Best Translated Book Award Longlist 2009

Chad over at Three Percent has just published the BTB 2009 longlist. You can also see the list below.

I don't want to say too much about particular titles right now (beyond what I've already said at this site or elsewhere), but I would like to say that I think this list represents a great jump over the longlist we put together last year. We brought on some new judges for the 2009 award and have been reading and considering titles all year long, and I think these changes show. In my opinion this is a much deeper, more diverse list than the previous longlist.

So, here it is.

• Ghosts by Cesar Aira
  Translated from the Spanish by Chris Andrews. (Argentina)
  (New Directions)
  The Quarterly Conversation review, interview with the author at BOMB
• The Ninth by Ferenc Barnás
  Translated from the Hungarian by Paul Olchváry. (Hungary)
  (Northwestern University Press)
  The Quarterly Conversation review, interview with the author
• Anonymous Celebrity by Ignácio de Loyola Brandão
  Translated from the Portuguese by Nelson Vieira. (Brazil)
  (Dalkey Archive)
  review at the Complete Review, review at Three Percent
• The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker
  Translated from the Dutch by David Colmer. (Netherlands)
  (Archipelago)
  review at The Independent, review at The Guardian
• The Skating Rink by Roberto Bolaño
  Translated from the Spanish by Chris Andrews. (Chile)
  (New Directions)
  The Quarterly Conversation review, review at SF Gate
• Wonder by Hugo Claus
  Translated from the Dutch by Michael Henry Heim. (Belgium)
  (Archipelago)
  review at The Complete Review, the translator discussing the book
• Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada
  Translated from the German by Michael Hofmann. (Germany)
  (Melville House)
  review at NYTimes, review at New Yorker
• Op Oloop by Juan Filloy
  Translated from the Spanish by Lisa Dillman. (Argentina)
  (Dalkey Archive)
  review at The Front Table, obituary at The Telegraph
• Vilnius Poker by Ricardas Gavelis
  Translated from the Lithuanian by Elizabeth Novickas. (Lithuania)
  (Open Letter)
  review at The Quarterly Conversation, Literary License review
• The Zafarani Files by Gamal al-Ghitani
  Translated from the Arabic by Farouk Abdel Wahab. (Egypt)
  (American University Press of Cairo)
  At Google Book, Gently Read review
• The Weather Fifteen Years Ago by Wolf Haas
  Translated from the German by Stephanie Gilardi and Thomas S. Hansen. (Austria)
  (Ariadne Press)
  The Complete Review review
• The Confessions of Noa Weber by Gail Hareven
  Translated from the Hebrew by Dalya Bilu. (Israel)
  (Melville House)
  The Complete Review review, excerpt at Forward
• The Discoverer by Jan Kjaerstad
  Translated from the Norwegian by Barbara Haveland. (Norway)
  (Open Letter)
  The Independent review, NYTimes review
• Memories of the Future by Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky
  Translated from the Russian by Joanne Turnbull. (Russia)
  (New York Review Books)
  Barnes & Noble Review review, NYTimes review
• Desert by J. M. G. Le Clézio
  Translated from the French by C. Dickson. (France)
  (David R. Godine)
  The Critical Flame review, excerpt in the NYTimes
• There’s Nothing I Can Do When I Think of You Late at Night by Cao Naiqian
  Translated from the Chinese by John Balcom. (China)
  (Columbia University Press)
  interview with the author, BookFox review
• The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk
  Translated from the Turkish by Maureen Freely. (Turkey)
  (Knopf)
  LA Times review, official site (recommended)
• News from the Empire by Fernando del Paso
  Translated from the Spanish by Alfonso González and Stella T. Clark. (Mexico)
  (Dalkey Archive)
  LA Times review, The Quarterly Conversation review
• The Mighty Angel by Jerzy Pilch
  Translated from the Polish by Bill Johnston. (Poland)
  (Open Letter)
  The Quarterly Conversation review, excerpt at Words Without Borders
• Rex by José Manuel Prieto
  Translated from the Spanish by Esther Allen. (Cuba)
  (Grove)
  At Google Books, LA Times review
• Death in Spring by Mercè Rodoreda
  Translated from the Catalan by Martha Tennent. (Spain)
  (Open Letter)
  excerpt at Words Without Borders, review at The Nation
• Landscape with Dog and Other Stories by Ersi Sotiropoulos
  Translated from the Greek by Karen Emmerich. (Greece)
  (Clockroot)
  interview with the translator, excerpt at The Brooklyn Rail
• Brecht at Night by Mati Unt
  Translated from the Estonian by Eric Dickens. (Estonia)
  (Dalkey Archive)
  review at The Quarterly Conversation, at Google Book
• In the United States of Africa by Abdourahman Waberi
  Translated from the French by David and Nicole Ball. (Djibouti)
  (University of Nebraska Press)
  review at PopMatters, review at BookForum
• The Tanners by Robert Walser
  Translated from the German by Susan Bernofsky. (Austria)
  (New Directions)
  The Quarterly Conversation review, excerpt at The Brooklyn Rail