Nobel Prize in Literature 2015

Stewart

Stewart

Administrator
Staff member
The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2015 has been awarded to Svetlana Alexievich "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time."
 
pesahson

pesahson

Reader
Wow. I didn't think it would happen, but I'm happy. I hope she gets read a lot more after that. Her books deserve that.
 
lucasdiniz

lucasdiniz

Reader
I didn't think it would happen, either. I was almost sure it would be awarded to one of those "long-neglected" authors.
 
redhead

redhead

Blahblahblah
Wow. I was wrong on a lot of things this year, but I did wonder if the reason no one was shooting up in the odds was because they were already so high up. Guess that was the case. Exciting to see the academy break its mould and give it to a nonfiction writer, and a damn good one at that. Also exciting that I snagged a cheap version of the out of print English translation of Zinky Boys from Amazon. That'll be definitely skyrocketing in price for the next few days.
 
Liam

Liam

Administrator
Yes, I am happy too. I was hoping for a poet, but this is somebody I have immense respect for, so I'm not at all disappointed. Her body of work is sparse but powerful, and given the issues she talks about, it was only a matter of time before she won.
 
Corswandt

Corswandt

FAFO
I'm ECSTATIC. More middlebrow oppression pr0n. Politically motivated, tokenistic and unimaginative at the same time. Yet officially this is all about literary quality. Of course it is.

I'll ignore this idiocy like everybody else will. See you next year.
 
U

Uemarasan

Reader
Does that poster above just show up this time of year in the forums to complain...? Not even sure if he has even read Alexievich.

Thankfully, I was wrong about El Saadawi and at least Alexievich has writing talent. I don't mind political motivation if the writer is actually a good writer.
 
Last edited:
redhead

redhead

Blahblahblah
Corswandt said:
I'm ECSTATIC. More middlebrow oppression pr0n. Politically motivated, tokenistic and unimaginative at the same time. Yet officially this is all about literary quality. Of course it is.

I'll ignore this idiocy like everybody else will. See you next year.
Click to expand...

Oh come on, I've only read one book by her (Chernobyl) but it was amazing. On the basis of that book, well-deserved. Not too much else by her is out in English right now, what are her important works not yet translated?
 
Daniel del Real

Daniel del Real

Moderator
I read Voices from Chernobyl over a year ago, exactly a week before the Nobel to Modiano, and I was greatly impressed. Now, being the only book I've read cannot tell if it's a well earned prize, however, if the quality from all her works is similar, then it's well deserved. Happy because it means that more of her titles will become available, and without a doubt she is an author who need to be read.
 
Liam

Liam

Administrator
redheadshadz said:
Not too much else by her is out in English right now
Click to expand...
I kinda feel lucky that I can read Russian. Come to think of it, a Russian-language author hasn't won the Prize since Brodsky received it in the late 80s. I guess that significantly diminishes the chances of many other, frequently discussed Russian poets and novelists.
 
U

Uemarasan

Reader
redheadshadz said:
Oh come on, I've only read one book by her (Chernobyl) but it was amazing. On the basis of that book, well-deserved. Not too much else by her is out in English right now, what are her important works not yet translated?
Click to expand...

Do you read French or German? A handful of her important works are available in those languages.
 
pesahson

pesahson

Reader
redheadshadz said:
Oh come on, I've only read one book by her (Chernobyl) but it was amazing. On the basis of that book, well-deserved. Not too much else by her is out in English right now, what are her important works not yet translated?
Click to expand...

"War's Unwomanly Face" and "Zinky Boys" are and they're both excellent. "Last Witnesses", "Enchanted with death" and "Second hand time" haven't been translated yet. I'm glad to say all her books are out in Polish! For once, we're ahead of the game.
 
redhead

redhead

Blahblahblah
Uemarasan said:
Do you read French or German? A handful of her important works are available in those languages.
Click to expand...

Learning German, probably not good enough to sit down with one of hers in that language yet, but maybe this'll give me the motivation to really buckle down and learn to fluently read it.
 
Liam

Liam

Administrator
The Russian wiki lists six books by her in Russian, and one in Belorussian, thus bringing the count up to seven. A modest body of work, by all means, but powerful and very, very relevant.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top