Titles you'd like to see in print
DiscussionsNew York Review Books
Rejoignez LibraryThing pour poster.
Ce sujet est actuellement indiqué comme "en sommeil"—le dernier message date de plus de 90 jours. Vous pouvez le réveiller en postant une réponse.
1Marensr
I suppose this is an obvious thread idea and we've mentioned some titles already. I know there are many fans of The Brontes Went to Woolworths including myself.
I also think the odd and splendid children's book Manxmouse might be a worthy suggestion. I ordered my copy used from Australia.
Other favorite out of print books?
I also think the odd and splendid children's book Manxmouse might be a worthy suggestion. I ordered my copy used from Australia.
Other favorite out of print books?
2rebeccanyc
I would love to see a new release of Honor Tracy's The Straight and Narrow Path; the copy I've been rereading for years is falling apart. And I'd love to be able to read some of her other work too.
ETA You can recommend a book to NYRB here, and I've just done that.
ETA You can recommend a book to NYRB here, and I've just done that.
3aluvalibri
I recently recommended Rhododendron Pie by Margery Sharp, which has been out of print for a very long time.
4Mr.Durick
Alackaday. The formidable New York Review of Books has rejected the subjunctive. I don't think they would split an infinitive.
Robert
Robert
6urania1
Although E. Nesbit is best known for her children's books, she also wrote some rather dark, gothic short stories more suited to adults: Grim Tales and Fear. She and her husband were good friends with H.G. Wells for a time. The friendship didn't last. Wells proved to be a rotter.
7urania1
And I would love to see someone reprint all of Caryl Brahms and S.J. Simon's books. Their books are hilarious and comical. Their "backstairs histories" are wonderfully funny particularly if you're acquainted with any of the historical figures involved. No Bed for Bacon is my favorite. Shakespeare buffs will love this. And I don't care what Tom Stoppard said, he partially plagiarized this book in the screenplay for Shakespeare in Love. Other good titles include Don't Mr. Disraeli and No Nightingales. These two writers also collaborated on mysteries, but that's a topic for another group and thread.
8jfclark
Generally I'd love to see NYRB dip into the well of older (pre-Tolkien) fantasy/supernatural fiction. There's a lot of great stuff of genuine literary worth that has been out of print in the U.S. for a long time, and I don't refer to the sword-and-sorcery schlock from the pre-war pulps--think The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison, or the novels of George Macdonald and William Morris. Too often that great corner of literature falls into the exclusive custody of specialty or small presses, and deserves a new generation of readers.
9aluvalibri
I just suggested House of Liars by Elsa Morante. It is a splendid book, and not easy to find.
10dmsimpson
Hi. I'm new to this group and reading through old message threads. I thought I would mention, if you don't already know, that The Brontes Went to Woolworths is finally being brought back into print this summer by Bloomsbury Publishing.
http://www.bloomsbury.com/Books/details.aspx?isbn=9781408802939
I am happy to finally see someone picking this wonderful book up and can buy a copy of my own!
Danielle
http://www.bloomsbury.com/Books/details.aspx?isbn=9781408802939
I am happy to finally see someone picking this wonderful book up and can buy a copy of my own!
Danielle
11Marensr
Thank you Danielle and welcome to the group. It came up on a thread in a different group and I didn't think to add it here. It is wonderful news!
12rebeccanyc
I am thrilled to see new titles by Mavis Gallant and Vassily Grossman in the forthcoming titles list for NYRB -- two of my favorite authors, and I was introduced to both by NYRB. Can't wait to read them.
13inaudible
The other day I put in a recommendation for The Unseen by Nanni Balestrini. It's one of my favorite books but has never been printed in the US, despite a superb translation by Liz Heron for the (now out of print) Verso edition in the UK.
The book chronicles the upheavals of late 1970's Italy and is notable for its total lack of punctuation.
The book chronicles the upheavals of late 1970's Italy and is notable for its total lack of punctuation.
14urania1
For children's books, I recommend The Snowstorm by Beryl Netherclift. Two children are sent off to their aunt's house, a mysterious crumbling estate called Farthingales, complete with ghosts, tales of lost treasures, and a mysterious and magical snowstorm globe. And . . . it has been out of print for a long time. Are you paying attention NYRB (aka sarahjill)?
16agmlll
Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel: The Marx Brothers' Lost Radio Show edited by Mike Barson. Scripts from the Marx Brothers' radio show.
(Since the original book came out I think that an audiotape of the one episode that is missing has been found so there could be a more complete edition.)
(Since the original book came out I think that an audiotape of the one episode that is missing has been found so there could be a more complete edition.)
17marise
>16 agmlll: I second that one!
As I mentioned on another thread, If It Prove Fair Weather by Isabel Patterson is a wonderful stream of conciousness novel published originally in 1940. It is very hard to find this book!
As I mentioned on another thread, If It Prove Fair Weather by Isabel Patterson is a wonderful stream of conciousness novel published originally in 1940. It is very hard to find this book!
18nyrbclassics
>17 marise: Confession on the Isabel Patterson: I was turned off by her place as one of the Mothers of Libertarianism. I should probably get over it. Can you help me?
19marise
>18 nyrbclassics: My confession is that I had never heard of her at all! I have not read any of her nonfiction, and I am not interested in her politics. I believe in most cases it is best to separate the artist from the art.
Paterson's novel is stream of conciousness and not plot driven. Political or economic theory do not intrude, and from the independence of her women characters I thought she might have been an early feminist.
Here are two reviews on The Neglected Books Page:
Never Ask The End
If It Prove Fair Weather
I have Never Ask The End on order, but If It Prove Fair Weather is just not available at a reasonable price.
Paterson's novel is stream of conciousness and not plot driven. Political or economic theory do not intrude, and from the independence of her women characters I thought she might have been an early feminist.
