opinionated commentary on literary matters - from the complete review

The Literary Saloon Archive

21 - 31 August 2025

21 August: Prix du livre de la Ville de Lausanne finalists | Reading in ... the US | Ending VAT tax on books in Denmark
22 August: Dutch head start for McEwan | From Ted to Tom review
23 August: Eugen Gomringer (1925-2025) | Fall (US) books
24 August: NEA Creative Writing Fellowship program axed
25 August: Good & Safe review
26 August: Translators on translation | Saba Translation Prize longlist | Encounter Prize shortlist
27 August: New World Literature Today | Wilhelm Raabe-Literaturpreis shortlist | Lu Xun-style sweater vests
28 August: Gaelic Literature Awards shortlists | Kirkus Prize finalists | Columbia Global Reports' Forerunners-series
29 August: E-(not) reviewing | Robert Darnton's study | Marshland review
30 August: Cormac McCarthy's library | The Good Soldier Švejk manuscript
31 August: Luis Fernando Verissimo (1936-2025) | Lea Ypi and Elif Shafak conversation | Theory & Practice review

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       Luis Fernando Verissimo (1936-2025)

       Brazilian author Luis Fernando Verissimo has passed away; see, for example, the agênciaBrasil report or Lula's condolence-note.

       Only four books by the prolific author are under review at the complete review:

• Borges and the Eternal Orangutans
• The Club of Angels
• O Opositor
• The Spies

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

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       Lea Ypi and Elif Shafak conversation

       At The Guardian Alex Clark has ‘Literature can be a form of resistance’: Lea Ypi talks to Elif Shafak about writing in the age of demagogues, as they: 'discuss the rise of populism, censorship -- and how today’s conflicts all come from the unresolved trauma of the past'.

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

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       Theory & Practice review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Michelle de Kretser's much-lauded Theory & Practice.

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

       Cormac McCarthy's library

       In the Smithsonian magazine Richard Grant has a fascinating report on how Two Years After Cormac McCarthy's Death, Rare Access to His Personal Library Reveals the Man Behind the Myth, reporting on The Cormac McCarthy Library Project.
       Among the fun titbits: "The first room off the hallway -- the room where McCarthy died at age 89 -- was now so crammed with book boxes that it was impenetrable". And:

Taking into account duplicate copies and multi-volume works, Peebles felt confident that McCarthy’s library contained just over 20,000 books, with 2,170 annotated.

       And

Giemza marveled at the heavy-duty philosophy books they were finding. “Seventy-five titles by or about Wittgenstein so far,” he said, referring to the Austrian philosopher of mathematics, logic, language and the mind. “And most of them are annotated, meaning Cormac read them closely. A lot of Hegel. That was his light evening reading, apparently.”

       Apparently:

The human being whom McCarthy most admired, Dennis confirms, was Ludwig Wittgenstein. The team cataloged a staggering 142 books by or about the philosopher, with a high proportion annotated.

       I'm not sure, however, what to think of the man who leaves behind: "$10,000 in several uncashed royalty checks that he used as a bookmark in the memoir of William Faulkner’s niece".

       I certainly look forward to this:

The aim of The Cormac McCarthy Library Project is to publish a searchable online database with information about each one of the volumes that McCarthy had collected and used throughout his life. We are partnering with the University of South Carolina Press on this project, and the goal is to make the database Open Access -- accessible to anyone, anywhere, without fees or restrictions.

       But I hope there's a print version as well ....
       And Grant reports that:

There’s talk of scanning all the annotations at some point and making them available on the website, but that is still theoretical.

       Lots of good pictures to go with the article, too ....

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

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       The Good Soldier Švejk manuscript

       At Radio Prague International Ruth Fraňková and Kateřina Svobodová report that Lost manuscripts of The Good Soldier Švejk found after 90 years in Prague archive.

