The recently awarded international Man Booker prize (given to Ismail Kadare of Albania) inspired critic John Carey to announce in the Guardian: “If you speak Spanish or French or Italian or German or any of a dozen other languages, and walk into your local bookstore, you will … find what is being imagined in China, what stories are being told in Korea, how the novel is being reinvented in Spain and the Scandinavian countries. But if you live in England you will find no such abundance.” The same is true of the US, so I was happy to see that the Guardian had some experts put together a list of “10 overseas writers we should be reading.” As a supplement to the Guardian’s list, here are some of the books by these authors that appear to be available here in the States
- Harry Mulisch – Netherlands – The Discovery of Heaven, The Assault, Sigfried, The Procedure
- Stefan Heym – Germany – The Wandering Jew, The King David Report
- Cees Nooteboom – Netherlands – The Following Story, Roads to Santiago: A Modern-Day Pilgrimage Through Spain, Rituals, All Souls Day, In the Dutch Mountains
- Marcel Benabou – Morocco – Jacob, Menahem, and Mimoun: A Family Epic, Dump This Book While You Still Can!, Why I Have Not Written Any of My Books
- Halldor Laxness – Iceland – Under the Glacier, Independent People, Iceland’s Bell, Paradise Reclaimed, World Light, The Fish Can Sing
- Juan Goytisolo – Spain – State of Siege, The Marx Family Saga, Marks of Identity, Juan the Landless, Landscapes of War: From Sarajevo to Chechnya, The Garden of Secrets
- Jaan Kross – Estonia – Professor Martens’ Departure, Czar’s Madman
- Marie Darrieussecq – France – Pig Tales: A Novel of Lust and Transformation, My Phantom Husband, Undercurrents, Breathing Underwater
- Shen Congwen – China – Imperfect Paradise
- Dubravka Ugresic – Croatia – The Culture of Lies: Antipolitical Essays, Lend Me Your Character, Thank You for Not Reading: Essays on Literary Trivia, The Museum of Unconditional Surrender, In the Jaws of Life
Looks like an interesting, eclectic list. I’m intrigued by Ugresic in particular. For more Man Booker International Prize coverage check out the Literary Saloon.
