Two books written by Asian writers have been shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize:
Chowringhee
By Sankar trans. Arunava Sinha
Sankar – pen-name of Mani Sankar Mukherji – first published this novel in Bengali in 1962. At its centre, a venerable relic of the past in post-independence India, lies a Calcutta grand hotel, the Shahjahan. Tale by tale, charcater by character, Chowringhee builds up into a panoramic picture of a workplace, a city and an era, rich in comedy and pathos. Via the adventures of an observant clerk-receptionist, we meet the hotel's swirling human tide. Tender-hearted Anglo-Indian tarts; neurotic "hostesses", Raj veterans; showgirls and entrepreneurs, bartenders, bandleaders, posh memsahibs: all Calcutta comes. The guests create a microcosm of a society in flux. Published by Atlantic
The Dark Side of Love
By Rafik Schami trans. Anthea Bell
A blood feud between two Christian Syrian families blights many lives over generations. This grand novel captures the city of Damascus, and the ancient cultures it hosts, in a century of change. A gruesome death sends a detective on the trail of a tit-for-tat vendetta between clans, as a varied cast of characters and a rich repertoire of stories and legends enrich the tapestry. In an epic brimming with energy and exuberance that counterbalances its sense of fate, we grasp the mosaic of Damascus itself, "a lost luggage office of cultures". Published by Arabia Books
In a few weeks' time, the judges meet again for an even tougher bout. The result of the £10,000 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, which is divided equally between author and translator, will be revealed on 13 May.
(More information HERE.)
Chowringhee
By Sankar trans. Arunava Sinha
Sankar – pen-name of Mani Sankar Mukherji – first published this novel in Bengali in 1962. At its centre, a venerable relic of the past in post-independence India, lies a Calcutta grand hotel, the Shahjahan. Tale by tale, charcater by character, Chowringhee builds up into a panoramic picture of a workplace, a city and an era, rich in comedy and pathos. Via the adventures of an observant clerk-receptionist, we meet the hotel's swirling human tide. Tender-hearted Anglo-Indian tarts; neurotic "hostesses", Raj veterans; showgirls and entrepreneurs, bartenders, bandleaders, posh memsahibs: all Calcutta comes. The guests create a microcosm of a society in flux. Published by Atlantic
The Dark Side of Love
By Rafik Schami trans. Anthea Bell
A blood feud between two Christian Syrian families blights many lives over generations. This grand novel captures the city of Damascus, and the ancient cultures it hosts, in a century of change. A gruesome death sends a detective on the trail of a tit-for-tat vendetta between clans, as a varied cast of characters and a rich repertoire of stories and legends enrich the tapestry. In an epic brimming with energy and exuberance that counterbalances its sense of fate, we grasp the mosaic of Damascus itself, "a lost luggage office of cultures". Published by Arabia Books
In a few weeks' time, the judges meet again for an even tougher bout. The result of the £10,000 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, which is divided equally between author and translator, will be revealed on 13 May.
(More information HERE.)