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

       E-(not) reviewing

       At Prospect Oliver Soden writes about: 'what happened when I tried to get a copy of [Virginia Woolf's] uncollected letters. Consider it a parable about money and the state of literary culture', in On not reviewing Virginia Woolf, as he had hoped to review the new Edinburgh University Press volume of The Uncollected Letters of Virginia Woolf (see their publicity page).
       He explains that, when he requested a review copy, EUP told him that they: "now operate a digital-only policy and that I would have to work from a PDF". He notes that: "I owned no device on which I could comfortably read and annotate 1,056 pages" (to which I would add: there is no such device).

       As someone who has great difficulty reading -- and even greater difficulty reviewing off -- e-texts (and, yes, always complains about the dreaded pdf format ...), I sympathize; of the 5300-odd reviews at the complete review only 72 are based on e-copies, and I haven't managed one for almost three years .....

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

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       Robert Darnton's study

       At the Harvard Independent Marie Prunières takes an interesting look at The Literary Making of Robert Darnton. It comes with lots of book-pictures.

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

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       Marshland review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Kaga Otohiko's 1985 novel, Marshland.

       This came out in English from Dalkey Archive Press last year but, despite its size, seems to have passed practically entirely unnoticed by the print-press, even the trades. Disappointing -- it's as solid a 'big read' as I've read in quite a while.

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

       Gaelic Literature Awards shortlists

       The Gaelic Books Council has announced the shortlists for this year's Gaelic Literature Awards.
       It's a bit disappointing that three of the four titles shortlisted in the fiction category are translations -- all from English, all of books by dead authors (Tolkien, L. Frank Baum, and H.G.Wells), too. The one Gaelic work of fiction shortlisted is Am Prionnsa by Graham Cooper; see also the Luath Press publicity page.
       The winners will be announced 16 September.

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

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       Kirkus Prize finalists

       They've announced the finalists for this year's Kirkus Reviews.
       I haven't seen any of these.

       The winners will be announced 8 October.

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

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       Columbia Global Reports' Forerunners-series

       On its tenth anniversary Columbia Global Reports is launching a new Forerunners-series: "republications of significant currently and not well enough known books that originally came out more than a hundred years ago. We chose them by looking for long-ago works written in the spirit of the editorial mission we are pursuing today"; see CGR director Nicholas Lemann's introduction (warning ! dreaded pdf format !) to the series.
       See also Ed Nawotka's report at Publishers Weekly, Columbia Global Reports Launches Reissue Series; this looks and sounds very promising.

       Only two of the Columbia Global Reports titles are under review at the complete review: Megan Walsh's The Subplot and Adam Kirsch's The Global Novel.

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

       New World Literature Today

       The September-October issue of World Literature Today is now out, focused entirely on: 'The Art of the Review', so of obvious interest !
       And, as always, there's the extensive book review section !

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

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       Wilhelm Raabe-Literaturpreis shortlist

       A few days after the announcement of the longlist for this year's German Book Prize they've now also announced the shortlist for the Wilhelm Raabe Literary Prize, which actually pays out more (€30,000).
       Four of the five shortlisted titles are also on the German Book Prize longlist, with only Leif Randt's Let's talk about feelings -- yes, the title of the German book is English; see the Kiepenheuer & Witsch publicity page -- not making it.

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

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       Lu Xun-style sweater vests !

       Is it the next big literary fashion ? Maybe -- as Xu Liuliu reports, Lu Xun-style sweater vests go viral after appearance at book fair.
       Apparently Lu Xun really liked his sweater-vest -- wearing it: "while giving lectures, meeting friends, writing, and taking photos, making it part of his classic image".
       I'm not sure many people could pull it off as well as he did:


       Only two of Lu Xun's works are under review at the complete review: Morning Blossoms Gathered at Dusk and Wild Grass.

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

       Translators on translation

       At The New York Review of Books they have two 'episodes' of Merve Emre's panel discussion-series 'On Translation': Practical Translation: Proust and First Sentences with Maureen Freely, Daisy Rockwell, Virginia Jewiss, Jeremy Tiang, and Tiffany Tsao.

