The Next Generation: Future Nobel Prizewinners?

[Ben Jackson]

Talking about the "next generation" I'm very curious if there's any millennial writers who show promise. I'm not sure there's anyone, to my knowledge, of the caliber of a Camus who could win it young right now, but is there anyone who shows a level of strength that they could deserve it in another decade or two or three if they keep it up?

For context, millennials generally are defined as being born 1981 to 1996, so anyone in the 27 to 42 age range, roughly.

I'm not sure if they is anyone. I also thought about this myself.

 

[Liam]

I'm very curious if there's any millennial writers who show promise.

Édouard Louis, maybe? He's still VERY young, but his novels are sharp, socially aware, and devastating. I would describe him as being somewhere in-between Houellebecq and Ernaux (stylistically, not politically). He's also written two books of critical appraisal, of Bourdieu and Foucault, respectively.

 

[Ben Jackson]

Édouard Louis, maybe? He's still VERY young, but his novels are sharp, socially aware, and devastating. I would describe him as being somewhere in-between Houellebecq and Ernaux (stylistically, not politically). He's also written two books of critical appraisal, of Bourdieu and Foucault, respectively.

That's very true. Louis even said one of his influence was Ernaux. I just remembered Patjim Statovic, Serbian writer that wrote a novel called Bolla. He's about 32/33 I think. He seems promising.

 

[Verkhovensky]

Patjim Statovic, Serbian writer that wrote a novel called Bolla. He's about 32/33 I think. He seems promising.

WIth that name, I suppose he is Kosovo Albanian.

Though it seems he lives in Finland since the age of 2 and writes in Finnish.

 

[Leseratte]

I can think of some Brazilian Names like Itamar Vieira, Julián Fuks and maybe Jeferson Tenório, but there must be others. I haven´t read most of the young Brazilian authors.

 

[Morbid Swither]

Patjim Statovic

I’ve read three of his works in English and really liked all of them. I agree that he is promising.

 

[Daniel del Real]

Re: Future Nobel Prizes

I can see Kazuo Ishiguro nabbing it one day.

It's interesting to check this thread from the beggining. You get to see stories like this.

 

[Daniel del Real]

I can think of some Brazilian Names like Itamar Vieira, Julián Fuks and maybe Jeferson Tenório, but there must be others. I haven´t read most of the young Brazilian authors.

I read Tordo Arado a few weeks ago and I have to say it's just amazing, more when you know it's a first novel. Incredibly early to say he could be a future Nobel, but this novel has a very well earned reputation.

 

[Daniel del Real]

Is Frog a masterpiece? I ask you because it's one of the few novels translated to Spanish directly from the Chinese, so it could be a good option for that second chance to Mo Yan.

One name I'd like to add:

Olga Tokarczuk: With the publication and critical acclaim of the Books of Jacob in Poland, probably it's a question of couple of years to get it translated to more languages for the Swedish Academy to start considering her. At 53 and with recent winners with similar age (Mo Yan, Müller) I can see her winning in the next 5 years.

And of course I have to give props to myself

 

[Leseratte]

For me it is a translation from the Bolsonaro era with all it's backwardness. I think, that's why it hit the mark.

 

[redhead]

And of course I have to give props to myself

Meanwhile none of the writers I singled out in the post you quoted years ago have won ?

Jon Fosse's Nordic Council Prize got me thinking: unless the Nobel winner is an older, famed writer where it's kind of surprising they had not already won (Vargas Llosa, Tranströmer, Munro), they like to give it to a writer who recently (like past 5 years) published a book being hailed as a masterpiece (Müller and Atemschaukel, Mo Yan and Frog, Alexievich and The Second Hand of Time). Not always the case, but enough that it might be beneficial to consider this when considering younger possibilities. Some writers who fall into this:

Mircea Cartarescu- Swedish critics second pick for this year. Blinding is quite an acheivement.

Jon Fosse- The one who made me think of this. His trilogy just won the most prestigious Scandinavian novel prize. Between that and his reputation as a playwright, the only things that might hold him back are his young age, the academy's possible reluctance to return to Scandinavia so soon after Tranströmer's win, and perhaps an academy members preference for one of the other great Norwegian writers coming into prominence now.

Richard Flanagan- Have not heard much about him in regards to the Nobel; also have not yet read him. But on the basis of his reputation, he seems like he deserves to be in the conversation. He's the youngest one here and might need another few years, but the general consensus is that he has 2 masterpieces under his belt and the rest of his work isn't too shabby either.

Laszlo Krasznahorkai- Only in a literature prize could someone aged 61 be considered on the younger side. His recent hype and Seiobo There Below could give him the boost he needs.

Can Xue- I don't think she'll have a shot for a while. With Mo Yan's recent win, I think they'd prefer to give it to a more overt dissident. Can Xue's work has been interpreted as falling under this category in the west, but she herself insists it is nothing of the sort. Still, she should not be counted out.

William T. Vollmann- The Dying Grass has given him some of the best reviews of his career. I still stand by my claim that the academy, if it does give the Nobel to him, would wait until the seven dreams is complete, but you never know. He's probably the least insular American writer right now. His work isn't for everyone, but there have been times in the past where an academy member has been a superfan of a writer and gone out of their way to ensure their author wins, and Vollmann seems prone to getting rapid fans.

And I'm sure there are a ton more that I'm forgetting. Usually I have a good idea of who will probably get the award (this year it will be a woman, this time to a lesser known European, etc), only to get sidetracked as the speculation goes on (and though the profile I originally picked was correct, the winner was no one I expected). I've finally realized I should just listen to my inner voice at the beginning, only to now have no idea at all about next year's laureate. The two last years it's gone to a European, but then, depending on how you view citizenship, it went to Europeans from 2004 to 2011, and as much as I'd like them to honor non-European literature, Europe does probably have the highest concentration of deserving authors.

and as much as I'd like them to honor non-European literature, Europe does probably have the highest concentration of deserving authors.

