Nobel Prize in Literature 2010 Speculation

[Eric]

One-upmanship is a technique for getting slightly ahead of everyone else. The idea is not mine but was invented by Stephen (not Harry) Potter decades ago.

So I thought today: it's not much of a gamble to borrow a book from the library written by Ngugi, and be seen ostentatiously reading it in the pub. So that is what I did.

If Ngugi wins, I shall, of course, stop flashing that book around as everybody else will be reading Ngugi. Then you are no longer exclusive. If, however, he doesn't win, I can show myself to be the stalwart individualist who reads a well-known author whether he wins a major prize or not.

This is, of course, all underhand psychological warfare, but it's fun. So tomorrow, I may go and sit in a pub frequented by journalists, ostentatiously reading a book by some Polish author no one has ever heard of. Using skilful management, one can use this ploy to get the people around you to start enquiries as to whether the author you're reading stands any chance of winning the Nobel.

Try this gambit tomorrow. It is a degree or two subtler than the N?stor Amarilla Disinformation Gambit.

 

[adaorardor]

Most of Del Palol's books have been translated, just not El Troiacord.

Do you know anything about Clara Janes??

And I know that both palinuro and Noticias del imperio have been trans'd into English. I thought that Del Palol had only written 2 other novels, and that palinuro and Noticias were the two major ones. What else has he written that is important/great?

I don't want to discourage you about Miquel del Palol, but if he hasn't been translated, not even to Spanish it makes it almost impossible to the Nobel Academy to know his ouvre, even less to read it. I don't think they have a special Catalan translator for them, specially if it's a 1500 page book.



Here in Mexico she's practically unnoticed. Actually it's the first time I've heard her name. It'd be really interesting to know what our respective countries are exporting to the world in terms of literature. It's difficult to believe that truly living Mexican classics like Fernando del Paso has most of his works untranslated and someone who is practically unknown like Gervitz have translations already. I'm not saying she is a bad writer, but I don't know the criteria they follow to decide what to translate.

 

[Daniel del Real]

Most of Del Palol's books have been translated, just not El Troiacord.

Do you know anything about Clara Janes??

And I know that both palinuro and Noticias del imperio have been trans'd into English. I thought that Del Palol had only written 2 other novels, and that palinuro and Noticias were the two major ones. What else has he written that is important/great?

Clara Janes. I've heard her name but that's it.

Del Paso has another big novel named Jos? Trigo. Haven't read it but it is mentioned as a very important piece of fiction along with the other two you mention. It was his first novel. After finishing Noticias del Imperio, almost 20 years ago he has only written a short detective novel, some plays, a little bit of poetry and some cook books like Douceur et passion de la cuisine mexicaine . He is also a painter and he has dedicated a lot of time to this long time passion of his.
Don't know why he stopped writing novels but it is one of those writers that Vila-Matas should add to an improved edition of Bartleby and Co.

 

[oliviermartinez]

I am a newcomer but have been following the dicussion, so when do we make the finnal bets???

 

[Heteronym]

Well, who are you betting on?

And welcome to the forum

 

[Eric]

Now that the Frankfurt Book Fair has just opened, we've got something else to get interested in, should the Nobel prizewinner tomorrow prove too boring.

*

Thank-you Bj?rn for drawing our attention to the publication Svensk Bokhandel Digital. Although I, of course, read Swedish, I had never noticed this publication before. I note there the mention of the fact that 80,000 copies of Franzen's latest novel have been recalled because of misprints. And that Dorotea Bromberg, who did of course publish a lot of Swedish translations of Milosz when he won the Nobel, favours Les Murray this time from among Bromberg books.

Anyway, a more long-term feature of the Svensk Bokhandel Digital website are the 495 (!) online pages of book reviews, picked from various publications:

Bokrecensioner | Svensk Bokhandel

I also saw from that website that next year's Gotheburg Book Fair will have Germany-Austria-Switzerland as its focus. I'm looking forward to that. I saw a surprising statistic that Sweish is the fifth most popular language from which belles lettres are translated into German, with 205 titles translated from Swedish into German last year. Can this be true? See:

Tyska spr?ket i fokus p? n?sta ?rs Bokm?ssa | Svensk Bokhandel

*

But now back to Ladbroke's excitement and the Nobel. I shall have a look at the latest. Have the top ten changed?

 

[Heteronym]

Is it confirmed the announcement will be made tomorrow?

Edit: according to Reuters, yes!

 

[Daniel del Real]

It is a relief to see crazy bet Nestor Amarilla where he belongs: at the bottom with 200/1
Anyway the origina purpose was achieved, so again, congratulations to the agents.