Here are two reviews on The Neglected Books Page:
Never Ask The End
If It Prove Fair Weather
I have Never Ask The End on order, but If It Prove Fair Weather is just not available at a reasonable price.
20SilverSummer
i want more Mcgrowl and Phantom Stallion books. i also would love to see them make Dracula into a movie again i think they could redo it and make it even better!
21SilverSummer
i want more Mcgrowl and Phantom Stallion books. i also would love to see them make Dracula into a movie again i think they could redo it and make it even better!
22inaudible
Kabloona by Gontran De Poncins. It's a travel memoir/amateur anthropological study from a French aristocrat living among the Inuit in northern Canada. It's a pretty singular book but is unfortunately out of print. I think the most recent edition is from the mid-90's, but the copy I have is from the 60's.
Definitely a classic.
Definitely a classic.
23nyrbclassics
>19 marise: Agreed about separating the artist from the person. In some cases this proves harder than in others. And at some point, I do think a line must be drawn. Where that line is is personal and shifting though.
24urania1
>17 marise: and >18 nyrbclassics: Confession on Isabel Patterson, I hadn't heard of her. Looked at her bio, saw she was a friend of Ayn Rand, and said "no way." Sorry about the "guilt by association" fallacy, but that is how intensely I dislike Ayn Rand.
25nyrbclassics
>24 urania1:—Not just a friend of Ayn Rand, but a cohort. I wish I could be as open-minded as Marise!
>22 inaudible:—turns out we have Kabloona in the office. Will add it to the tbr pile.
>22 inaudible:—turns out we have Kabloona in the office. Will add it to the tbr pile.
27urania1
Kabloona . . . interesting. I read it in an abridged Reader's Digest form when I was just a small tyke. I'd like to read the complete version.
28marise
>24 urania1:, 25 To examine the personal politics, beliefs, or life of every artist (or that artist's friends) whose work I encounter, so that I don't end up liking a work by someone "incorrect" would just be silly. I liked the book on its own merits when I read it, and I had no idea of her politics as I stated before. Now that I do know her politics, should I change my mind about the book?!
29urania1
>28 marise:,
Marise,
You are quite right. I heartily agree. Yes, yes, yes! But I can't do it. I just can't. Do you think I might buy a small indulgence on this one.
Marise,
You are quite right. I heartily agree. Yes, yes, yes! But I can't do it. I just can't. Do you think I might buy a small indulgence on this one.
30nyrbclassics
>29 urania1:—I second everything Urania has said. With the only exception that I think I might be able to get over my prejudice, at least for a 20 pages.
31VisibleGhost
Are the US reprint rights for Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges available? It's still in print in the UK but it would be nice if it was also in print in the US.
32rbhardy3rd
Are there any plans to add The Flint Anchor to the NYRB Classics line of Sylvia Townsend Warner novels?
33urania1
A book I am really enjoying is by the Norwegian writer Trygve Gulbranssen: Beyond Sing the Woods. I don't think it has been published in English since 1936. And . . . just a note - one of the least translated countries is Finland. I cannot recommend specific books since I can't read them. However, there are lots of books whose descriptions sound really good.
34agmlll
There is a Finnish novel I've read about that I'd like to read. It's Karhun Tytär (The Bear's Daughter) by Liisa Jalava about a feral woman raised by a bear. I don't think it has ever been translated into English and it may be rare even in Finland. It was written around 1887.
35urania1
>34 agmlll: The book sounds fascinating. I am crossing my fingers that it gets translated.
36rbhardy3rd
Meanwhile, Tove Jansson, though she writes in Swedish, is actually Finnish, and NYRB publishes two of her excellent novels, The Summer Book and The True Deceiver. I'm reading the latter now—a quick and gripping read—and plan to follow it up with a new and recently translated Finnish novel, Elina Hirvonen's When I Forgot.
37urania1
Admittedly this is a lot to ask, but . . . a group of E.T.A. Hoffman fans asked where are the Complete Works of Hoffman. Sure we have novels here, some stories there, but the entire corpus????? We want Hoffmann
38aluvalibri
WE WANT HOFFMANN, WE WANT HOFFMANN, WE WANT HOFFMANN.....
Is that good enough, Mary?
Is that good enough, Mary?
39urania1
>38 aluvalibri: Thank you Paola,
You get five gold stars from Mother U . . . to offset the 40 demerits you have received in the Virago Naughty Room.
You get five gold stars from Mother U . . . to offset the 40 demerits you have received in the Virago Naughty Room.
40aluvalibri
HA! Since I am sick, I think I should get a break.
41urania1
>40 aluvalibri:,
Since you are sick, shouldn't you be in bed with the computer off? Must I add more demerits and on a foreign site at that. How embarrassing for Virago School of Education and Deportment.
Sincerely,
Mother Urania
Since you are sick, shouldn't you be in bed with the computer off? Must I add more demerits and on a foreign site at that. How embarrassing for Virago School of Education and Deportment.
Sincerely,
Mother Urania
42inaudible
What about Alfred Doblin? I don't think anything by him is in print (in English) except Berlin Alexanderplatz. His trilogy about the failed German revolution is pretty amazing.
43nyrbclassics
We've actually commissioned a new translation of Berlin Alexanderplatz—not exactly what you were requesting, I know. The translator is none other than Michael Hofmann, who wrote so memorably about Stefan Zweig.
44PaulDalton
That's really great news Sara.
I suggested exactly that in a mail about a year ago. Here is proof for any doubters that the recommend an NYRB classics link really works!
Best, Paul
I suggested exactly that in a mail about a year ago. Here is proof for any doubters that the recommend an NYRB classics link really works!
Best, Paul
45rebeccanyc
That's interesting about the new translation of Berlin Alexanderplatz; although I don't know any German, I thought the translation I read was excellent because the text includes a lot of rhyming ditties, and the translator certainly captured those in a way that seemed entirely natural to me.
