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<?xml version="1.0"?><rss version="2.0"><channel> <title>the Literary Saloon</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/index.htm</link> <description>opinionated commentary on literary matters</description> <language>en-us</language> <copyright>Copyright 2025 the Complete Review</copyright> <docs>http://backend.userland.com/rss</docs> <managingEditor>mao@complete-review.com</managingEditor> <item> <title>Prix Goncourt</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#js6</link><description><![CDATA[ They've <a href="https://www.academiegoncourt.com/prix-goncourt-2025" target="_blank">announced</a> the winner of this year's prix Goncourt, the biggest French book prize, and it is <i>La maison vide</i>, by Laurent Mauvignier, which got six votes in the first and only round of voting, beating out <i>Le Bel Obscur</i> by Caroline Lamarche, which got four votes; <i>La nuit au cœur</i> by Nathacha Appanah -- announced as the prix Femina winner on Monday -- and <i>Kolkhoze</i> by Emmanuel Carrère, the two other finalists, didn't get any votes.<br> See also the Les Éditions de Minuit <a href="https://www.leseditionsdeminuit.fr/livre-La_Maison_vide-3486-1-1-0-1.html" target="_blank">publicity page</a> for <i>La maison vide</i>.<br> Mauvignier's <a href="https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/popfr/mauvignierl.htm" target="_blank">The Birthday Party</a> got decent attention when it was published in the US and UK, and we can probably expect to see this one -- despite its length -- in English fairly soon.<br><br> They also announced the winner of the number two prize, the prix Renaudot -- <i>Je voulais vivre</i>, by Adélaïde de Clermont-Tonnerre; see also the Livres Hebdo <a href="https://www.livreshebdo.fr/article/adelaide-de-clermont-tonnerre-remporte-le-prix-renaudot-2025" target="_blank">report</a> and the Grasset <a href="https://www.grasset.fr/livre/je-voulais-vivre-9782246831662/" target="_blank">publicity page</a> for the book.<br> (As I've noted before, these French prizes have some pretty impressive juries: among those judging the Renaudot this year were Nobel laureate Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, Georges-Olivier Châteaureynaud, Patrick Besson, and Frédéric Beigbeder.)]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#js6</guid> </item> <item> <title>Baillie Gifford Prize</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#js7</link><description><![CDATA[ They've <a href="https://www.thebailliegiffordprize.co.uk/inside-the-covers/news/the-baillie-gifford-prize-for-non-fiction-announces-helen-garner-as-the-2025-winner-for-how-to-end-a-story-collected-diaries" target="_blank">announced</a> the winner of this year's Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, and it is <i>How to End a Story</i>, by Helen Garner; see also the publicity pages from <a href="https://www.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk/titles/helen-garner-6/how-to-end-a-story/9781399606745/" target="_blank">Weidenfeld & Nicolson</a> and <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/722288/how-to-end-a-story-by-helen-garner/" target="_blank">Pantheon</a>, or get your copy at <a href="https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553387499/ref=nosim/completereview" target="_blank">Amazon.com</a>, <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/81962/9780553387490" target="_blank">Bookshop.org</a>, or <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1399606743/ref=nosim/completereview07" target="_blank">Amazon.co.uk</a>. ]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#js7</guid> </item> <item> <title>David Cohen Prize</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#js8</link><description><![CDATA[ New Writing North has <a href="https://newwritingnorth.com/the-david-cohen-prize-for-literature/" target="_blank">announced</a> the winner of this year's David Cohen Prize for Literature, a UK/Ireland author prize, and it is Alan Hollinghurst. ]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#js8</guid> </item> <item> <title>Premio Cervantes</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#js3</link><description><![CDATA[ They've <a href="https://www.cultura.gob.es/actualidad/2025/11/251103-premio-cervantes-2025.html" target="_blank">announced</a> the winner of the 2025 Premio Cervantes, the leading Spanish-language author prize, and it is Mexican author Gonzalo Celorio.<br> Not much of his work has been translated into English, but the University of Texas Press did publish his novel <i>And Let the Earth Tremble at Its Centers</i>; see their <a href="https://utpress.utexas.edu/9780292719620/" target="_blank">publicity page</a>. See also the Tusquets <a href="https://www.planetadelibros.com/autor/gonzalo-celorio/000028961" target="_blank">author page</a> for Spanish information about many of his other works.]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#js3</guid> </item> <item> <title>Prix Femina</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#js4</link><description><![CDATA[ The week of big French book prize announcements has begun, with the prix Femina first up: <i>La nuit au cœur</i> by Nathacha Appanah takes the prize; see, for example, the Livres Hebdo <a href="https://www.livreshebdo.fr/article/le-prix-femina-2025-pour-nathacha-appanah" target="_blank">report</a>. <br> See also the Gallimard <a href="https://www.gallimard.fr/catalogue/la-nuit-au-coeur/9782073080028" target="_blank">publicity page</a> for <i>La nuit au cœur</i>.]