No big changes lately. McCarthy first, Thiong'o second, Murakami getting closer with 5/1, Transtr?mer comes fourth, regaining territory with 11/1. The rest is almost the same.

Nobel Academy disappoints me year after year, so maybe what I should do is pick the name I'd hate to see winning and put some bucks on it. So, following my feelings I'd put some money in Joyce Carol Oates

 

[Eric]

I also see now (23:00 Swedish time, Wednesday 6th October 2010) on the Ladbrokes website that the mysterious N?stor Amarilla has plunged suddenly to 1/200, the very bottom of the list. Cormac McCarthy is suddenly top (11/4 no doubt to block betting somewhere), but Ngugi holds his own at second place at 7/2.

One rather unknown author (i.e. I'd never heard of him) is the Israeli mystic Shlomo Kalo. He's written over 60 books, so it says, but the only Kahlo I'd ever heard of is that woman painter Frida. Well, at 45/1, you'd get a nice lot of money if you bet $1,000 and he won the prize.

Another one on the Ladbrokes I'd never heard of is Ulrich Holbein, a man who uses lots of pseudonyms and was born in Erfurt. Tell us more, Mirabell, he doesn't come from Bonn, but Erfurt is near enough.

 

[julio_mendoza]

It will be tomorrow I think. Hope it will be someone who is not political, someone who uses simple language and not snobbish jargons that are intended only for the so called "scholars". In my opinion its about time for short story writer to get it. I mean people always thing short stories are only for the lazy, not sensible enough to read a novel. Oh short stories are actually brilliant. If they would, then it should go to Alice Munro.

 

[adaorardor]

It will be tomorrow I think. Hope it will be someone who is not political, someone who uses simple language and not snobbish jargons that are intended only for the so called "scholars". In my opinion its about time for short story writer to get it. I mean people always thing short stories are only for the lazy, not sensible enough to read a novel. Oh short stories are actually brilliant. If they would, then it should go to Alice Munro.

Great art, as Nabokov said, is anything but simple.

 

[julio_mendoza]

I don't know if you know about Alice Munro. Probably she is very boring for those who like "big ideas". I mean, I do not claim to be a literature scholar because there are still a lot of books I need and want to read. But I have read the whole body of work of this Canadian writer three times already and to say honestly at first I thought yeah the "snobs" are right when they say she is very limited and does not really have her own stand or a clear point of view. But she does. She was asked in an interview why she only writes short stories and almost all of her 70 stories are of the same theme: a girl growing up in rural canada leaves to a bigger city, discovers her sexuality and thrives to find her place in this so called "bigger world" only to find out upon her return to her hometown that nothing much really changed. She replied, she found herself coming back to the same place because there were still things she forgot to tell about it.

She is a writer of space, an author with calm intensity of engagement, and who wants to tell the story first before herself. A writer who never fails to dig into the domestic lives of ordinary people in ordinay situations and tell it with clarity. And that what makes her even weak to some of the readers: her refusal to indulge into her authorial ego. She respects the purity of her art: tell the story.

I really really do hope she will win the Nobel Prize. I am quiet sure she has been nominated many times but of course the Nobel committee is apprehensive giving the prize to a pure short story writer. Amongst the "literary circle" her name is spoken in hushed tones especially when the short story is the topic of discussion.

 

[Daniel del Real]

Here's an article on how Ladbroke's specialist David Williams creates the list for the Nobel Prize every year.
Interesting to see that he basically searches the internet to check what's going on in the literary world. So when we say it seems the list is build based on the threads of our speculation thread maybe we're not that far away from reality

For Nobel Bookmakers, Victory For The Odds-On Favorite Could Be 'A Disaster' : Monkey See : NPR

 

[PerDanielAmadeus]

Now that the Frankfurt Book Fair has just opened, we've got something else to get interested in, should the Nobel prizewinner tomorrow prove too boring.

*

Thank-you Bj?rn for drawing our attention to the publication Svensk Bokhandel Digital. Although I, of course, read Swedish, I had never noticed this publication before. I note there the mention of the fact that 80,000 copies of Franzen's latest novel have been recalled because of misprints. And that Dorotea Bromberg, who did of course publish a lot of Swedish translations of Milosz when he won the Nobel, favours Les Murray this time from among Bromberg books.

Anyway, a more long-term feature of the Svensk Bokhandel Digital website are the 495 (!) online pages of book reviews, picked from various publications:

Bokrecensioner | Svensk Bokhandel

I also saw from that website that next year's Gotheburg Book Fair will have Germany-Austria-Switzerland as its focus. I'm looking forward to that. I saw a surprising statistic that Sweish is the fifth most popular language from which belles lettres are translated into German, with 205 titles translated from Swedish into German last year. Can this be true? See:

Tyska spr?ket i fokus p? n?sta ?rs Bokm?ssa | Svensk Bokhandel

*

But now back to Ladbroke's excitement and the Nobel. I shall have a look at the latest. Have the top ten changed?