I'm glad to know the "recommend a classic" link works, at least sometimes, because the book I recommended more than a year ago still hasn't been made into an NYRB classic (pout!).
I'm glad to know the "recommend a classic" link works, at least sometimes, because the book I recommended more than a year ago still hasn't been made into an NYRB classic (pout!).
46aluvalibri
So, since you have commissioned a new translation of Berlin Alexanderplatz, why don't you commission a new one of Menzogna e Sortilegio (House of Liars) by Elsa Morante?
You publish many Italian authors but, sadly, none of her books.
To my knowledge, there isn't a recent (or complete) English translation of House of Liars.
You publish many Italian authors but, sadly, none of her books.
To my knowledge, there isn't a recent (or complete) English translation of House of Liars.
47inaudible
Juan Rodolfo Wilcock!
His books might be more in the realm of Dalkey Archive Press, but NYRB editions would be nice(r).
His books might be more in the realm of Dalkey Archive Press, but NYRB editions would be nice(r).
48urania1
Anything by French author Julien Gracq would be wonderful, especially Chateau d'Argol or The Balcony in the Forest.
49Ortolan
I was reading the liner notes for the Criterion DVD of Jules and Jim last night. I know the Henri Pierre Roche's book Jules and Jim is in print in English and French, but Francois Truffaut said that he tried, unsucucessfuly to get French publishers interested in publishing Roche's diaries.
He felt he couldn't get interest because Roche protected the indentity of the people he wrote about and changed the names in his diary. Maybe a manuscript still exists and is worth looking at. Roche is famous for introducing Picasso and Gertrude Stein to each other and was a friend of Duchamp and Cocteau.
The anniversary of the film of Jules and Jim comes up in 2012 so this might be worth looking at.
He felt he couldn't get interest because Roche protected the indentity of the people he wrote about and changed the names in his diary. Maybe a manuscript still exists and is worth looking at. Roche is famous for introducing Picasso and Gertrude Stein to each other and was a friend of Duchamp and Cocteau.
The anniversary of the film of Jules and Jim comes up in 2012 so this might be worth looking at.
50janeajones
Oh please do Tove Jansson's Sculptor's Daughter -- it's out of print and wickedly expensive to find. The others NYRB has done by her are gorgeous.
51urania1
I have recently finished my first book by Par Lagerkvist, the 1951 winner of the Nobel Prize. Much of his work has not been translated into English and to the best of my knowledge there have been no recent translations of any of his works. For an excellent overview of his work and tantalizing tidbits about the, as of yet, untranslated works, consult the critical biography entry from the following reference work available at fine university libraries almost everywhere (and at some public libraries).
Twentieth-Century Swedish Writers Before World War II. Ed. Ann-Charlotte Gavel Adams. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 259. Detroit: Gale Group, 2002.
Twentieth-Century Swedish Writers Before World War II. Ed. Ann-Charlotte Gavel Adams. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 259. Detroit: Gale Group, 2002.
53klarkash
Great news! I've nagged NYRB and Dedalus Books in the UK about Doblin since I came across his name in Bolano's "2666." His untranslated "Berge, Meeren und Giganten" sounds especially tantalizing, but perhaps daunting- a proto-science fiction epic of 500+ pages.
The english translation of Doblin's "Tales of a Long Night" is very interesting; I have yet to track down his "The Three Leaps of Wang Lun."
The english translation of Doblin's "Tales of a Long Night" is very interesting; I have yet to track down his "The Three Leaps of Wang Lun."
54klarkash
Paul Scheerbart might be worth a look- his story was one of the best in The Black Mirror, a collection of German and Austrian science fiction. German expressionist science fiction at its finest!
55slickdpdx
What about Wolf Solent?
56nyrbclassics
>>slickdpdx pretty sure Wolf Solent and most of the John Cowper Powys books are in print with Overlook press—or was until recently. Overlook has done a good job of reprinting most Powys's work—and even did what's supposed to be an excellent biography (Descents of Memory) not too long ago. We're definitely fond of him here.
57slickdpdx
Thanks for the information. I have an old copy that is falling apart. (But not that old. Shame on you Harper Colophon! On the other hand, an introduction from Robertson Davies. Kudos Harper Colophon!)
58urania1
>57 slickdpdx: slick,
To each his own. I read Wolf Solent ~15 years ago. I wanted to slap every single character in the book :-)
To each his own. I read Wolf Solent ~15 years ago. I wanted to slap every single character in the book :-)
60rebeccanyc
I am renewing my plea for The Straight and Narrow Path by Honor Tracy, which I touted way back in 2008 in message #2. It is sadly out of print and I really think it would just be a perfect NYRB.
61nyrbclassics
This Monday finds two (!) requests for the Honor Tracy book in our inbox. rebeccanyc, do we have you to thank for this? or is there just a groundswell for this writer?
62rebeccanyc
I must confess that on another thread someone was talking about a book that would be great for NYRB and, when I posted the link to the request page on the NYRB web site I mentioned that I had recommended The Straight and Narrow Path this way almost two years ago and that my recommendation hadn't yet been taken, so I didn't know exactly how the request page worked. So I can take credit for planting the seed, but the other recommenders did it all on their own!
65janeajones
And my repeat request for Tove Jansson's autobiography, Sculptor's Daughter. thanks.
66dcozy
I may have mentioned this before in this thread (and I have mentioned it to NYR Books), but Guy Davenport's Tatlin! (or any other of his many out of print books) really needs to be reissued. He was a remarkable writer and man, a unique genius.
Of course his rather public dislike of the NYRB may not help his case . . . .
Of course his rather public dislike of the NYRB may not help his case . . . .
67urania1
>66 dcozy:,
I have never heard of Guy Davenport. Tell me more.
