opinionated commentary on literary matters - from the complete review

The Literary Saloon Archive

11 - 20 April 2025

11 April: Europese Literatuurprijs longlist | PEN America Literary Awards finalists | Paul Dry Q & A | Salome production | The Arsonist review
12 April: Prix Hors Concours longlist | Peter Lovesey (1936-2025)
13 April: Katie Kitamura profile | The Amateur - the movie
14 April: Mario Vargas Llosa (1936-2025) | The Remembered Soldier review
15 April: Glauser | The LA Times' 30-best-of-the-last-30-years | The Millions' 'Great Spring Book Preview'
16 April: Ottaway Award | 2025 Guggenheim Fellows | Walter Scott Prize shortlist | Bora Chung profile
17 April: PEN Presents shortlists | The King of a Rainy Country review
18 April: New Asymptote | Anton Wildgans Preis | Baifang Schell shortlists
19 April: Premio Formentor | CWA Daggers longlists
20 April: Murata Sayaka profile | More from the (American) Naval Academy

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       Murata Sayaka profile

       With Murata Sayaka's Vanishing World now out in English, Lisa Allardice has a profile with her at The Guardian, in ‘Marriage feels like a hostage situation, and motherhood a curse’: Japanese author Sayaka Murata.
       Among Murata's admissions:

I’ve been told by my doctor not to talk about this too much, but ever since I was a child, I’ve had 30 or 40 imaginary friends who live on a different star or planet with whom I have shared love and sexual experiences.

       Well, who hasn't ?

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       More from the (American) Naval Academy

       I've mentioned the recent ridiculous pulling-of-books from the Naval Academy library several times -- most recently here -- but just banning books is apparently not enough for them; as Natasha Bertrand now reports at CNN, US Naval Academy canceled author’s lecture that would have criticized book bans, as:

The US Naval Academy canceled a lecture that author Ryan Holiday was scheduled to give to students there last week after he refused to remove slides from his planned presentation that criticized the academy’s decision to remove nearly 400 books from its main library.

       Holiday addresses what happened in an op-ed in The New York Times, The Naval Academy Canceled My Lecture on Wisdom (presumably paywalled), explaining:

Roughly an hour before my talk was to begin, I received a call: Would I refrain from any mention in my remarks of the recent removal of 381 supposedly controversial books from the Nimitz library on campus ? My slides had been sent up the chain of command at the school, which was now, as it was explained to me, extremely worried about reprisals if my talk appeared to flout Executive Order 14151 (“Ending Radical and Wasteful Government D.E.I. Programs and Preferencing.”)

       He also points out:

The decision by the academy’s leaders to not protest the original order -- which I believe flies in the face of basic academic freedoms and common sense -- has put them in the now even stickier position of trying to suppress criticism of that decision.

       Sticky, indeed.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

       Premio Formentor

       I missed this a couple of weeks ago, but they've announced the winner of this year's Premio Formentor de las Letras and it is Hélène Cixous.
       This prize had a good run in the 1960s before going dormant; it was revived in 2011 -- and has a good list of winners since as well, with Krasznahorkai László taking the prize last year.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       CWA Daggers longlists

       The Crime Writers' Association has announced the longlists for this year's Dagger-awards -- though, alas, not conveniently listing them all in one simple press release; instead, click through (if you have the patience ....) the different categories here.
       The only title under review at the complete review (I think; to be honest, I couldn't be bothered clicking through all the different categories ...) is in the Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation-category -- Otani Akira's The Night of Baba Yaga.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

       New Asymptote

       The April issue of Asymptote is now out, with a 'Korean Literature Feature' and four interviews, among much else.
       Lots of good stuff, enough to keep you covered for the weekend.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       Anton Wildgans Preis

       The Vereinigung der Österreichischen Industrie has announced the winner of this year's Anton Wildgans Prize, a leading Austrian author prize that they've been handing out since 1962, and it is The Weather Fifteen Years Ago-author Wolf Haas.
       This has gone to pretty much every leading Austrian author over the years -- though 1984-winner Peter Handke turned it down (and they cancelled the ceremony (though not the award) rather than have 1967-winner Thomas Bernhard give his acceptance speech (you can find it in his My Prizes)).

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       Baifang Schell shortlists

       They've announced the shortlist for the Baifang Schell Book Prize Award for Outstanding Translated Literature from Chinese Language; they'd previously announced the shortlist for the Award for Outstanding Nonfiction Book on China or the Sinophone World.

       Only one of the shortlisted titles is under review at the complete review: Taiwan Travelogue, by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ.

       The winners will be announced next month.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

       PEN Presents shortlists

       The new -- and somewhat confusingly named -- PEN Presents x International Booker Prize has announced its shortlist, twelve titles translated from nine languages; six projects will be selected as winners.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       The King of a Rainy Country review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Brigid Brophy's The King of a Rainy Country, which is being re-issued by McNally Editions.

       Virago revived this in 1990, and The Coelacanth Press had a go in 2012; it always gets (renewed) attention, and is certainly good to see in print (yet) again.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

       Ottaway Award

       Words without Borders has an Ottaway Award for the Promotion of International Literature recognizing: "individuals who have taken extraordinary steps to advance international literature in English translation" and while there's no word at the official site yet, apparently: Christopher Merrill wins the 2025 Ottaway Award.
       The director of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa is certainly a deserving winner.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       2025 Guggenheim Fellows

       They've announced this year's Guggenheim Fellows, 198 selected from: "a pool of nearly 3,500 applicants".
       Among the winners who write fiction are: Sheila Heti, Miranda July, Nicole Krauss, Katie Kitamura, Jonathan Lethem, and Nell Zink.
       Only one fellow is listed as a translator -- Paul Reitter.
       Unfortunately, they don't say what projects the fellowships were awarded for.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       Walter Scott Prize shortlist

       They've announced the shortlist for this year's Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction.