That's strange and very odd (not zschiedrich, i.e. O.Z), Mr. Gombrowich - Svensk Bokhandel is like the major publication for all people who are involved in the literary buizzness in Sweden... But congrats to the "fynd", dear fellow.

Anyway, here's what the permanent secretary Mr. Englund wrote in his blog today (in a quite funny transcription by Big Brother). The headline a little bit teasing, me thinks, suggesting... something (well, I don't know... Trans...Trans... ah, well)...

TRANSMUTATIONS

All practical preparations go according to plan.

The old clocks in the room service is ready to turn his stroke. And the main hall stands ready to welcome all journalists. This year we have expanded the available space with a thirty square feet. So great is interest. But iochmed this, I believe we are approaching the ceiling on how many we are able to receive.

A lot has been also happened through the years with regard to practicalities.

In Lars Gyllensten time waiting journalists a bit informal in opposite end of the main hall, and he came straight out of the session room and announced what the Academy has taken the decision. In Sture Allen's time the journalists actually wait inside the secretarial room (more, they were not) and he went through the great hall and opened The Famous Door, the words from the opposite side. Horace Engdahl turned on the whole: the journalists had to wait in the main hall and he came out of the secretarial room, with time being protected by a wooden fence.

What changed in my short time in this office is to request from the TV - which complained about the deteriorating angles in the crowd - so I tell the news standing on a small ledge. That is certainly more hope more.

A new feature this year is that I will not be answering any questions standing on this ledge. Instead, I go directly to the floor, and take any questions there. There is hope, though less chaotic so.

A hot tip regarding my outfit: gray.

Here is the page for those who read Swedish:

Att vara st?ndig (To be Permanent)

But probably Ngugi gets it... or Oz... (general elections 1991 - enter: far-right party in parliament - chose: Gordimer - tolerance between people: much of Oz' writing - etc)

Anyway, lets say it is going to be awarded Rubem Fonseca or Juan Gelman

 

[miercuri]

Is it confirmed the announcement will be made tomorrow?

Edit: according to Reuters, yes!

I hate the fact that I'm always in school whenever the announcement is being made. And I don't have internet on my phone anymore, I'll have to text someone during class.

 

[Daniel del Real]

I hate the fact that I'm always in school whenever the announcement is being made. And I don't have internet on my phone anymore, I'll have to text someone during class.

Well, I have to wake up at 5.30 AM to check it out, which is not that pleasant either. But I can't complain, this Nobel rush is outstanding!

 

[Eric]

Yes, PerDanielAmadeus, I've already sussed the fact that you know that my avatar is Witold Gombrowicz. Have you ever read anything by him? He wrote books, you know. There's a good Argentinian website on him. But you have to read Spanish.

Assuming that PerDanielAmadeus isn't making Peter Englund's sing-song blog up (I want to see the video of Engipooz reading it aloud on the Uppsalapendeln commuter train in English), he's gonna be wearing an American suit. American? He must be a Yankophile, as he spells the word "gray". And he throws in Gaelic words like "iochmed". So I reckon that someone connected with North America and Celtic culture is going to win. Where does that Cormac McCarthy come from? Although the dreaded Google Translation Slave does sometimes drop a bollock.

I'm not involved in "the literary business", although I have attended literary meetings and halls full of groupies in Stockholm on occasions, sometimes in the Panorama sandwich bar at the top of the House of the People's Culture on the most beautiful square in the whole of Stockholm, Sergels Turgel (the one with the transparent phallus). There was, for instance, some compatriot of Gombrowicz' there last autumn. Then some amusing female clown called Witteron, or similar. Another bloody foreigner.

Anyway, my knowledge of Swedish, without the Google Translator, tells me that "Att vara st?ndig" means "Having a perm". Though I'm sure that the Swedish page doesn't really exist.

There have been a lot of new arrivals on this thread in the past few days. I reckon half of them are the same person doing a Proteus.

 

[Daniel del Real]

Murakami is now second in Ladbrokes. Could it be him? I'd be really glad.
Ngugi is third. Hope he still has chances. I want this year's prize to go to Africa if it's not going to a writer in Spanish language.

 

[the nice marmot]

i'm quite confident that the prize, as it has for this entire last decade, will go to someone i've never read or even heard of

 

[Stewart]

Just want to say that, later today, when the prize is announced, this thread will be locked as there's no longer any need for speculation. A new thread will be created in the News Discussion area, so that we can all discuss the genius or folly of the Academy in recognising this year's laureate.