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#js4</guid> </item> <item> <title>French-Vietnamese literature</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#js5</link><description><![CDATA[ At Việt Nam News Lương Thu Hương reports on a new book, Nguyễn Giáng Hương's <i>Văn Học Việt Nam Pháp Ngữ 1913-1986</i>, about Vietnamese Literature in French from 1913 to 1986, in <a href="https://ovietnam.vietnamnews.vn/the-overlooked-legacy-of-french-literature-post389489.html" target="_blank">The overlooked legacy of French literature</a><br> Sounds interesting; see also the Hồ Chí Minh General Publishing House <a href="https://nxbhcm.com.vn/2/van-hoc-viet-nam-phap-ngu-1913-1986-di-biet-xung-dot-va-hoa-giai-sach-dat-truoc-chua-phat-hanh-7293" target="_blank">publicity page</a> for the book.]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#js5</guid> </item> <item> <title>Prêmio Jabuti</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#js2</link><description><![CDATA[ They've <a href="https://www.premiojabuti.com.br/jabuti/noticias/o-ouvidor-do-brasil-99-vezes-tom-jobim-e-eleito-livro-do-ano-no-premio-jabuti-2025/" target="_blank">announced</a> the winners of this year's Prêmio Jabuti, the leading Brazilian literary awards.<br> This has tons of categories, from best books in various genres to best cover (won by <a href="https://cdl-static.s3-sa-east-1.amazonaws.com/covers/gg/9788535938838/acrobata.jpg" target="_blank">this</a>).<br> A fat volume (640 pp) of Byron won the translation category -- see the Editora Perspectiva <a href="https://editoraperspectiva.com.br/produtos/byron-poemas-cartas-diarios-c/" target="_blank">publicity page</a> -- and <i>O ouvidor do Brasil: 99 vezes Tom Jobim</i>, a volume of crônicas by Ruy Castro, won book of the year: see also the Companhia das Letras <a href="https://www.companhiadasletras.com.br/livro/9788535937565/o-ouvidor-do-brasil" target="_blank">publicity page</a>. ]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#js2</guid> </item> <item> <title>Salman Rushdie profile</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#jr9</link><description><![CDATA[ In the <i>Sunday Times</i> Johanna Thomas-Corr has a profile of <a href="https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/salman-rushdie-interview-people-assumed-im-not-funny-rpgfsb0lc" target="_blank">Salman Rushdie: ‘I had no pulse. That’s how close it was’</a> <font size="-1">(possibly paywalled ?)</font>. <br> Among Rushdie's comments: <blockquote><font size="-1">He feels fiction has lost some of this openness and scope. “People on writing courses are endlessly told to write what you know. And I say to them, only write what you know if what you know is interesting. Quite often it isn’t. A lot of these people come from bourgeois, middle-class families and their experiences are quite similar. I say go out and find something interesting.” He wishes more fiction writers would have the ambition of Charles Dickens, to range across society.</font></blockquote>]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#jr9</guid> </item> <item> <title>The last 100 reviews</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#js1</link><description><![CDATA[ Another 100 reviews down, so it's time for the next overview of the most recent batch of 100 reviews -- 5301 through 5400. <br><br> - The last 100 reviews were posted over 307 days, about the same rate as the previous 100 (302); as I've mentioned, things will continue to be a bit slower going for a bit, but should pick up again by the spring.<br> The average reviewed book was 266.47 pages long, slightly more than the previous 100 (256.5).<br> One title clocked in 1046 pages, and a total of eight were over 500 pages, one more than in the previous 100. Only three books were shorter than 100 pages (eight in the previous hundred), with the shortest having 62 pages.<br><br> - The last 100 reviews were 125,962 words long, up considerably from the mere 100,471 of the previous 100. While 1260 seems a good average review length, the figures are a bit skewed because there were more very long reviews than usual: the longest review was 3859 words, and four more were also over 3000 words long (compared to only one in the previous 100). The shortest came in at 390 words.<br><br> - Reviewed books were originally written in 29 different languages (including English), with English again the most popular language, with 26 titles. French was again the next most-popular, with 15, followed again by Japanese (14). <br> Three new languages were added -- Akkadian, Pali, and Swahili --; the total number of languages represented is now 88. (See also the updated full <a href="https://www.complete-review.com/quarterly/vol5/issue3/langlist.htm" target="_blank">breakdown</a> of all the languages books under review were originally written in.)<br> (I think 100 languages might be within reach; it'll probably take another thousand reviews or so, but I think I can reach it.)<br><br> - Male-written books continued to be in the (super-)majority, but 31 books were written by women -- the biggest proportion ever. (Actually, 29 were written by women; four were co-written by male and female authors, and I split the difference.) The historic <a href="https://www.complete-review.com/quarterly/vol3/issue4/sexlist.htm" target="_blank">sexist average</a> of written-by-women titles under review has now crept up to ... 17.71.<br><br> - No book rated an 'A', much less an 'A+', but there were four graded 'A-' (way down from the nine rated 'A-' or higher in the previous hundred). Forty-five books were rated 'B+', and thirty-eight 'B'; none were rated lower than 'B-'.]