       Meanwhile, at the Literary Hub Jamie Lee Searle writes on translating the 2022 German Book Prize-winning novel Blutbuch -- as Sea, Mothers, Swallow, Tongues; see the Farrar, Straus and Giroux publicity page; it's out today ! -- in Blurring Genre, Gender: The Rich Challenges of Translating Kim de l'Horizon's Wild Fiction.
       He reports also that:

Fortunately, before I began my first draft, I was invited in spring 2023 to participate in a workshop at Translation House Looren in Switzerland. With funding from Pro Helvetia, the center gathered the eleven translators who had been commissioned to bring De l’Horizon’s debut into their respective languages. Up in the mountains outside Zürich, we spent four intense days—joined, on two of those, by the author—workshopping the text and its linguistic challenges.

We discussed the finer details, such as the dialect terms and their meaning, and the wider issues, like gender identity and transgenerational trauma. Those conversations with colleagues, whose native languages included Catalan, Croatian, Dutch, Italian, and more, were greatly enriching for the work ahead, and I have carried their voices with me.

       What a fantastic opportunity. This sort of thing is not uncommon in Europe -- but regrettably only 'rich' languages/countries can afford to do it .....

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

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       Saba Translation Prize longlist

       As I mentioned a month ago, they've announced the shortlists for this year's Saba literary awards -- but only now have they announced the longlist for the award in the category of Best Georgian Translation -- 10 titles, selected from 81 entries; see, for example, the Georgia Today report.
       Translations still in the running include the Georgian translation of Olga Tokarczuk's The Empusium, as well as Antonin Artaud's The Theatre and its Double, Cormac McCarthy's The Road, as well as books by Max Weber, Ovid, and Seneca.

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

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       Encounter Prize shortlist

       They've announced the shortlist for this year's Encounter Prize, a Ukrainian-Jewish literary prize, awarded: "to the most influential work that fosters Ukrainian-Jewish understanding". It alternates from year to year between fiction and non; this year is a fiction year.

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

       Good & Safe review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Liesl Ujvary's 1977 collection, Good & Safe, forthcoming in English, from World Poetry Books.

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

       NEA Creative Writing Fellowship program axed

       The applicants for this year's (American) National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowships have been receiving e-mails telling them that: "The NEA has cancelled the FY 2026 Creative Writing Fellowship program. The Creative Writing category has been withdrawn by the Agency and will not be reviewed"; see e.g..
       There's no announcement at the official NEA site -- god forbid the public should be kept properly informed of what a government agency is actually doing (or not doing) -- and the Creative Writing Fellowships-page is still up (promising that the: "program offers up to $50,000 grants in prose (fiction and creative nonfiction) and poetry to published creative writers") but see, for example, Sophia Stewart's article in Publishers Weekly, NEA's Creative Writing Fellowship Program Canceled.
       The FY26 Creative Writing Fellowship: Prose (warning ! dreaded pdf format !) information pamphlet is also still up -- providing also background such as that:

The National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowships program was established in 1966 by National Council on the Arts members John Steinbeck, Ralph Ellison, and Harper Lee, among others, to support and increase the breadth of America’s literary creativity. [...] Since its inception, the fellowships program has supported more than 3,800 writers, often years before their work was acknowledged by other awards and appointments and at critical stages of their careers

       As they explain there, until now:

Through these fellowships the NEA seeks to strengthen the literary arts ecosystem by sustaining and nurturing a wide range of creative writers at various stages of their careers.

       Priorities have changed however, and the e-mail to those who had applied for next year's fellowship explains that the NEA is: "updating its grantmaking policy priorities"; mirroring (verbatim) the language when, in May, they axed the grants to arts organizations, they explain that now:

The NEA will not prioritize projects that elevate the nation’s HBCUs and Hispanic Serving Institutions, celebrate the 250th anniversary of American Independence, foster AI competency, empower houses of worship to serve communities, assist with disaster recovery, foster skilled trade jobs, make America healthy again, support the military and veterans, support Tribal communities, make the District of Columbia safe and beautiful and support the economic development of Asian American Communities.

       Admirable though much of this is, I'm unclear how the NEA can do much to, for example, "foster skilled trade jobs". But, hey -- worth a try ?

