
You know, I really love Thomas Bernhard but Wittgenstein’s Nephew didn’t do it for me. Felt like Bernhard going through the motions on themes he did better elsewhere. I want to read that Herzog though.
Hey Jack, keep an eye out next spring for ‘Upstaged,’ another translation of a (slim) Jouet book being published by Dalkey Archive.
Hey Jack, keep an eye out next spring for ‘Upstaged,’ another translation of a (slim) Jouet book being published by Dalkey Archive.
WN was a little more relaxed than usual, yeah. I think something in it still fed me, in a different way, and especially that it was more based on his life than others, i think. the ending in particular, as lee klein mentioned before, opened the whole book for me.
yes, the herzog, it is immense.
WN was a little more relaxed than usual, yeah. I think something in it still fed me, in a different way, and especially that it was more based on his life than others, i think. the ending in particular, as lee klein mentioned before, opened the whole book for me.
yes, the herzog, it is immense.
Death in Spring by Merce Rodoreda, translated by Martha Tennent
Death in Spring by Merce Rodoreda, translated by Martha Tennent
oh, hello, america.
i would really love to take about the salt smugglers by gerard de nerval (trans sieburth) from archipelago
the twin by bakker (trans colmer) from archipelago
bluebird by maric (softsull) came out in november though their website says 2003 from some reason though i feel like the memoir is from the future
these are a few from this year which i think were rather noteworthy
most of us at wwb agreed last year that our fave translation was “for the fighting spirit of the walnut” by hiraide. i’ve actually considered getting the words “for the fighting spirit of the walnut” as a tattoo since then
oh, hello, america.
i would really love to take about the salt smugglers by gerard de nerval (trans sieburth) from archipelago
the twin by bakker (trans colmer) from archipelago
bluebird by maric (softsull) came out in november though their website says 2003 from some reason though i feel like the memoir is from the future
these are a few from this year which i think were rather noteworthy
most of us at wwb agreed last year that our fave translation was “for the fighting spirit of the walnut” by hiraide. i’ve actually considered getting the words “for the fighting spirit of the walnut” as a tattoo since then
Europa Editions has done a great selection of Claude Izzo, over the past few years, & Archipelago two fine novels by Elias Khoury.
Europa Editions has done a great selection of Claude Izzo, over the past few years, & Archipelago two fine novels by Elias Khoury.