>61 nyrbclassics: NYRB,
I think NYRB should give us a list of books it may be considering (of course it probably cannot lest other publishers steal its ideas). Let any of us read them who would like or who have an interest in NYRB-type books. We can be the lab rats. Or LT rats Or something nicer.
I have never heard of Guy Davenport. Tell me more.
>61 nyrbclassics: NYRB,
I think NYRB should give us a list of books it may be considering (of course it probably cannot lest other publishers steal its ideas). Let any of us read them who would like or who have an interest in NYRB-type books. We can be the lab rats. Or LT rats Or something nicer.
68urania1
Okay, one more plea. I know NYRB cannot do complete works of E.T.A. Hoffmann. However, a collection of his lesser known works would be nice - novellas and short stories - the ones that are not perpetually anthologized. Please????
69dcozy
Urania1:
Sorry to be so tardy in replying to your request for information about Guy Davenport. My excuse is that I have been infernally busy. I still am, so I'm going to cop out and send you to the wiki page devoted to Guy Davenport. It's a good overview, includes links to other good information, and also to (off-line) published sources.
It's here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Davenport.
But of course it's best that you just go directly to Davenport's writing. Suggested points of entry:
Essays: The Geography of the Imagination.
Fiction: Tatlin!
If you like adventurous and erudite writing, you won't be disappointed.
Sorry to be so tardy in replying to your request for information about Guy Davenport. My excuse is that I have been infernally busy. I still am, so I'm going to cop out and send you to the wiki page devoted to Guy Davenport. It's a good overview, includes links to other good information, and also to (off-line) published sources.
It's here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Davenport.
But of course it's best that you just go directly to Davenport's writing. Suggested points of entry:
Essays: The Geography of the Imagination.
Fiction: Tatlin!
If you like adventurous and erudite writing, you won't be disappointed.
70Ortolan
Just got back from Italy, where I had to control myself from buying all the new Adelphi editions of the Leonardo Sciascia backlist, especially as my Italian is only good enough to order food. There are 30 titles. One of the Sciascia books I bought La scomparsa di Majorana which was translated by Carcanet in 1987, and is about the disappearance of the Italian physicist Ettore Majorana. Here is my translation of the jacket copy:
"On March 26, 1938, traces were lost, between the departure and arrival during a sea voyage between Palermo and Naples, of the thirty-something Sicilian physicist, Ettore Majorana, whom Fermi did not hesitate to call a genius, of the stature of Galileo and Newton. Suicide, as speculators of the period wanted to believe or left to believe, or voluntary exile from the world and of the terrible destiny in which he read the future, and the near future- of science? In his interrogative quest Sciascia constructs one of his most beautiful books, of an analytical intensity and of an identification of unsaid motivations, on logic and the secret ethics of his subject, which shines with brightness of the truth."
I just saw that Basic Books published a biography of Majorana in November 2009, that was well reviewed, so I don't know if this helps or hurts the cause in Sciascia's case.
"On March 26, 1938, traces were lost, between the departure and arrival during a sea voyage between Palermo and Naples, of the thirty-something Sicilian physicist, Ettore Majorana, whom Fermi did not hesitate to call a genius, of the stature of Galileo and Newton. Suicide, as speculators of the period wanted to believe or left to believe, or voluntary exile from the world and of the terrible destiny in which he read the future, and the near future- of science? In his interrogative quest Sciascia constructs one of his most beautiful books, of an analytical intensity and of an identification of unsaid motivations, on logic and the secret ethics of his subject, which shines with brightness of the truth."
I just saw that Basic Books published a biography of Majorana in November 2009, that was well reviewed, so I don't know if this helps or hurts the cause in Sciascia's case.
71aluvalibri
#70> Excellent suggestion, Ortolan! I read the book years ago and enjoyed it. But then, how not to enjoy anything written by Sciascia?
72urania1
>70 Ortolan: I must read this book.
73inaudible
The Devil to Pay in the Backlands by João Guimarães Rosa
Joshua Cohen calls it the Ulysses of Brazil, and this is a longer article about it:
http://quarterlyconversation.com/a-dark-dream-of-life-the-devil-to-pay-in-the-ba...
The English edition is long out of print.
Joshua Cohen calls it the Ulysses of Brazil, and this is a longer article about it:
http://quarterlyconversation.com/a-dark-dream-of-life-the-devil-to-pay-in-the-ba...
The English edition is long out of print.
74urania1
Finnish literature anyone??? I cannot really comment because so little of it has been translated. And Tove Jansson doesn't count - a Swedish-speaking Finn.
Does anyone know anything about Frans Eemil Sillanpää (the 1939 Nobel Prize Winner). There seems to be an incredible dearth here. Either he was awful or he has been forgotten.
Does anyone know anything about Frans Eemil Sillanpää (the 1939 Nobel Prize Winner). There seems to be an incredible dearth here. Either he was awful or he has been forgotten.
75JimmyChanga
Forough Farrokhzad (1935-67) was one of the most respected Persian or Iranian poets and film directors of the twentieth century. I first encountered her poetry when it was featured in the great movie The Wind Will Carry Us (Kiarostami). Her own film The House is Black is perhaps the most influential film within Iran. She never made a second film, as she died pretty young. Most of her poetry has not been translated, and it would be great if NYRB could look into this.
76urania1
Jimmy,
Go on listing books and authors. I find poetry a bit tricky and prefer to read it in the original - which leaves me with French, German (sort of), Spanish (sort of), and English. Last year I read a collection of new Arabic poets (I know the Iranians aren't Arabic and speak Farsi), but anthology was really mediocre. I think it must have been the translation. However, with a good translator, poetry is excellent. I have my favorite translator of Rilke. My husband, who is fluent in written and spoken German, says the translation is amazingly good.
P.S. Are you familiar with an Iranian film entitled The Circle?
