TRANSLATORS ASSOCIATION – 60 YEARS OF CLASSIC TRANSLATIONS: The Master and Margarita (1967)

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“рукописи не горят.” – “Manuscripts don’t burn.” Mikhail Bulgakov’s extraordinary socio-political satire THE MASTER AND MARGARITA, in which Satan (in disguise) and his demonic cat wreak havoc among Moscow’s literary elite, was first published in book form in 1967. Bulgakov wrote the novel during the Stalinist repression of 1930s Russia and was still revising it … Continue reading TRANSLATORS ASSOCIATION – 60 YEARS OF CLASSIC TRANSLATIONS: The Master and Margarita (1967)

Translators Association – 60 Years of Classic Translations: Labyrinths (1962)

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1962 is represented in The Society of Authors #TA60 series of classic translations by Jorge Luis Borges, whose surreal prose is often seen as having opened the door to magical realism. The influential Argentine writer was largely unknown in the English-speaking world until he was awarded the prestigious Prix International jointly with Samuel Beckett. The … Continue reading Translators Association – 60 Years of Classic Translations: Labyrinths (1962)

Translators Association – 60 Years of Classic Translations: The Tin Drum (1961)

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Oskar Matzerath, the diminutive anti-hero of Günter Grass' THE TIN DRUM, was unleashed upon the English-speaking world in 1961. This first translation from the German was by Ralph Manheim. Weird, sweeping, brilliant, it’s frequently nominated as one of the great 20th century novels. Manheim’s translation contributed to the book’s huge international success, but from the … Continue reading Translators Association – 60 Years of Classic Translations: The Tin Drum (1961)

Minority Languages Translated Book Pick: I Stared at the Night of the City by Bakhtiyar Ali (Kurdish)

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Iraqi Kurdistan at the turn of the twenty-first century is a territory ruled by strongmen, revolutionaries, fixers, bureaucrats, and the "Barons" who control everything from livestock and land to Kurdish cultural life. Defying the absolute power wielded by the Barons, a band of friends led by an enigmatic poet embark on an odyssey to find … Continue reading Minority Languages Translated Book Pick: I Stared at the Night of the City by Bakhtiyar Ali (Kurdish)

Translators Association – 60 Years of Classic Translations: If This is a Man (1959)

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Next in the series of 60 classic first #translations celebrating 60 years of the Translators Association of The Society of Authors is IF THIS IS A MAN, Primo Levi's devastating account of his time in Auschwitz, first published in English in 1959 in a translation from the Italian by Stuart Woolf. Levi supervised the first … Continue reading Translators Association – 60 Years of Classic Translations: If This is a Man (1959)

International Publisher Spotlight: Rubinstein (The Netherlands)

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From the Rubinstein website: For over 30 years Rubinstein has been working with love and attention, expertise and craftsmanship on beautiful, often book related products. Rubinstein was founded in 1985 by Maurits Rubinstein as a publisher of audiobooks. A large number of audiobooks and music productions are still recorded and mastered in our own studio … Continue reading International Publisher Spotlight: Rubinstein (The Netherlands)

Minority Languages Translated Book Pick: Graveyard Clay by Máirtín Ó Cadhain (Irish)

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A brilliant new translation of Ó Cadhain’s modern Irish literature masterpiece, meant to spark debate and comparison with Alan Titley's Dirty Dust, now with bonus materials on its history, reception, interpretations, adaptations, and more In critical opinion and popular polls, Máirtín Ó Cadhain’s Graveyard Clay is invariably ranked the most important prose work in modern … Continue reading Minority Languages Translated Book Pick: Graveyard Clay by Máirtín Ó Cadhain (Irish)

World Languages Title Pick: Mejor la ausencia by Edurne Portela (Spain)

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Synopsis The novel is set in a town on the industrial outskirts of Bilbao during the 1980s, marked by heroin, unemployment and industrial decline, where the police fight running street battles with local youths, and the walls are covered with threatening slogans. Its narrator, Amaia, is a young child at the start, and progresses through … Continue reading World Languages Title Pick: Mejor la ausencia by Edurne Portela (Spain)

International Banned Book Pick: The Palace of Dreams by Ismail Kadare (Albania)

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PLOT: The mysterious palace of dreams stands at the heart of a vast empire. Inside, workers sift, sort, and interpret the dreams the empire’s citizens. They search out Master-Dreams that will provide clues to the destiny of the empire and its Sultan. Mark-Alem, scion of a noble family that has provided viziers to the Sultan … Continue reading International Banned Book Pick: The Palace of Dreams by Ismail Kadare (Albania)

Minority Languages Translated Book Pick: Twist by Harkaitz Cano (Basque)

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Set in the politically charged climate of the Basque Country in the 1980s, Twist relates the disappearance and brutal murder of two ETA militants at the hands of the Spanish army. The novel centers on their friend and fellow activist Diego Lazkano, who, since revealing his comrades to the authorities, has been tormented by guilt. … Continue reading Minority Languages Translated Book Pick: Twist by Harkaitz Cano (Basque)