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#js1</guid> </item> <item> <title>David Bellos (1945-2025)</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#jr5</link><description><![CDATA[ Academic and translator David Bellos has passed away; there have been Bluesky mentions (<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/shelfrisch.bsky.social/post/3m46pmo2hik26" target="_blank">e.g.</a> and <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/thebookerprizes.com/post/3m4d76hyxik23" target="_blank">here</a>) but the first media mention I've seen is only out now -- Denis Cosnard on how <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/disparitions/article/2025/10/31/david-bellos-traducteur-et-grand-specialiste-de-georges-perec-est-mort_6650665_3382.html" target="_blank">David Bellos, traducteur et grand spécialiste de Georges Perec, est mort</a> <font size="-1">(presumably paywalled)</font> at <i>Le Monde</i>.<br><br> I was honored when he volunteered to write a piece for the (now dormant) <font color="#a52a2a">crQuarterly</font> on <a href="https://www.complete-review.com/quarterly/vol6/issue2/bellos.htm" target="_blank">The Englishing of Ismail Kadare: Notes of a retranslator</a> (as Bellos translated many of Kadare's works -- but from the French translations); Google Scholar has it <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=14484355879610406353&as_sdt=40000005&sciodt=0,22&hl=en" target="_blank">cited in 21 publications</a>. <br> Quite a few of his translations are under review at the <font color="#a52a2a">complete review</font>, as are two of his books: his superb biography of <a href="https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/perecg/bellos.htm" target="_blank">Georges Perec</a> and the fun <a href="https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/translate/bellos.htm" target="_blank">Is That a Fish in Your Ear ?</a>]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#jr5</guid> </item> <item> <title>Cundill History Prize</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#jr6</link><description><![CDATA[ They've <a href="https://www.cundillprize.com/news/lyndal-roper-wins-2025-cundill-history-prize-for-summer-of-fire-and-blood" target="_blank">announced</a> the winner of this year's Cundill History Prize, and it is <i>Summer of Fire and Blood</i>, by Lyndal Roper; see also the publicity pages from <a href="https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/lyndal-roper/summer-of-fire-and-blood/9781399818070/" target="_blank">John Murray Press</a> and <a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/lyndal-roper/summer-of-fire-and-blood/9781541647039/?lens=basic-books" target="_blank">Basic Books</a>. ]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#jr6</guid> </item> <item> <title>Niko Pfund Q & A</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#jr7</link><description><![CDATA[ Yale News has <a href="https://news.yale.edu/2025/10/24/pressing-matters-qa-new-yale-university-press-director-niko-pfund" target="_blank">Pressing matters: A Q&A with new Yale University Press director Niko Pfund</a>]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#jr7</guid> </item> <item> <title>Little Amélie</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#jr8</link><description><![CDATA[ An animated film based on Amélie Nothomb's <a href="https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/nothomba/mdtubes.htm" target="_blank">The Character of Rain</a>, <i>Little Amélie</i>, opened in the US yesterday; see, for example, the IMDb <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29313285/" target="_blank">page</a> or some of the (very positive) reviews: <ul> <li><a href="https://www.avclub.com/little-amelie-or-the-character-of-rain-review" target="_blank">AV Club</a> <li><a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/little-amelie-or-the-character-of-rain-review-charmingly-sensorial-french-animation-flick-depicts-early-childhood-as-magical-and-hauntingly-real-1236395641/" target="_blank">The Hollywood Reporter</a> <li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/movies/little-amelie-or-the-character-of-rain-review.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> <font size="-1">(presumably paywalled)</font> <li><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/little-amelie-or-the-character-of-rain-animated-film-review-2025" target="_blank">RogerEbert.com</a> <li><a href="https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/little-amelie-or-the-character-of-rain-review/" target="_blank">Slant</a> <li><a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/reviews/little-amelie-or-the-character-of-rain-review-1236447627/" target="_blank">Variety</a></ul> Jordan Mintzer suggests: "the film feels at times like Terrence Malick meets Hayao Miyazaki for tykes" in <i>The Hollywood Reporter</i>.<br><br> Disappointingly, the film is apparently not 'big' enough to warrant a re-issue of the novel, which appears to be out of print in English; a shame: <a href="https://www.complete-review.com/authors/nothomba.htm" target="_blank">Nothomb</a>'s early-childhood novels are very good (with <a href="https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/nothomba/sabotage.htm" target="_blank">Loving Sabotage</a> still my favorite).]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202511a.htm#jr8</guid> </item> <item> <title>Grand Prix du Roman</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jr2</link><description><![CDATA[ The Académie française has <a href="https://www.academie-francaise.fr/actualites/mme-yanick-lahens" target="_blank">announced</a> the winner of this year's Grand Prix du Roman, and it is <i>Passagères de nuit</i>, by Yanick Lahens, which narrowly pipped <i>Un pont sur la Seine</i> by Pauline Dreyfus, eleven votes to ten.