Wednesday, October 6, 2010

2010 Russian Booker Prize Finalists

Most literature watchers are waiting for the announcement of this year’s Nobel Prize for literature but I’m happy with today’s announcement of the Russian Booker short list. The six finalists were selected from a 24-member long list; 95 books were nominated for the 2010 Booker. The winner will be announced in early December.

There are two books on the list that I’ve read, two others I’m familiar with, and two whose authors I’d never heard of before now. Here’s the short list, in (Russian) alphabetical order, by author.

  • Oleg Zaionchkovskii: Счастье возможно (Happiness Is Possible) (excerpts) (previous post)
  • Andrei Ivanov: Путешествие Ханумана на Лолланд (Hanuman’s Journey to Lolland) –the adventures of two illegal residents of Denmark, the Nepalese title character Hanuman (also the name of a Hindu deity) and a Russian friend. Hanuman apparently wants to go to Lolland, a Danish island. (review) (another review)
  • Elena Koliadina: Цветочный крест (The Cross of Flowers, perhaps), about a 17th-century man of the cloth, father Loggin. (the novel online: beginning middle end) (an interview with the author)
  • Mariam Petrosian: Дом, в котором... (The House in Which…), which won third prize in the readers’ vote for last year’s Big Book Prize.
  • German Sadulaev Шалинский рейд (The Raid on Shali), about the Chechen War. (начало) (окончание)
  • Margarita Khemlin. Клоцвог (Klotsvog) (previous post)

Happy reading!

5 comments:

  1. I'm anxious find out the winner, too. I read part of 2017 last year and didn't quite connect with it; it'll be interesting to see what they pick this year.

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  2. Marie, it's funny that you mention 2017: I wondered if it might be on your Russian reading list for November. It took me about half of 2017 to connect with it... it was worth it, though I really struggled at times.

    I always love the award announcements. I think I especially like the Big Book because they give several prizes. Plus they seem to fall on Thanksgiving, which is like a little holiday gift!

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  3. Dear Lizok.
    I dont read russian, but I live on Lolland in Denmark.
    As i get an alert from google every time lolland is mentioned, I stumbled upon your posting about Hanuman's Journey to Lolland";
    Do you happen to know if it is translated to English?
    I would like to read it, and maybe publish some of it in Denmark, as i work as a journalist.
    Best regards abelone glahn www.firstlink.dk

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  4. Abelone, thank you for your question. I don't know of any translation of the book into English. Unfortunately, statistically speaking, not very many contemporary Russian novels ever get translated into English. This book sounds fun, and I do hope to read it, though it is apparently difficult to find, even in Russian.

    Lolland looks like a beautiful place!

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  5. Thanks, now I just need to find someone who speaks russian! :-)
    best regards
    Abelone

    ReplyDelete