Go on listing books and authors. I find poetry a bit tricky and prefer to read it in the original - which leaves me with French, German (sort of), Spanish (sort of), and English. Last year I read a collection of new Arabic poets (I know the Iranians aren't Arabic and speak Farsi), but anthology was really mediocre. I think it must have been the translation. However, with a good translator, poetry is excellent. I have my favorite translator of Rilke. My husband, who is fluent in written and spoken German, says the translation is amazingly good.
P.S. Are you familiar with an Iranian film entitled The Circle?
77Pawcatuck
>74 urania1:
Here’s an interesting article about Sillanpää:
http://kirjasto.sci.fi/fesillan.htm
He apparently had some following in Europe, but as far as I’ve ever been able to tell, most of his works were either never published in the United States (or in Britain, for that matter) or they were allowed to lapse out of print and never brought back. I read People in the Summer Night a few years back.
Here’s an interesting article about Sillanpää:
http://kirjasto.sci.fi/fesillan.htm
He apparently had some following in Europe, but as far as I’ve ever been able to tell, most of his works were either never published in the United States (or in Britain, for that matter) or they were allowed to lapse out of print and never brought back. I read People in the Summer Night a few years back.
79JimmyChanga
urania, no that is one of the ones I haven't seen but want to. Here's a list of the ones I've seen: http://mubi.com/lists/1546
Also, I'm curious what translation of Rilke you liked. I'm a huge Rilke fan and I'm partial to the Stephen Mitchell translations myself.
Also, I'm curious what translation of Rilke you liked. I'm a huge Rilke fan and I'm partial to the Stephen Mitchell translations myself.
80Pawcatuck
>78 urania1:,
I liked People in the Summer Night without having any real feelings about it, if that makes any sense. It was pastoral and peaceful. Even the murder, the defining moment of the story, seemed strangely low-key, as murders go. It's been maybe ten years and my journal entry was pretty sparse, so I'm going from memory here. But at least I do remember it after ten years—so for a book where nothing much happens, it must have made some kind of impression on me!
I liked People in the Summer Night without having any real feelings about it, if that makes any sense. It was pastoral and peaceful. Even the murder, the defining moment of the story, seemed strangely low-key, as murders go. It's been maybe ten years and my journal entry was pretty sparse, so I'm going from memory here. But at least I do remember it after ten years—so for a book where nothing much happens, it must have made some kind of impression on me!
81urania1
>79 JimmyChanga: I love C. F. MacIntyre's translations of Rilke.
>80 Pawcatuck: Thanks for the information about People in the Summer Night. I am debating whether to purchase it. Finnish literature in translation is hard to come by. I only have Finnish works in translation.
>80 Pawcatuck: Thanks for the information about People in the Summer Night. I am debating whether to purchase it. Finnish literature in translation is hard to come by. I only have Finnish works in translation.
82urania1
Jimmy,
I looked at your list of Iranian films. The only one I have seen is Children of Paradise. If I watched films enough, I would subscribe to Netflix. However, I have a small (very small farm) and dairy goats. Keeping all of that going and finding time to read doesn't leave as much time as I would like for watching films. Since I don't watch enough films to make Netflix worth the money, I usually end up buying movies that come highly recommended. I am also a Shakespeare film buff (probably from teaching the bard for so many years), so I tend to purchase productions of Shakespeare.
I looked at your list of Iranian films. The only one I have seen is Children of Paradise. If I watched films enough, I would subscribe to Netflix. However, I have a small (very small farm) and dairy goats. Keeping all of that going and finding time to read doesn't leave as much time as I would like for watching films. Since I don't watch enough films to make Netflix worth the money, I usually end up buying movies that come highly recommended. I am also a Shakespeare film buff (probably from teaching the bard for so many years), so I tend to purchase productions of Shakespeare.
83Marensr
On the Finnish thread, has anyone read or found a good translation of Linna's The Unknown Soldier or Paasilinna's The Year of the Hare? They both popped up when I was on a bit of a Scandinavian kick urania but I haven't found/read them yet. People in the Summer Night sounds interesting.
84urania1
I'm not sure about the quality of my translation of The Year of the Hare. I enjoyed it, thought it was funny, but had a feeling that it was far more hilarious in Finnish than in my translation. Maren, if you like sweeping epics à la Ben Hur or Quo Vadis, I highly recommend Miki Waltari. I read his novel The Egyptian and thoroughly enjoyed it. Most of his novels have not been translated into English.
85DieFledermaus
I haven't read The Year of the Hare, but I can recommend The Howling Miller by the same author. For a book about a man ostracized by a small-town community, thrown into a mental institute and then driven to hide in the woods, it is surprisingly funny and energetic. I can't compare with the original but the translation is a smooth read.
87urania1
I am reading a book by the Belgian author Françoise Mallet-Joris entitled The Witches or in French Trois âges de la nuit. On another forum, I announced that her book Café Celeste was probably the most boring book I have ever read. As chance would have it, I had recently ordered a copy of her book The Illusionist, so I decided to read it to see if it was better. I found it quite good. I forged ahead and read more of her work. Trois âges de la nuit is the third book I have read. It is an interesting fictional analysis of the lives of three women - two accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake and the third who believed herself possessed by Satan. Mallet-Joris is an ardent feminist. She won the Prix Femina for Café Celeste (what irony) and is a member of its committee. The Illusionist, written when she was only nineteen deals with the love affair of a young girl and her father's Russian mistress. As far as I know, with the exception of the recent release of The Illusionist, none of her works have been reissued or retranslated. I checked her works on LT. Few people own them and in general if rated at all they receive low to medium ratings. Having read finished the three works, I have revised my opinion of her writing. Perhaps, Café Celeste was poorly translated; however, I highly recommend Trois âges de la nuit for consideration by NYRB.
