Best European Fiction 2010

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Best European Fiction 2010 Pub. Date: 12/15/2009 Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press

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Overview

Historically, English-language readers have been great fans of European literature, and names like Franz Kafka, Gustave Flaubert, and Thomas Mann are so familiar we hardly think of them as foreign at all. What those writers brought to English-language literature was a wide variety of new ideas, styles, and ways of seeing the world. Yet times have changed, and how much do we even know about the richly diverse literature being written in Europe today?

Best European Fiction 2010 is the inaugural installment of what will become an annual anthology of stories from across Europe. Edited by acclaimed Bosnian novelist and MacArthur “Genius-Award” winner Aleksandar Hemon, and with dozens of editorial, media, and programming partners in the U.S., UK, and Europe, the Best European Fiction series will be a window onto what’s happening right now in literary scenes throughout Europe, where the next Kafka, Flaubert, or Mann is waiting to be discovered.

List of contributors

Preface: Zadie Smith
Introduction: Aleksandar Hemon
Ornela Vorpsi (Albania): from The Country Where No One Ever Dies
Antonio Fian (Austria): from While Sleeping
Peter Terrin (Belgium: Dutch): from "The Murderer"
Jean-Philippe Toussaint (Belgium: French): "Zidane's Melancholy"
Igor Stiks (Bosnia): "At the Sarajevo Market"
Georgi Gospodinov (Bulgaria): "And All Turned Moon"
Neven Usumovic (Croatia): "Veres"
Naja Marie Aidt (Denmark): "Bulbjerg"
Elo Viiding (Estonia): "Foreign Women"
Juhani Brander (Finland): from Extinction
Christine Montalbetti (France): "Hotel Komaba Eminence" (with Haruki Murakami)
George Konrád (Hungary): "Jeremiah's Terrible Tale"
Steinar Bragi (Iceland): "The Sky Over Thingvellir"
Julian Gough (Ireland: English): "The Orphan and the Mob"
Ornaní Choileáin (Ireland: Irish): "Camino"
Giulio Mozzi (AKA Carlo Dalcielo) (Italy): "Carlo Doesn't Know How to Read"
Inga Abele (Latvia): "Ants and Bumblebees"
Mathias Ospelt (Liechtenstein): "Deep In the Snow"
Giedra Radvilaviciute˙ (Lithuania): "The Allure of the Text"
Goce Smilevski (Macedonia): "Fourteen Little Gustavs"
Stephan Enter (Netherlands): "Resistance"
Jon Fosse (Norway): "Waves of Stone"
Michal Witkowski (Poland): "Didi"
Valter Hugo Mãe (Portugal): "dona malva and senhor josé ferreiro"
Cosmin Manolache (Romania): "Three Hundred Cups"
Victor Pelevin (Russia): "Friedmann Space"
David Albahari (Serbia): "The Basilica in Lyon"
Peter Kristúfek (Slovakia): from The Prompter
Andrej Blatnik (Slovenia): from You Do Understand?
Julián Ríos (Spain: Castilian): "Revelation on the Boulevard of Crime"
Josep Fonalleras (Spain: Catalan): "Noir in Five Parts and an Epilogue"
Peter Stamm (Switzerland): "Ice Moon"
Deborah Levy (United Kingdom: England): from Swimming Home
Alasdair Gray (United Kingdom: Scotland): "The Ballad of Ann Bonny"
Penny Simpson (United Kingdom: Wales): "Indigo's Mermaid"

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Hemon (The Lazarus Project) edits the inaugural volume of an anthology of European short fiction, and while the maiden outing has many fine moments, there's room for improvement in upcoming years. The mix of authors—35 writers from 30 countries—is excellent and includes better knowns with unknowns, though each piece is allotted an average of 10 pages, leading several of the more promising works to feel truncated. Other pieces (such as Giulio Mozzi's story, originally written as part of an art exhibit) don't seem like the best work to represent an author. Still, there is much excellent work. Christine Montalbetti's surreal and enigmatic “Hotel Komaba Eminence (with Haruki Murakami)” plays on the author's obsession with the Japanese writer. In Igor Stiks's terse but well-managed “At the Sarajevo Market,” the discovery of a watch at a Bosnian marketplace triggers a crisis between war-fatigued lovers. Victor Pelevin's acidic satire “Friedmann Space” evolves into a Borgesian tale of Russian scientists sending “lucrenauts” past the “Schwarzenegger threshold” to report back on the black hole–like domain of the megarich. This is a good start—one hopes that next year's volume will be a more consistent collection. (Jan.)