<br> See also the Sabine Wespieser éditeur <a href="https://www.swediteur.com/titre/passageres-de-nuit/" target="_blank">publicity page</a> for <i>Passagères de nuit</i>. ]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jr2</guid> </item> <item> <title>Shortlists: Crossword Book Awards</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jr3</link><description><![CDATA[ The <a href="https://www.crossword.in/pages/about-crosswordbookawards" target="_blank">Crossword Book Awards</a> -- a leading Indian literary award -- has announced its shortlists in its five categories (including Translation) -- though not yet at the official site, as far as I can tell, but see the Scroll.in <a href="https://scroll.in/article/1088171/the-2025-crossword-book-awards-announces-five-book-shortlists-in-five-categories" target="_blank">report</a>. <br> The winners will be announced 3 December. ]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jr3</guid> </item> <item> <title>Shortlist: William Hill Sports Book</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jr4</link><description><![CDATA[ They've <a href="https://news.williamhill.com/sports-book-of-the-year/sir-james-anderson-among-seven-shortlisted-nominees-for-william-hill-sports-book-of-the-year-award-2025/" target="_blank">announced</a> the seven titles shortlisted for this year's William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award.<br> The winners will be announced 25 November. ]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jr4</guid> </item> <item> <title>Straelener Übersetzerpreis</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jq8</link><description><![CDATA[ Kunststiftung NRW has <a href="https://www.kunststiftungnrw.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/pm-uebersetzerpreis-2025-preisverleihung/" target="_blank">announced</a> the winner of this year's Straelener Übersetzerpreis, a €25,000 prize for best translation into German, and it is Claudia Sinnig for her translation of Ričardas Gavelis' <i>Vilnius Poker</i>; see also the S.Fischer <a href="https://www.fischerverlage.de/buch/ricardas-gavelis-vilnius-poker-9783103975789" target="_blank">publicity page</a>. <br><br> Open Letter published an English translation in 2009, and it was re-issued by Pica Pica Press.]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jq8</guid> </item> <item> <title>AI fiction</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jq9</link><description><![CDATA[ At Emerge Josh Quittner reports that <a href="https://decrypt.co/346608/ai-novel-tops-japans-biggest-fiction-website-sparking-literary-uproar" target="_blank">AI Novel Tops Japan's Biggest Fiction Website, Sparking Literary Uproar</a>.<br> Hey, at least it's still causing an uproar. <br><br> Amusing -- though not surprising -- to hear that: <blockquote><font size="-1">What made the project explosive wasn’t just that it was AI-written -- it was the speed, with the author publishing so quickly it exploited Kakuyomu’s algorithm, which rewards frequent updates, total page views, and follower growth. The result was a self-perpetuating surge: more chapters (and the subsequent AI-written notoriety) meant more clicks, more visibility, and more engagement, propelling the story to the platform’s No. 1 daily ranking.</font></blockquote> The cost/speed advantage of generative AI will be hard to beat .....]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jq9</guid> </item> <item> <title>Sad Tiger review</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jr1</link><description><![CDATA[ The most recent addition to the <font color="#a52a2a"><i>complete review</i></font> is my review of Neige Sinno's <a href="https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/popfr/sinnon.htm" target="_blank">Sad Tiger</a>.<br><br> This was a finalist for the prix Goncourt and has won numerous European literary prizes -- and it's a <a href="https://www.nationalbook.org/2025-national-book-awards-finalists-announced/" target="_blank">finalist</a> for this year's National Book Award for Translated Literature. ]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jr1</guid> </item> <item> <title>Literary Arts Fund</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jq5</link><description><![CDATA[ The launch of a new Literary Arts Fund has been <a href="https://literaryartsfund.org/announcing-literary-arts-fund/" target="_blank">announced</a>; it: "will distribute at least $50 million over the next five years, concluding in 2031": <blockquote><font size="-1">The Literary Arts Fund will award grants to U.S.-based nonprofit or fiscally sponsored literary organizations and publishers that support contemporary writers of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, or hybrid literary forms through an annual open call beginning November 10.</font></blockquote> With literature: "receiving only 1.9% of the $5 billion in arts grants awarded in 2023" in the US this is certainly very welcome. ]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jq5</guid> </item> <item> <title>Prix Goncourt finalists</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jq6</link><description><![CDATA[ The Académie Goncourt has <a href="https://www.academiegoncourt.com/_files/ugd/d5bd15_7ceeb7bfc7bd4b889c0dd511059e1633.pdf" target="_blank">announced</a> <font size="-1">(warning ! dreaded pdf format !)</font> the four finalists for this year's prix Goncourt, with books by Nathacha Appanah and Laurent Mauvignier still in the running -- though I expect Emmanuel Carrère to take the prize with his <i>Kolkhoze</i>. <br> The winner will be announced 4 November.