88ateolf
I read The Year of the Hare and thought it was kind of bad, but had a suspicion that it could be at least partially the fault of the translation. OF course I have no way of confirming this, but sometimes you just get that feeling. I'll never know until I learn Finnish or someone else comes along with a better translation and enough people tell me that it's a marked improvement over the original. I see the latter happening first but not any time soon.
89DieFledermaus
It would be great if NYRB could translate more by Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky. I read another book of his short stories and enjoyed them - they included two that were in Memories of the Future but had several others that were quite good -
In the Pupil
The Runaway Fingers
Autobiography of a Corpse
The Unbitten Elbow
Yellow Coal
The introduction in Memories of the Future mentioned that there was something like five volumes of unpublished stories by Krzhizhanovsky - would definitely read more by him.
In the Pupil
The Runaway Fingers
Autobiography of a Corpse
The Unbitten Elbow
Yellow Coal
The introduction in Memories of the Future mentioned that there was something like five volumes of unpublished stories by Krzhizhanovsky - would definitely read more by him.
90PaulDalton
NYRB has published most of Andrey Platonov's work so far translated to English, but not Happy Moscow.
(There is at least one further novel, which I've heard described as his magnum opus, Chevengur, which is yet to be translated.
Are there any plans to add Happy Moscow to the NYRB Platonov collection? I'm certain the translator, Robert Chandler, has already been lobbying for it!
(There is at least one further novel, which I've heard described as his magnum opus, Chevengur, which is yet to be translated.
Are there any plans to add Happy Moscow to the NYRB Platonov collection? I'm certain the translator, Robert Chandler, has already been lobbying for it!
92nyrb
PaulDalton: Will get back to you on your Platonov questions.
DieFledermaus: Yes, we have two Krzhizhanovsky books coming up. In 2011, The Letter Killers (possibly the Letter Killer's Club) Le Club des tueurs de lettres and a book of short stories scheduled for the next year.
DieFledermaus: Yes, we have two Krzhizhanovsky books coming up. In 2011, The Letter Killers (possibly the Letter Killer's Club) Le Club des tueurs de lettres and a book of short stories scheduled for the next year.
93urania1
Anything by Swedish writer Sigfrid Siwertz. Why? Here's a sentence from Downstream (1923). It speaks for itself.
In the long dream of childhood there reigns a capricious, mysterious and yet irresistible Fate, beneficent like the fairy with its wand beside the princess's cradle, or cruel like the wolf in Red Riding Hood. The shadow of that Fate still casts itself over our riper years. It haunts us, ghost-like, even when we have begun consciously to order our lives. Only a few chosen spirits are able to cast off the spell of these fairies and trolls.
This is the tale of a people whose childhood was passed in the shadow of the wolf--and who could never escape from their childhood.
Very little of his work was ever translated into English.
In the long dream of childhood there reigns a capricious, mysterious and yet irresistible Fate, beneficent like the fairy with its wand beside the princess's cradle, or cruel like the wolf in Red Riding Hood. The shadow of that Fate still casts itself over our riper years. It haunts us, ghost-like, even when we have begun consciously to order our lives. Only a few chosen spirits are able to cast off the spell of these fairies and trolls.
This is the tale of a people whose childhood was passed in the shadow of the wolf--and who could never escape from their childhood.
Very little of his work was ever translated into English.
94bj2211
I'm not sure if they are technically out of print or not, but I can't seem to find any new copies of any of John Wyndham other than The Day of the Triffids and The Chrysalids (which there is a NYRB version of). He has several additional titles that I am interested in.
95RickHarsch
Is roberto arlt in print?
96RickHarsch
Blaise Cendrars' Planus. If available it may be worth a re-translation. The translator's note is an oblivious admission of dastardly doings. Even the title is absurd.
99PaulDalton
nyrb Were you able to find out anything about the unpublished Platonov books?
Another NYRB-worthy author I recently discovered was the Czech / Austrian Leo Perutz. Has any one else in the group read him?
He made something of a come-back in English in the early 1990s, when Harvill republished, or translated for the first time, several of his novels. Now they are out of print again. By Night under the Stone Bridge and The Swedish Cavalier both seem to be highly regarded, judging from various online reviews I have seen.
Another NYRB-worthy author I recently discovered was the Czech / Austrian Leo Perutz. Has any one else in the group read him?
He made something of a come-back in English in the early 1990s, when Harvill republished, or translated for the first time, several of his novels. Now they are out of print again. By Night under the Stone Bridge and The Swedish Cavalier both seem to be highly regarded, judging from various online reviews I have seen.
100nyrb
PaulDalton—yes, Robert Chandler is working on Platonov's Happy Moscow and Other Stories as we speak. I believe another volume of stories is also in the works. I don't have pub dates on them yet.
101marietherese
PaulDalton, how funny that you should mention Perutz as I also thought of him the last time I read this thread but I generally lurk, so I didn't say anything and then I forgot...until just now.
I think Perutz' work would fit extremely well into the NYRB portfolio, particularly since they've lately been publishing authors like Krudy and Zweig and appear to be doing well with those. Along with the two titles you mention, The Marquis of Bolibar is worth a reprint. I believe Perutz' other well-known novel The Master of the Day of Judgment, which was reprinted in the US back in 1996 by Arcade, is out of print again. It's quite good too.
I think Perutz' work would fit extremely well into the NYRB portfolio, particularly since they've lately been publishing authors like Krudy and Zweig and appear to be doing well with those. Along with the two titles you mention, The Marquis of Bolibar is worth a reprint. I believe Perutz' other well-known novel The Master of the Day of Judgment, which was reprinted in the US back in 1996 by Arcade, is out of print again. It's quite good too.
102waitingtoderail
I just came across a really interesting nonfiction title that seems to get great reviews where I can find them but seems to have been otherwise entirely forgotten - Paris-Underground by Etta Shiber. Seems like something that would fit in with a title like Kaputt.
