Tuesday 15 March 2011

Guardian Goes German. Observer Doesn't

Honestly, you go off hobnobbing with translators, writers and critics for one day and miss the German books event of the year in the English-language press.

Go to the Guardian now for a survey of German books to read (lots of dead white men), a look at the dire German bestseller charts (depressing but interesting for the comparisons to Britain) and an interview with the charming German writer Thomas Pletzinger, who does his best to dispel the myth that there is such a thing as German writing.

Plus there's a review in Sunday's Observer of Johanna Adorján's An Exclusive Love. The piece is short, admittedly, but neglects to mention the fact that the book was translated at all, and therefore also the fact that it was translated by Anthea Bell. Letting the side down rather - as usual - those Observer people. Perhaps they should take a leaf out of the Huffington Post's book - where Nina Sankovich tells us she's been shamed: "I will go back through all my hundreds of reviews of the past three-plus years and make sure that the translators of each foreign tome are acknowledged for their hard -- and largely hidden -- work."

3 comments:

Harvey Morrell said...

You do realize that your blog (not to mention your translation of Axolotl Roadkill) was mentioned in the comments section of the survey by dannohuigin, right? :)

kjd said...

I know, Harvey, and then I thanked the wrong person and was so embarrassed (and busy) that I didn't correct myself.

I'm sinking into the ground as we speak.

Harvey Morrell said...

Passiert mir auch ab u. zu. (Wrong personing) S/he was right about the value of your blog, so stop sinking. :)