<br><br> They've also announced the finalists for the number two French prize, the prix Renaudot, with five works left in the running in the fiction category, including books by Anne Berest and Justine Lévy; see, for example, the Livres Hebdo <a href="https://www.livreshebdo.fr/article/les-selections-finales-du-prix-renaudot-2025" target="_blank">report</a>. ]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jq6</guid> </item> <item> <title>Bayerischer Buchpreis</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jq7</link><description><![CDATA[ They've <a href="https://www.bayerischer-buchpreis.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/2025/bayerischer-buchpreis-2025-fuer-dorothee-elmiger-und-heike-geissler/" target="_blank">announced</a> the winners of the Bavarian Book Prize, and after winning the German Book Prize two weeks ago <i>Die Holländerinnen</i>, by Dorothee Elmiger, took the fiction prize here as well.]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jq7</guid> </item> <item> <title>Forward Prizes</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jq1</link><description><![CDATA[ They've announced the winners of this year's <a href="https://forwardartsfoundation.org/forward-prizes-for-poetry/" target="_blank">Forward Prize for Poetry</a>; see also, for example, Emma Loffhagen in <i>The Guardian</i>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/oct/26/forward-prize-names-poets-vidyan-ravinthiran-and-karen-solie-its-first-joint-winners" target="_blank">Forward prize names poets Vidyan Ravinthiran and Karen Solie its first joint winners</a>. ]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jq1</guid> </item> <item> <title>New World Literature Today</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jq2</link><description><![CDATA[ The <a href="https://worldliteraturetoday.org/2025/november" target="_blank">November-December issue</a> of <i>World Literature Today</i> is now up -- with the theme of: 'World Lit in the Age of AI'.<br> A lot that is of interest -- and, of course, the usual big batch of <a href="https://worldliteraturetoday.org/book-review/2025/November" target="_blank">book reviews</a>. ]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jq2</guid> </item> <item> <title>Shortlist: Wodehouse Prize</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jq3</link><description><![CDATA[ They've announced the shortlist for this year's <a href="https://www.wodehouseprize.com/" target="_blank">Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize</a>, "designed to highlight the funniest novel of the past twelve months, which best evokes the Wodehouse spirit of witty characters and perfectly timed comic prose" -- eight titles, selected from 107 submissions. ]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jq3</guid> </item> <item> <title>Shortlist: BRICS Literature Award</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jq4</link><description><![CDATA[ They've announced the shortlist for the first <a href="https://bricsaward.org/" target="_blank">BRICS Literature Award</a> -- not yet at the official site, last I checked, but see, for example, the TV BRICS report, <a href="https://tvbrics.com/en/news/brics-literary-award-announces-shortlist-in-indonesia/" target="_blank">BRICS Literature Award announces shortlist in Indonesia</a>. <br> Ten authors -- one each from each of the BRICS countries -- are shortlisted.<br> The winner will be announced on 27 November. ]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jq4</guid> </item> <item> <title>Emulating authors' styles: AI vs. MFAs</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jp7</link><description><![CDATA[ A recent paper by Tuhin Chakrabarty, Jane C. Ginsburg, and Paramveer Dhillon finds ... <a href="https://arxiv.org/html/2510.13939v1" target="_blank">Readers Prefer Outputs of AI Trained on Copyrighted Books over Expert Human Writers</a>. <br> Basically, they compared the output by 'MFA-trained expert writers' with those of generative AIs asked to emulate "50 award-winning authors’ (including Nobel laureates, Booker Prize winners, and young emerging National Book Award finalists) diverse style" and found that, especially if the AI results were further fine-tuned by AI, readers ('expert' ("MFA candidates from top U.S. writing programs") and lay) overwhelmingly preferred what the AIs produced (and also didn't recognize the output as AI-generated). <br> Yes, AI is very good at imitation. Very good. <br> (Yes, there is a slight caveat here, that they were tested against ... 'MFA-trained expert writers' -- and you might, like me, not be able to suppress a guffaw at the idea that an MFA makes anyone anything even remotely resembling an 'expert' writer, but still .....)<br> The key takeaway here is their terrifying 'Economic analysis;, summing up the numbers: <blockquote><font size="-1">With fine-tuning costs ranging from $22.25 to $272.50 (median $77.88) plus $3 for inference to generate 100,000 words, the total AI cost represents approximately 0.3% of the $25,000 a professional writer would charge. This ∼99.7% cost reduction, combined with reader preference for fine-tuned outputs, quantifies the potential economic disruption to creative writing markets.</font></blockquote> You may not like it -- <i>I</i> don't like -- but, yes, sorry, AI is going to take over vast swathes of what is now 'creative' writing. Soon, too. The cost advantage is crushingly overwhelming .....]