103NancyKay_Shapiro
Agree, it's wonderful this is back in print, as it's one of the novels I MOST often try to foist on people. Now I have a couple of extra lending copies.
104urania1
I just finished a wonderful book Venus and the Voters (1947) by Welsh author Gwyn Thomas. Darkly humorous.
105kswolff
NYRB should reprint The Chronicle of Ancient Sunlight series by Henry Williamson. Anthony Burgess lauded Williamson in his 99 Novels I think Oxford U Press came out with them a while back and have since languished in OOP purgatory. Granted, Williamson was a literary figure associated with Oswald Mosley and the British fascist movement. On the other hand, Fascist writers like Ferdinand Celine and Ezra Pound have seen their careers revived and their work established in the Canon. The same could be done for Williamson, especially with a decent scholarly introduction NYRB is known for.
106urania1
Okay - a really serious contender for the Children's Classics (NYRB I hope you're reading this this post): The Glass Blower's Children by Maria Gripe or several of her other children's book. She was a Swedish author (died in 2007), won many awards for her writing including the Hans Christian Anderson award. As far as I know all of her books are out of print. She really, REALLY, REALLY needs to be back in print.
107NancyKay_Shapiro
Any chance of reprinting more Sylvia Townsend Warner? Though I own them myself in old editions, I'd love to see her collected short stories available, as well as her diaries, which are great fun to read, and my own favorite of her novels, The Flint Anchor.
108LolaWalser
Desert of the heart by Jane Rule would fit nicely in the NYRB collection, or sub-collection (1960s novels by women, more or less queer). It is better than the already NYRBised Dorothy Baker's Cassandra at the wedding, with which it shares some themes.
109nyrb
LolaWalser It looks like Desert of the Heart is in print! Oh well.
NancyKay_Shapiro And we should be publishing Warner's The Corner that Held Them at some point.
We've got a queer theme going today!
NancyKay_Shapiro And we should be publishing Warner's The Corner that Held Them at some point.
We've got a queer theme going today!
110LolaWalser
James Purdy! James Purdy needs to be brought back to people ASAP!
111sriq
I've sent in requests through the site for both The Devil to Pay in the Backlands by João Guimarães Rosa and The Miner by Natsume Soseki. I'm staying hopeful!
Also, the historical novels of the Hungarian author Géza Gárdonyi are very out of print in English translation - Eclipse of the Crescent Moon and Slave of the Huns. I haven't read them yet, but they seem very well-loved.
The collections of Kenji Miyazawa's short stories translated by John Bester are out of print too, and they definitely deserve to have more exposure. I think Miyazawa's work could probably fit into the NYRB Children's Collection too!
Also, the historical novels of the Hungarian author Géza Gárdonyi are very out of print in English translation - Eclipse of the Crescent Moon and Slave of the Huns. I haven't read them yet, but they seem very well-loved.
The collections of Kenji Miyazawa's short stories translated by John Bester are out of print too, and they definitely deserve to have more exposure. I think Miyazawa's work could probably fit into the NYRB Children's Collection too!
112Lindaannstrang
I wish someone would republish all of Nicholas Stuart Gray's books that have gone out of print. I would love to read Over the Hills to Fabylon again - with the original illustrations please.
Roger Zelazny's Jack of Shadows also seems to have vanished from the earth. Bring it back, I say.
Roger Zelazny's Jack of Shadows also seems to have vanished from the earth. Bring it back, I say.
113nyrb
Natsume Soseki fans rejoice, we will be publishing an original translation of The Gate in Fall/Winter 2012.
114Rise
> 113
I'm rejoicing! Though I already loved the existing translation of Mon (The Gate), I wonder what the retranslation will bring to the table.
I'm rejoicing! Though I already loved the existing translation of Mon (The Gate), I wonder what the retranslation will bring to the table.
115sriq
>113 nyrb: Ahhh, that is great news! I'm definitely excited to see how it goes.
116Lindaannstrang
Lovely news indeed. I really enjoyed Soseki's The Three-Cornered World - a novel that changed the way I perceive things. Unforgettable reading.
117DieFledermaus
I'd second the request for The Devil to Pay in the Backlands - it's supposed to be a classic of Brazilian literature and the prices on Abebooks are ridiculous.
118kswolff
Lois by Philippe Sollers
Cobra by Severo Sarduy
Barthes mentions both titles in The Pleasure of the Text
Cobra by Severo Sarduy
Barthes mentions both titles in The Pleasure of the Text
119nyrb
It appears that the English translation of The Devil to Pay in the Backlands is bedeviled by several problems, including a feuding estate (this is hearsay, by the way). Here is a blog devoted to the book.
121kswolff
Turns out Cobra by Sarduy is already in print at the Dalkey Archive.
My other candidate: The Iron Dream by Norman Spinrad. The admixture of alternate history, pulp swords-and-sorcery, and Hitler working as a hack writing fantasy just begs to be placed between the vibrant covers of a NYRB volume. Plus Hav is a good precedent, showing that NYRB is willing to print in the sci fi genre, among its other hard-boiled classics.
My other candidate: The Iron Dream by Norman Spinrad. The admixture of alternate history, pulp swords-and-sorcery, and Hitler working as a hack writing fantasy just begs to be placed between the vibrant covers of a NYRB volume. Plus Hav is a good precedent, showing that NYRB is willing to print in the sci fi genre, among its other hard-boiled classics.
122NancyKay_Shapiro
Oh good, The Corner That Held Them is a fine Sylvia. I have it in the Virago edition and have read it a couple of times. Still, I will nudge you again -- gently -- towards The Flint Anchor.
124kswolff
Aline et Valcour by DAF Sade. One of his few titles not available in English. It's an oddball utopian epistolary novel that might be a good candidate for NYRB Classics.
125PaulDalton
Anyone for Romain Gary?