       The only title under review at the complete review is Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon.
       The winner will be announced 12 June.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       Bora Chung profile

       In The Korea Times Park Han-sol profiles the author, in: Bora Chung shows us what sci-fi with its fists raised looks like.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

       Glauser

       The German Syndiakat -- the 'Association for German-Language Crime Fiction' -- has announced the winners of this year's Glauser, a leading German-language mystery prize, with Till Raether's Danowski: Sturmkehre -- the seventh in his Danowsji-series -- winning the novel-category; see also the Rowohlt publicity page.
       A nice touch: the prize-winner doesn't get a check but rather gets the €5,000 prize-money in cash -- in non-sequentially numbered bills .....
       448 (!) titles competed in the novel category alone.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       The LA Times' 30-best-of-the-last-30-years

       The Los Angeles Times is celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of its 'Festival of Books', including by putting together 30-best-of-the-last-30-years books lists, in both fiction and non-fiction (sort of paywalled ?).
       None of the non-fiction titles are under review at the complete review -- where Isabel Wilkerson's The Warmth of Other Suns was the top choice.
       Several of the fiction titles are under review, including Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch -- ridiculously rated as the fourth-best -- and the top choice, Roberto Bolaño's 2666.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       The Millions' 'Great Spring Book Preview'

       The Millions has its The Great Spring 2025 Book Preview. with: "just over 100 titles" -- far from everything of interest that is appearing, but at least an overview of many of the major releases.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

       Mario Vargas Llosa (1936-2025)

       Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa has passed away; see, for example, The New York Times' obituary (presumably paywalled) or the one in The Guardian.

       Quite a few of his works are under review at the complete review:

• The Bad Girl
• La Chunga
• The Discreet Hero
• The Feast of the Goat
• A Fish in the Water
• In Praise of the Stepmother
• Kathie and the Hippopotamus
• The Language of Passion
• Letters to a Young Novelist
• The Neighborhood
• The Notebooks of Don Rigoberto
• The Perpetual Orgy
• The Temptation of the Impossible
• Three Plays
• The Way to Paradise
• Wellsprings
• A Writer's Reality
• The Young Lady from Tacna

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       The Remembered Soldier review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Anjet Daanje's The Remembered Soldier, due out shortly in English.

       I recently mentioned a NRC/De Standaard list of the top 50 Dutch-language books of the twenty-first-century, and a novel by Daanje (coming out in English translation next year) was the top choice, with this one also making the list, at number 14.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

       Katie Kitamura profile

       At The Guardian Sophie McBain has a profile of Novelist Katie Kitamura: ‘As Trump tries to take away everything I love, it’s never been clearer that writing matters’.
       Kitamura's novel Audition is just out; see the publicity pages from Riverhead Books and Fern Press, or get your copy at Amazon.com, Bookshop.org, or Amazon.co.uk.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       The Amateur - the movie

       A new movie version adaptation (a rather free one, from the sounds of it) of Robert Littell's The Amateur is now out -- see the 20th Century Studios publicity page --; see now also some of the early reviews:

• AV Club
• The Hollywood Reporter
• The Los Angeles Times
• Mashable
• The New York Times (presumably paywalled)
• RogerEbert.com
• ScreenRant
• Slant
• Time
• Variety
• Vulture<

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

       Prix Hors Concours longlist

       They've announced the very long longlist for this year's prix Hors Concours, a French award for a book published by an independent press; not at the official site, last I checked, but see, for example, the Livres Hebdo report.
       Forty titles !

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       Peter Lovesey (1936-2025)

       British mystery author Peter Lovesey has passed away; see, for example, the Soho Press report.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

       Europese Literatuurprijs longlist

       They've announced the longlist for this year's Europese Literatuurprijs, a Dutch prize for the best European novel translated into Dutch -- twelve titles, including Samantha Harvey's Orbit.
       The only title under review at the complete review is Daniel Kehlmann's The Director.
       The shortlist will be announced 24 June.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       PEN America Literary Awards finalists

       They've announced the finalists for this year's PEN America Literary Awards.
       The only title under review is in the PEN Translation Prize-category -- Antonia Lloyd-Jones' translation of The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk.
       The winners will be announced 8 May.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       Paul Dry Q & A

       Billy Penn at WHYY Penn has a Q & A with Paul Dry of Paul Dry Books, in ‘Every now and then, one thrives wonderfully’.
       Several Paul Dry books are under review at the complete review, including: The Homeless by Stefan Żeromski and Stone Tablets by Wojciech Żukrowski

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       Salome production

       It's the Richard Strauss opera that is more frequently performed, but good to see there's also the occasional stage-production of Wilde's play -- with one premiering today, at the Imago Theatre in Portland, Oregon, running through the 27th; see their publicity page.
       See also Drew Pisarra explaining How (and why) I updated Oscar Wilde’s ‘Salome’ for Imago Theatre, at Oregon Artswatch.
       He explains:

My goal was to convert Wilde’s tragic pageant into something more like a Strindbergian chamber piece. To distill. To intensify. To collaborate with the dead, albeit with invisible ink. It proved to be an invigorating experiment and not just a dramaturgical exercise.

       And see, of course, also my novel, Salome in Graz .....

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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       The Arsonist review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Egon Hostovský's prize-winning 1935 novel, The Arsonist, which Twisted Spoon Press is re-issuing.

(Posted by: M.A.Orthofer)    - permanent link -

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