Ugh it’s always cringey going back to my old posts

 

[Sisyphus]

WIth that name, I suppose he is Kosovo Albanian.

Though it seems he lives in Finland since the age of 2 and writes in Finnish.

Correct.

The title of his third novel Bolla means Copperhead in Albanian, a creature which has supernatural traits in Albanian folklore.

 

[Cleanthess]

Recently someone wondered about Muñoz Molina and his merits regarding the Nobel Prize.
His best book, and one of the best Spanish language books in recent memory is The Polish Rider/El Jinete polaco. The Polish Rider of the title is an allusion to Rembrandt's painting, which in the novel is linked to Jules Verne's Michel Strogoff and his blinding.
The Polish Rider is not remarkable for its ideas or for its convoluted, silly plot, but for its structure and, above all, for its glorious sentences, which, while consisting of mostly plain words, is also intoxicating to read, and devilishly hard to translate right.

tú que la hiciste a la medida exacta de todos mis deseos,que modelaste su cara y su cintura y sus manos y tobillos y la forma de sus pies, que me engendraste a mí y me fuiste salvando día a día para que me hiciera hombre ... no permitas que ahora la pierda, que me envenene el miedo o la costumbre de la decepción ... y si a pesar de todo me la vas a quitar, no permitas la lenta degradación ni la mentira, fulmíname en el primer segundo del primer minuto de rencor o de tedio, que me quede sin ella y sufra como un perro pero que no me degrade confortablemente a su lado ... pero si es posible, concédenos el privilegio de no saciarnos jamás, alúmbranos y ciéganos, dicta para nosotros un porvenir del que por primera vez en nuestras vidas ya no queramos desertar.

One of his last books: No te veré morir is another visit to that sweeping river of language, in which sentences go on an on for pages at a time, flowing effortlessly through the reader's mind: the scaffolding allowing Muñoz Molina's words to gracefully glide over the waters, hidden below the surface.

 

[Benny Profane]

Well, I'd like to instill many names here.

First of all, I'd like to list my choices from Brazil: Adriana Lisboa, Antônio Xerxenesky, Daniel Pelizzari, Daniel Galera, Michel Laub, Marcelo Labes, Carol Bensimon, Micheline Verunschk, Tatiana Salém Levy, Andréa Del Fuego, Joca Reiners Terron, Marcelino Freire, Ricardo Bernhard, Alexandre Porto, Giovanna Madalosso, Luisa Geisler, Natália Polesso, Veronica Stigger and many others.

And my picks from another countries: Benjamin Labatut, Agustín Fernández Mallo, Eduardo Halfon, Andrea Jeftanovic, etc.

 

[Leseratte]

And of course I have to give props to myself

For newcomers to the thread: that was written in 2015.

 

[Leseratte]

Recently someone wondered about Muñoz Molina and his merits regarding the Nobel Prize.
His best book, and one of the best Spanish language books in recent memory is The Polish Rider/El Jinete polaco. The Polish Rider of the title is an allusion to Rembrandt's painting, which in the novel is linked to Jules Verne's Michel Strogoff and his blinding.
The Polish Rider is not remarkable for its ideas or for its convoluted, silly plot, but for its structure and, above all, for its glorious sentences, which, while consisting of mostly plain words, is also intoxicating to read, and devilishly hard to translate right.



One of his last books: No te veré morir is another visit to that sweeping river of language, in which sentences go on an on for pages at a time, flowing effortlessly through the reader's mind: the scaffolding allowing Muñoz Molina's words to gracefully glide over the waters, hidden below the surface.

And it´s so difficult anyway, to write anything clumsy in Spanish! It´s a language that somehow has a natural poetic flow.

 

[Hamishe22]

My favorite writers who are on the yournger side are Max Porter, Eleanor Catton, Jumpa Lahiri, Charlotte Mandelson, N. K. Jemisin, Kawakami Kieko, Murata Sayaka, and Colson Whitehead. I don't know if they would be considered Nobel material, especially since many are not very prolific, but I would be very happy to see their names in the mix. Lahiri and Whitehead seem to be serious contenders.

 

[Daniel del Real]

My favorite writers who are on the yournger side are Max Porter, Eleanor Catton, Jumpa Lahiri, Charlotte Mandelson, N. K. Jemisin, Kawakami Kieko, Murata Sayaka, and Colson Whitehead. I don't know if they would be considered Nobel material, especially since many are not very prolific, but I would be very happy to see their names in the mix. Lahiri and Whitehead seem to be serious contenders.

Based on only one book (Natsu Monogatari or Breast and Eggs), I just didn't like Kawakami Mieko. I think there are a lot of great Japanese female writers one or two works (or translations) away from being a real contender to the Nobel: Yu Miri, Kakuta Mitsuyo and of course Ogawa Yoko.

 

[alik-vit]

Thinking about Fitzcarraldo's "prophetic powers", I would say, most obvious choice from this category "future laureates" is Alejandro Zambra. Two his books are forthcoming this year in Russian. Let's see.

 

[Hamishe22]

Based on only one book (Natsu Monogatari or Breast and Eggs), I just didn't like Kawakami Mieko. I think there are a lot of great Japanese female writers one or two works (or translations) away from being a real contender to the Nobel: Yu Miri, Kakuta Mitsuyo and of course Ogawa Yoko.

Ogawa is the most obvious choice but I didn't include her since she's already above 60 and therefore should be among the current generation of Nobel contenders.