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100th out of 102 books
—
28 voters
Best European Fiction 2011
by
Aleksandar Hemon ,
Colum McCann (Goodreads Author)
The launch of Dalkey’s Best European Fiction series was nothing short of phenomenal, with wide-ranging coverage in international media such as Time magazine, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Financial Times, and the Guardian; glowing reviews and interviews in print and online magazines such as the Believer, Bookslut, Paste, and the Huffin...more
Paperback, 544 pages
Published
November 22nd 2010
by Dalkey Archive Press
(first published November 2nd 2010)
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I will endeavour to rate this fabulous collection in the manner of the Eurovision Song Contest scoring system. The only difference being both the talent levels and absence of musical content. No hang on—there isn’t any musical content in the Eurovision Song Contest either. Har har! Oh, me! You should own this outstanding anthology for its breathtaking scope and impressive quality. Scores out of ten. The ten-pointer indicates a favourite in the collection.
Wiliam Owen Roberts, Wales — 7 pts
Hilary...more
Wiliam Owen Roberts, Wales — 7 pts
Hilary...more
First of all, let me say that with collections like this, I don't start on page 1 (the first story does actually start on page 1) and read all the way through to page 483. I usually keep them by my bed and come back to them time and time again.
Secondly, I have to confess that I am very superficial. The first story I read was called Nela and the Virgins by Mercè Ibarz because I thought it might be sensual, particularly when I saw the sentence:
"'We won't be virgins long!' Isi and Valentina exclaim...more
Secondly, I have to confess that I am very superficial. The first story I read was called Nela and the Virgins by Mercè Ibarz because I thought it might be sensual, particularly when I saw the sentence:
"'We won't be virgins long!' Isi and Valentina exclaim...more
"In this respect, I thought, he was like Garfield-I mean the cat. His presence or absence made no difference to the rest of the text. Nevertheless, he felt that he had a legitimate right to sit there, to do nothing more than waste space. So Colonel Enke was a sort of literary Garfield. Yet Garfield, the original, was alive and well, despite his uselessness, his obsolescence-giving orders, playing colonel, and being well paid for the privilege."
-Ersan Üldes-- "Professional Behavior" (Turkey)
A gre...more
-Ersan Üldes-- "Professional Behavior" (Turkey)
A gre...more
The second installment of the Best European Fiction series begins with a question: what does it mean to be European? While it is true that the issue of a common continental identity was on the minds of the editors and readers of the first collection, it seems an even more vital question today, in the face of changing Greek and Italian regimes, the threat of Euro-instability, of economic collapse. Nations as independent and as deeply cultured as Greece and Germany are coming face to face with a q...more
Some moments were utterly brilliant and some just made me wonder why writers felt like they should let people read their work. Hillary Mantel's story was wonderful and touching. Several of the stories by Eastern European authors also stood out. They tended to harken back to the days of socialism, which gives them both a surreal and nostalgic sense. I'd recommend only reading the stories that grab you right away; the ones that don't probably won't at all.
I have read collections of short stories by a single author that I've enjoyed, but I guess I finally have to admit that I'm just not crazy about short stories in general. There are some good ones in this mix of European writers, but I ended up kind of picking and choosing and walking away dissatisfied. No story inspired me to look for more work by the same author. I'm marking it as finished, but truthfully, I didn't read every single story and can't judge this fairly as a result.
this is so chock full of great writing one can start at any place and feel very satisfied. a few that particularly stand out for me are william owen roberts, hilary mantel, merce ibarz, enrique vila-matas, olga tokarczuk, danute kalinauskaite....well hell, i liked em all pretty much.
Includes a translation of Eric Laurrent's novel "American Diary" and "Lou Dancing" by Belgium author François Emmanuel.
Wonderful collection. Some very talented authors I'd probably never have come across otherwise.
A phenomenal series. Read it slowly over a few months. Come back to it again and again.
There were some short stories I enjoyed immensely, others not so much. But I am embarrassed to admit I found myself skimming some of the short stories just to get through them.
Reviewed for LJ.
See my video book review in The Collagist here: http://www.dzancbooks.org/the-collagi...
This is an absolutely fabulous compilation. A must read.
Some writing from authors I've never heard of and probably would never read. Liked most pieces, disliked some; liked some alot and some day might look for more of their works in translation.
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May 03, 2013
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Hemon graduated from the University of Sarajevo with a degree in literature in 1990. He moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1992 and found that he was unable to write in Bosnian and spoke little English.
In 1995, he started writing works in English and managed to showcase his work in prestigious magazines such as the New Yorker and Esquire. Finally in 2000, he published his first book of short stories (...more
More about Aleksandar Hemon...
In 1995, he started writing works in English and managed to showcase his work in prestigious magazines such as the New Yorker and Esquire. Finally in 2000, he published his first book of short stories (...more
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That's better than we've done in Eurovision for the past 10 years.
Jun 21, 2011 09:33am
Jun 21, 2011 09:54am