Year 8: A year of fiction in translation.
How it came to be
This was a tough year for the judges. (Endless thanks, again, to Declan, Sana, and Rebecca.) There were a lot of favourite books, more than the number of judges. After all, who doesn’t have more than one favourite book? That’s what loving books is all about. This year none of the judges wanted to give up their favourites. At one point I thought we might have to have 3 shortlists.
When discussion didn’t provide a short list, we went through 3 different ranking models. Lucky, I did CSE Arithmetic at school (like Nietzsche I didn’t really understand numbers: there can’t be 2 of anything; the world is comprised of 1s of everything, surely?). Everyone was exhausted by the end, but we got there. And somehow everyone had their favourites. Not all of them, but enough, and the shortlist didn’t feel like a compromise to anyone.
This year, the shortlist has the most works in translation we’ve had, covering 4 continents and speaking to our terrible times, a novel of vignettes, written by a political prisoner in Belarus, detained for advising an opposition candidate in the 2020 Presidential Elections.
We are unusual for a prize: considering English language writing against works in translation; novels against single-authored short story collections. Our eligibility criteria is about the press: size (fewer than 12 books a year) and financial independence.
What is next?
Each of the shortlist will receive an additional £1000 each to the £500 each of the longlist received. The winner will be announced at Foyles on April 17th and will enjoy the glory. Over the past 8 years the prize and our book club has donated over £130,000 to small presses in the UK and Ireland.
Head’s up!
We run a monthly Book of the Month subscription to raise funds for the prize, with books generously donated by a different small press every month. It’s a truly eclectic, high-quality list, and a great taste of what the small press scene is producing.
Without further ado, the five shortlist titles:
As usual, listed alphabetically, by press.
Out of Earth by Sheyla Smanioto
Translated by Laura Garmeson & Sophie Lewis
Boiler House Press
“God’s the one with the ideas, people just live through them…”
The story follows four generations of female characters as they navigate the hardships of life in the parched landscape of the Brazilian sertão. Male figures are peripheral, but are also revealed as the origin of much of the suffering in the novel, generating for the women a kind of exile not only in relation to the land but to their sense of self. This is a ground-breaking feminist work, a bracing modernist fable, of sorts.
Our judges said: “A vivid, mesmerising multigenerational novel, which tackles brutality and violence within familial relationships with tact. A very impressive book.”
Avenues by Train by Farai Mudzingwa
Cassava Republic
When seven-year-old Jedza witnesses a tragic incident involving a train and the death of his close boyhood friend in his hometown Miner’s Drift, he is convinced that his life is haunted. Now in his mid-20s, Jedza is a down-and-out electrician, moving to Harare in the hopes that he will escape the darkness and superstitions of the small town. But living in the Avenues, he is tormented by the disappearance of his sister and their early encounters with ancestral spirits, the shapeshifting power of the njuzu and a vengeful ngozi. To move forward, he must stop running away and confront the trauma of his past.
Our judges said: “An assured debut. It addresses the objective truth of these lives but also deftly conveys the character's subjective understanding of the forces that influence their fate.”
Of Cattle and Men by Ana Paula Maia
Translated by Zoë Perry
Charco Press
In a landscape worthy of Cormac McCarthy, the river runs septic with blood. Edgar Wilson makes the sign of the cross on the forehead of a cow, then stuns it with a mallet. It’s important to calm the cows, especially now that they seem so unsettled. Bronco Gil, the foreman, thinks it’s a jaguar or a wild boar. Edgar Wilson has other suspicions. But what is certain is that there is something in this desolate corner of Brazil driving men, and animals, to murder and madness.
Our judges said: “A stunning thriller of sorts. So understated. So powerful. So heartbreaking. Worked for me completely on both the level of a human story and as a warning parable for our times.”
The Zekameron By Maxim Znak
Translated by Jim & Ella Dingley
Scotland Street Press
The 100 tales in The Zekameron are based on the 14th century Decameron, but Znak is closer to Beckett than to Boccaccio. Banality and brutality vie with the human ability to overcome oppression. Znak's stories in different voices chart 100 days in prison in Belarus today. The tone is laconic, ironic; the humour dry. The stories bear witness to resistance and self-assertion and the genuine warmth and appreciation of fellow prisoners. Znak wrote these stories from within prison, and they later found their way outside the prison walls.
Our judges said: “Deceptively light touch to these powerful stories by imprisoned Belarusian lawyer and activist. A truly important book.”
The End of August By Yu Miri
Translated by Morgan Giles
Tilted Axis Press
In 1930s Japanese-occupied Korea, Lee Woo-Cheol was a running prodigy and a contender for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. But he would have had to run under the Japanese flag. Nearly a century later, his granddaughter, living in Japan, is training to run a marathon herself. immersing herself into the painful histories of her family and the Korean and Japanese communities of Miryang, Korea. The End of August is a semi-autobiographical investigation into nationhood and family - what you are born into and what is imposed. Through a meditative dance of generations, Yu Miri moves across borders and time, shedding light onto the experiences of Japan’s Zainichi (second- and third- generation Korean) communities.
Our judges said: “Ambitious in scope and execution. Amazingly well-sustained, multi-layered, many-voiced novel. A joy to read.”
Mark your calendars
Winner Event to be held at Foyles, Charing Cross Road: 17 April, 2024
A virtual thank you note to our supporters
And finally, a grateful reminder that our book club subscribers keep us afloat. You can become a subscriber here.