Library Journal

This first installment in an ambitious new series (remarkably, the first of its kind) brings together 35 short stories and novel excerpts from 30 countries. In his introduction, noted novelist Hemon comments on the dearth of literature in translation available in the United States, citing it as evidence of a general American disengagement from other cultures. With that in mind, selections were chosen for their ability to "cross and trespass all kinds of borders." Almost all of the authors will be unfamiliar to American readers, though a few have appeared previously in English, and the diversity of styles on display is impressive. Among the many highlights are paranoid sf from Peter Terrin (Belgium), edgy realism from Naja Marie Aidt (Denmark), melancholy family drama from Inga Abele (Latvia), and fragile nostalgia from Stephan Enter (Netherlands). VERDICT Arranged alphabetically by country, the collection is ideal for browsing and has something for almost every taste. A few countries are not represented (notably the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, and Sweden), which one hopes will be remedied in future installments. Whether a project of this scope can be sustained remains to be seen, but for now we can be thankful to have so many talented new voices to discover.—Forest Turner, Suffolk Cty. House of Correction Lib., Boston\

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781564785435
Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press
Publication date: 12/15/2009
Pages: 448
Sales rank: 1,099,939
Series: Best European Fiction Series
Product dimensions: 5.70 (w) x 8.90 (h) x 1.30 (d)

Meet the Author

Aleksandar Hemon

Born in Sarajevo, Aleksandar Hemon came to Chicago in 1992. The author of the acclaimed Nowhere Man and The Question of Bruno, he writes stories and essays that appear regularly in The New Yorker, Granta, The Paris Review, and Best American Short Stories.

FROM: The Country Where No One Ever Dies Ornela Vorpsi Vorpsi, Ornela 1

FROM: While Sleeping Antonio Fian Fian, Antonio 12

FROM: "The Murderer" Peter Terrin Terrin, Peter 21

Zulane's Melancholy Jean-Philippe Toussaint Toussaint, Jean-Philippe 34

At the Sarajevo Market Igor Stiks Stiks, Igor 39

And All Turned Moon Georgi Gospodinov Gospodinov, Georgi 45

Veres Neven Usumovic Usumovic, Neven 52

Bulbjerg Naja Marie Aidt Aidt, Naja Marie 66

Foreign Women Elo Viiding Viiding, Elo 76

FROM: Extinction Juhani Brander Brander, Juhani 85

Hotel Komaba Eminence Christine Montalbetti Montalbetti, Christine Haruki Murakami Murakami, Haruki 96

Jeremiah's Terrible Tale George Konrad Konrad, George 107

The Sky Over Thingvellir Steinar Bragi Bragi, Steinar 114

The Orphan and the Mob Julian Gough Gough, Julian 131

Camino Orna Ni Choileain Choileain, Orna Ni 149

Carlo Doesn't Know How to Read Guilio Mozzi (Aka Carlo Dalcielo) Mozzi, Guilio (Aka Carlo Dalcielo) 158

Ants and Bumblebees Inga Abele Abele, Inga 164

Deep In the Snow Mathias Ospelt Ospelt, Mathias 173

The Allure of the Text Giedra Radvilaviciute Radvilaviciute, Giedra 178

Fourteen Little Gustavs Goce Smilevski Smilevski, Goce 192

Resistance Stephan Enter Enter, Stephan 199

Waves of Stone Jon Fosse Fosse, Jon 213

Didi Michal Witkowski Witkowski, Michal 222

dona maiva and senkor jose ferreira Valter Hugo Mae Mae, Valter Hugo 237

Three Hundred Cups Cosmin Manolache Manolache, Cosmin 246

Friedmann Space Victor Pelevin Pelevin, Victor 259

The Basilica in Lyon David Albahari Albahari, David 273

FROM: The Prompter PETER KRISrUFEK KRISrUFEK, PETER 289

FROM: You Do Understand?Andrej Blatnik Blatnik, Andrej 295

Revelation on the Boulevard of Crime Julian Rios Rios, Julian 307

Noir in Five Parts and an Epilogue Josep M. Fonalleras Fonalleras, Josep M. 320

Ice Moon Peter Stamm Stamm, Peter 327

FROM: Swimming Home Deborah Levy Levy, Deborah 338

The Ballad of Ann Bonny Alasdair Gray Gray, Alasdair 348

Indigo's Mermaid Penny Simpson Simpson, Penny 353

Author Biographies and

Personal Statements 361

Translator Biographies 397

Online Resources 401

Acknowledgments 415

Rights and Permissions 419

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IL85

Posted March 24, 2010

reminiscent

I decided to buy this to bring back memories of backpacking through Europe and the different people that I've met along the way. I read a review on Time magazine that got me interested with it's uniqueness in contrast to the massive choices nurtured in the US market.

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