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jp7</guid> </item> <item> <title>Aruni Kashyap Q & A</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jp8</link><description><![CDATA[ At Frontline Majid Maqbool has a Q & A with: 'The Assamese writer on how translated classics shaped him, living through the Secret Killings, and reversing literary hierarchies', in <a href="https://frontline.thehindu.com/books/aruni-kashyap-assamese-literature-marginalised-voices-indian-publishing/article70205370.ece" target="_blank">I saw the world through the lens of literature from Assam: Aruni Kashyap</a>. ]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jp8</guid> </item> <item> <title>Effingers review</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jp9</link><description><![CDATA[ The most recent addition to the <font color="#a52a2a"><i>complete review</i></font> is my review of Gabriele Tergit's sweeping 1951 novel <a href="https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/deutsch/tergitg2.htm" target="_blank">Effingers</a>, now coming out in English, from New York Review Books in the US and (as <i>The Effingers: A Berlin Saga</i>) from Pushkin Press in the UK. <br><br> Given my interest in and extended consideration of the Salome-story and, in particular, Oscar Wilde's play in my novel, <a href="https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/mao/salome_in_graz.htm" target="_blank">Salome in Graz</a>, I was amused to note that Tergit has that be the breakout-role for one of her characters who takes to the stage, and that the play is relatively extensively discussed. <br> The character plays Salomé as: "a young, playful society lady" -- not an interpretation the protagonists of my novel would have endorsed. But then Tergit also has one of her characters eventually tell the actress: <blockquote><font size="-1">I hope you've gotten over your expressionist Salomé at last. She was very charming, but she went against Wilde and Salomé herself.</font></blockquote> And later there's also this exchange: <blockquote><font size="-1"> “Well, that’s how I began my career too, by playing Salomé as a suffering, kind woman. But the time for experiments is over.”<br> “For expressionism, you mean ?”<br> “Oh God, not that word again. It was so important then. We’ve become humbler now. We want to put the words of the poet in the spotlight, rather than ourselves.”</font></blockquote> Tergit effectively uses a variety of literary and other cultural references in the novel, but <i>Salomé</i> is a particularly good fit; as my novel suggests, the changing interpretations and readings of the Salome-story in general across the ages are often revealing of the various times, and this is a good example. ]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jp9</guid> </item> <item> <title>Profile: Hoda Barakat</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jp5</link><description><![CDATA[ At <i>The National</i> Saeed Saeed profiles <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/books/2025/10/24/sheikh-zayed-book-award-winner-hoda-barakat-says-new-generation-is-reviving-arab-literature/" target="_blank">Sheikh Zayed Book Award winner Hoda Barakat says new generation is reviving Arab literature</a>. ]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jp5</guid> </item> <item> <title>Profile: Amitav Ghosh</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jp6</link><description><![CDATA[ At <i>The Korea Herald</i> Hwang Dong-hee profiles <a href="https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/ghosha/gpalace.htm" target="_blank">The Glass Palace</a>-author Amitav Ghosh, in <a href="https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10600086" target="_blank">'Literature must give voice to the nonhuman'</a>. <br> Ghosh was in South Korea to pick up the Park Kyongni Award, named in honor of Pak Kyong-ni -- "renowned for her epic saga 'Toji (The Land)'" -- with Ghosh noting: "he was unable to find an English translation of <i>Toji</i>".It has apparently been translated -- see the Global Oriental <a href="https://brill.com/display/title/19455?" target="_blank">publicity page</a> -- but is out of print (and expensive) ..... ]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jp6</guid> </item> <item> <title>Warwick Prize longlist</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jp3</link><description><![CDATA[ They've <a href="https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/womenintranslation/longlist2025/" target="_blank">announced</a> the longlist for this year's Warwick Prize for Women in Translation, 14 titles originally written in 10 different languages, selected from <a href="https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/womenintranslation/hp-contents/warwick_prize_for_women_in_translation_2025_submissions.pdf" target="_blank">145 entries</a> <font size="-1">(warning ! dreaded pdf format !)</font> (yes, they admirably reveal what titles are actually being considered -- just as every literary prize should). <br> Only one of the longlisted titles is under review at the <font color="#a52a2a">complete review</font> -- Antonia Lloyd-Jones' translation of Olga Tokarczuk's <a href="https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/polska/tokarczuk3.htm" target="_blank">The Empusium</a> -- and I've only seen two more of these .....<br> The winner will be announced 27 November.]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jp3</guid> </item> <item> <title>Hongbin Li Q & A</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jp4</link><description><![CDATA[ At China Books Review Evan Peng has a Q & A with the <a href="https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/economic/gaokao.htm" target="_blank">The Highest Exam</a> co-author, in <a href="https://chinabooksreview.com/2025/10/23/hongbin-li/" target="_blank">Hongbin Li: How the Gaokao Shapes China</a> (previously, paywalled, at The Wire China).]