       Should the government be handing out money to authors like this anyway ? Sure, there are good arguments against it, especially in what is supposed to be a market-economy (ha !) -- but in the larger scheme of things the amounts involved are trivial (except for for the authors, for whom they are (generally) very significant indeed), and I think the United States and its citizens would be far better off throwing 50K at a few writers every year than doling that amount out to wannabe 'ICE'-goons as 'signing bonuses' .....
       Given that under the current administration any support for the arts would likely be perverted anyway -- imagine the kinds of writing this administration would be supportive of ! -- maybe this is, sadly, for the best for the time being.

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

       Eugen Gomringer (1925-2025)

       Bolivian-born German-language concrete poet Eugen Gomringer has passed away; see, for example, Nico Bleutge's obituary in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

       See also samples of his work at Archivio Conz. His The Book of Hours and Constellations can also be read (warning ! dreaded pdf format !) at UbuWeb.

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

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       Fall (US) books

       At AP Hillel Italie has an overview article, Fall is books' biggest season. Expect some long-awaited returns, as well as a look at (what he says are) The fall's 10 most anticipated books, from Pynchon to (Priscilla) Presley.
       (I'm afraid only one those ten most-anticipated titles is one I hope to see/read; yes, you can guess which one.)

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

       Dutch head start for McEwan

       I've mentioned this phenomenon before, but it's always interesting to see what authors/books get the treatment: because so many readers in the Netherlands can read English more or less fluently publishers publish the Dutch translation of some prominent titles weeks before they come out in English -- books by John Irving and J.M.Coetzee, for example. The most recent example is Ian McEwan's much-anticipated What We Can Know -- due out 18 September in the UK (pre-order your copy at Amazon.co.uk) and 23 September in the US (pre-order your copy at Amazon.com or Bookshop) -- but coming out already on 25 August in the Netherlands, as Wat we kunnen weten; see also the Uitgeverij De Harmonie publicity page.
       (The Germans have increasingly also had to deal with English-originals cannibalizing domestic sales, but this one is only coming out in German on 24 September; see also the Diogenes publicity page.)

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

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       From Ted to Tom review

       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of The Illustrated Envelopes of Edward Gorey, From Ted to Tom, which came out earlier this year, from New York Review Books.
       A different kind of epistolary collection !

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

       Prix du livre de la Ville de Lausanne finalists

       The Swiss Book Prize is limited to German-language titles; they'll be announcing the finalists on 11 September -- but the prize for French-language Swiss books, the Prix du livre de la Ville de Lausanne got the jump on them with their finalists-announcement; see the official press release (warning ! dreaded pdf format !) .
       This one is interesting also because the winner will be decided by public vote, with voting open through 31 December.

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

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       Reading in ... the US

       A new study, by Jessica K. Bone, Feifei Bu, Jill K. Sonke, and Daisy Fancourt, reports on the The decline in reading for pleasure over 20 years of the American Time Use Survey which depressingly: "found marked declines in the proportion of individuals reading for pleasure daily in the US, with decreases of 3% per year" bertween 2003 and 2023.
       By 2023: "only 16% of participants read for pleasure during the diary day". And while they found: "no changes in reading with children over time" these rates were: "surprisingly low, with only 2% of participants reading with children on the average day". Also troubling: "By 2023, Black participants had a 49% lower prevalence of daily reading than White participants".

       Lots of media coverage of this already; see, e.g. articles in The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, and The New York Times.

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

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       Ending VAT tax on books in Denmark

       The Danish government plans to abolish the (25 per cent) value added tax (VAT -- which is basically: sales tax) on books; see, for example, the articles at the BBC and The Guardian.
       Apparently, the 25% rate is: "is the highest in the world" on books; a 25% VAT is the norm in the Scandinavian countries (see e.g.) but the others have a lower rate for books -- with Norway already not collecting any VAT on books.
       Apparently some 8,300,000 books were sold in Denmark in 2023; it'll be interesting to see if the numbers go up when the cost to purchasers goes down. (Of course, publishers could also raise their prices .....)

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

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