An intriguing author, he seems to have almost vanished in English, apart from The Life before Us and the biography Romain Gary: A Tall Story by David Bellos published last year.
Among the titles out of print are the Prix Goncourt winner The Roots of Heaven.
An intriguing author, he seems to have almost vanished in English, apart from The Life before Us and the biography Romain Gary: A Tall Story by David Bellos published last year.
Among the titles out of print are the Prix Goncourt winner The Roots of Heaven.
126kswolff
The more obscure works of Djuna Barnes
128kswolff
Possibly, although Faber & Faber has a Selected Works of Djuna Barnes ... not sure if it's in print, though.
129urania1
>128 kswolff: Faber is slowly releasing its back list in a series called Faber Finds. The Selected Works of Djuna Barnes has been released. Check out the Faber Finds website: http://www.faber.co.uk/faberfinds/ for some interesting books, many of which have been out of print for a while.
130kswolff
129: I do have a Avignon Quintet omnibus from Faber. Good stuff.
131tros
Leo Perutz is an old favorite. Someone needs to translate and publish a first english edition of "The Third Bullet"! Sooner than later, hopefully.
132Makifat
Hear! Hear! for Perutz.
Also, I'm presently enjoying The Resurrection of Maltravers. There are some exquisite pages in this, and it ought to be back in print.
Also, I'm presently enjoying The Resurrection of Maltravers. There are some exquisite pages in this, and it ought to be back in print.
133agmlll
I wouldn't mind seeing new translations of Victor Hugo's The Man Who Laughs and Ninety-Three.
135urania1
I would really like to see Elsa Morante's House of Liars reprinted. It is out of print and incredibly expensive. The cheapest used copy on Amazon is $98. She is definitely NYRB caliber.
136kswolff
The Dark Labyrinth by Lawrence Durrell.
138HarryMacDonald
I am usually the last one in the class to grasp what's going-on . . . but do we have any reason to believe that this discussion is heeded by anybody except us here on LT? In the unlikely case that somebdy outside IS paying attention, I'd be glad to see re-ssues of Leonid Leonov, the Soviet author who was quite rightly regarded as representing the Dostoyevskian tradition in the Soviet period (as Sholokhov more-or-lessrepresented the Tolstoyan). Also, some of the classic historians of the Tudor and Stuart periods, esp. Conyers Read.
139kswolff
As I've probably said before, The Iron Dream by Norman Spinrad.
140Marensr
138 There is a NYRB editor who checks in on our threads periodically. Also I believe you can email them or they have a system of sending them suggestions.
141HarryMacDonald
In re 37 & 38. To be sure, Utopia is the only truly prestige address, and we should make no small plans . . . BUT, has either of you looked lately to see the immensity of Hoffmann's surviving writing?
142nyrb
urania1—I was just about to post that we're publishing Maria Gripe's Glassblower's Children in 2014, thanks to your recommendation. It hasn't formally been announced yet. But keep your eyes peeled. A truly strange, wonderful, and resonant book. Thank you for telling us about it! cc: HarryMacDonald
143nyrb
Having mentioned that success story—I don't seem to have time (sigh) to check this forum as much as I used to. The very best way to send a recommendation to us is through the form on our homepage: http://bit.ly/VvADDi or to nyrb at nybooks dot com. The editors receive and read each and every recommendation. Promise.
144PaulDalton
#43 (nyrb / nyrb classics)
I read recently that the Michael Hofmann translation of Berlin Alexanderplatz is going to be released in the UK by Penguin later this year. I really hope that it will still be published by NYRB as well. Is there any news on the publication date?
I read recently that the Michael Hofmann translation of Berlin Alexanderplatz is going to be released in the UK by Penguin later this year. I really hope that it will still be published by NYRB as well. Is there any news on the publication date?
145rebeccanyc
Oh, interesting about Berlin Alexanderplatz; I really enjoyed (if that's the right word for this book) the edition I read which was translated by Eugene Jolas.
146HarryMacDonald
No problem about access to publishing rights, but I fear the reading audience might seem too small, but -- after that pessimistic start -- I'd like to see a consolidated English-language edition of SOLITARIA and FALLEN LEAVES by VV Rozanov.
147nymith
Children of the Arbat by Anatoli Rybakov.
149rebeccanyc
Missed #133. I have both these books in recent translation by James Hogarth, who also translated the edition of Toilers of the Sea that I read. They were published in 2008 by Kennedy & Boyd in Glasgow.
150DanMat
-133
And I second that!!!
-144
I had no idea there were tranlsations by Hogarth. The Man Who Laughs is great and I loved the experience as much as any other Hugo. It didn't seem to suffer from the translation I read...
'93 I couldn't say and am hoping it was the translation more than anything else...
And I second that!!!
-144
I had no idea there were tranlsations by Hogarth. The Man Who Laughs is great and I loved the experience as much as any other Hugo. It didn't seem to suffer from the translation I read...
'93 I couldn't say and am hoping it was the translation more than anything else...
151rebeccanyc
After I read Toilers of the Sea, I was eager to read other less well-known novels by Hugo and looked for ones that had recent translations. When I discovered they were translated by the same translator as TofS, I was thrilled. They seem to be very basic editions -- no cover art, etc., and they seem to have been published posthumously as the copyright is from Hogarth's estate. Here is an image of what he translates as The Laughing Man -- the cover of Ninety-three is essentially identical.
I got them from either Amazon or the Book Depository; I don't remember which, although I could look it up.
I got them from either Amazon or the Book Depository; I don't remember which, although I could look it up.
152kaggsy
147: Seconded - the whole series as I have very scrappy second hand ex-library books which were hard to track down. A brand new set all translated by the same person would be great!
153rebeccanyc
I am loving The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll and I would love to see translations of other works by Alvaro Mutis, including his poetry.