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jp4</guid> </item> <item> <title>John Dos Passos Prize shortlist</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jo9</link><description><![CDATA[ Longwood University has <a href="https://www.longwood.edu/news/2025/dos-passos-shortlist-2025/" target="_blank">announced</a> the shortlist for its John Dos Passos Prize, an author prize awarded: "to a writer whose work offers incisive, original commentary on American themes".<br> The winner will be announced "by the end of the year". ]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jo9</guid> </item> <item> <title>New Asymptote</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jp1</link><description><![CDATA[ The <a href="https://www.asymptotejournal.com/oct-2024/" target="_blank">October issue</a> of <i>Asymptote</i> is now out -- lots of great material for your weekend reading.]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jp1</guid> </item> <item> <title>PEN Heaney Prize shortlist</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jp2</link><description><![CDATA[ English PEN has announced the shortlist for its <a href="https://www.englishpen.org/posts/news/pen-heaney-prize-2025-shortlist/" target="_blank">Heaney Prize</a>, "which recognises a single-author collection of poetry of outstanding literary merit that engages with the impact of cultural or political events on human conditions or relationships". <br> The winner will be announced 1 December. ]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jp2</guid> </item> <item> <title>British Academy Book Prize</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jo7</link><description><![CDATA[ The British Academy has <a href="https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/british-academy-book-prize/2025/burning-earth/" target="_blank">announced</a> the winner of this year's Book Prize, and it is <i>The Burning Earth</i>, by Sunil Amrith; see, for example, the publicity pages from <a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324007180" target="_blank">W.W.Norton</a> and <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/319429/the-burning-earth-by-amrith-sunil/9780141993867" target="_blank">Penguin</a>. ]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jo7</guid> </item> <item> <title>Prix Femina finalists</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jo8</link><description><![CDATA[ The prix Femina finalists have been announced, in its three categories -- French novel, foreign novel, and non-fiction --; see, for example, the ActuaLitté <a href="https://actualitte.com/article/126972/prix-litteraires/les-finalistes-du-prix-femina-2025-sont-connus" target="_blank">report</a>. <br> The prix Femina -- first awarded in 1904 -- is notable for having always had an all-female jury.<br> Five of the six foreign-fiction finalists are translations from English. That doesn't seem like it's a good thing.]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jo8</guid> </item> <item> <title>Nordic Council Literature Prize</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jo3</link><description><![CDATA[ They've <a href="https://www.norden.org/en/nominee/winner-2025-nordic-council-literature-prize" target="_blank">announced</a> the winner of this year's Nordic Council Literature Prize, the leading Scandinavian book prize, and it is a volume of Faroese poetry by Vónbjørt Vang, <i>Svørt Orkidé</i> (published by <a href="https://www.eksil.net/" target="_blank">Forlagið Eksil</a>). It apparently includes collages, including <a href="https://splitlipthemag.com/art/1224/vonbojrt-vang" target="_blank">this one</a>.<br> I like how the author-bio in the English version of the prize-announcement emphasizes that her work has not yet been translated into English ...: <blockquote><font size="-1">Her first poetry collection, <i>Millumlendingar</i> was published in 2011, followed by <i>Djúpini</i> in 2017, <u>neither of which have been translated into English</u>. Her writing explores deep human relationships and how these are anchored in time and place. Together with <i>Svørt Orkidé</i>, she published <i>Úr loggbókunum</i> (2023) <u>neither of which have been translated into English</u>.</font></blockquote> [Underscore added.]<br><br> The Nordic Council Literature Prize has an impressive list of winners -- ten of which are already <a href="https://www.complete-review.com/maindex/prizes.htm#nordic" target="_blank">under review</a> at the <font color="#a52a2a">complete review</font>.]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jo3</guid> </item> <item> <title>Neustadt International Prize for Literature</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jo4</link><description><![CDATA[ <i>World Literature Today</i> has <a href="https://www.neustadtprize.org/ibrahim-nasrallah-wins-the-2026-neustadt-prize/" target="_blank">announced</a> the winner of the 2026 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, recognizing: "outstanding literary merit in literature worldwide", and it is Ibrahim Nasrallah; see also, for example, <a href="https://aucpress.com/author/ibrahim-nasrallah/" target="_blank">his books</a> published by American University in Cairo Press. <br><br> With the translations of several of his works coming out in Iran Samaneh Aboutalebi has a profile in the <i>Tehran Times</i>, <a href="https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/519396/Expressing-the-unseen-Ibrahim-Nasrallah-s-insights-on-Palestinian" target="_blank">Expressing the unseen: Ibrahim Nasrallah's insights on Palestinian stories, culture</a>. ]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jo4</guid> </item> <item> <title>Governor General's Literary Awards shortlists</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jo5</link><description><![CDATA[ The Canada Council for the Arts has <a href="https://canadacouncil.ca/press/2025/10/2025-ggbooks-finalists-revealed" target="_blank">announced</a> the finalists for this year's Governor General's Literary Awards -- now apparently nicknamed 'GGBooks' (as opposed to the previous 'GGs'). <br> There are seven categories -- twice over, once in English and once in French.<br> The winners will be announced 6 November.<br><br> Admirably, they also <a href="https://ggbooks.ca/titles-submitted" target="_blank">reveal</a> all the titles that were submitted -- a rare major literary prize that does that (though they all should).]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jo5</guid> </item> <item> <title>Jina Khayyer's Im Herzen der Katze</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jo6</link><description><![CDATA[ Jina Khayyer's <i>Im Herzen der Katze</i> was longlisted for this year's German Book Prize -- see also the Suhrkamp <a href="https://www.suhrkamp.de/rights/book/jina-khayyer-in-the-heart-of-the-cat-fr-9783518432488" target="_blank">foreign rights page</a> -- but at Qantara.de Omid Rezaee argues that all it offers is: <a href="https://qantara.de/en/article/jina-khayyers-heart-cat-iran-germany-wants-see" target="_blank">The Iran that Germany wants to see</a>, and that: <blockquote><font size="-1"><i>In the Heart of the Cat</i> is not only a weak, cliché-laden novel. It is also a mirror: reflecting the expectations of a Western audience and the negligence of a literary establishment that not only accepts such projections but promotes them.</font></blockquote> Translate more contemporary Iranian fiction, I say ! <br> (See also the Persian literature <a href="https://www.complete-review.com/maindex/farsi.htm" target="_blank">under review</a> at the <font color="#a52a2a">complete review</font>.) ]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jo6</guid> </item> <item> <title>Patrick White Literary Award</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jn9</link><description><![CDATA[ They've announced the winner of this year's Patrick White Literary Award, an A$20,000 author prize, and it is David Brooks (no, <i>not</i>, dear god, <i>The New York Times</i> guy); see the official <a href="https://perpetualmedia.gcs-web.com/static-files/99a14845-b108-41fd-86d2-e903560e64d7" target="_blank">press release</a> <font size="-1">(warning ! dreaded pdf format !)</font> or the <a href="https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2025/10/20/317074/david-brooks-wins-2025-patrick-white-literary-award/" target="_blank">report</a> at Books + Publishing.<br> See also his <a href="https://davidbrooks.net.au/" target="_blank">official site</a> or a 2011 <a href="https://www.poetryinternational.com/en/poets-poems/article/104-19665_Interview-with-David-Brooks" target="_blank">Q & A</a> at Poetry International. <br><br> The Patrick White Literary Award was established by the great <a href="https://www.complete-review.com/authors/whitep.htm" target="_blank">Nobel laureate</a>; it has a solid list of previouys winners that includes Christina Stead (1974), Thea Astley (1989), Elizabeth Harrower (1996), Gerald Murnane (1999), and Janette Turner Hospital (2003). ]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jn9</guid> </item> <item> <title>QSSI Translation Prize shortlist</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jo1</link><description><![CDATA[ The Queen Sofía Spanish Institute has <a href="https://queensofiaspanishinstitute.org/literature/shortlist-announcement-2025-queen-sofia-spanish-institute-translation-prize/" target="_blank">announced</a> the shortlist of its Translation Prize, "a $10,000 award for the best English translation of a work originally written in Spanish". <br> Only one of the five shortlisted titles is under review at the <font color="#a52a2a">complete review</font> -- Megan McDowell's translation of Alejandro Zambra's <a href="https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/chile/zambraa6.htm" target="_blank">Childish Literature</a>.<br> The winner will be announced 20 November.]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jo1</guid> </item> <item> <title>Michael Reynolds Q & A</title> <link>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jo2</link><description><![CDATA[ At <i>Publishers Weekly</i> John Maher has a Q & A with <a href="https://europaeditions.com/" target="_blank">Europa Editions</a>' executive publisher Michael Reynolds, in <a href="https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/international/Frankfurt-Book-Fair/article/98857-frankfurt-book-fair-2025-europa-editions-turns-20.html" target="_blank">Frankfurt Book Fair 2025: Europa Editions Turns 20</a>.<br><br> Interesting to hear some of the numbers: <blockquote><font size="-1"><b>What are some other quiet achievements ?</b><br><br><a href="https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/popfr/barbery.htm" target="_blank">The Elegance of the Hedgehog</a> by Muriel Barbery, <a href="https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/popfr/cossel2.htm" target="_blank">A Novel Bookstore</a> by Laurence Cossé, the Christelle Dabos books, and Valérie Perrin -- these are all 200,000-, 300,000-, 400,000-copy-selling books, and <i>Hedgehog</i> is up near a million. That doesn't happen very often with translation in this market.</font></blockquote>]]></description> <guid>https://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/202510c.htm#jo2</guid> </item> </channel></rss> If you would like to create a banner that links to this page (i.e. this validation result), do the following:
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