Nobel Prize in Literature 2008

[Stewart]

After much speculation, the Swedish Academy have announced that Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio is the 2008 Nobel laureate.

[kpjayan]

An outsider from all those lists ? Was his name ever crop up in any of our discussion ? Anyway, we can now start discussing about one person until next year..

I haven't read any of his books; could any of our members can throw some light on him and suggest any read ?

Before I end, my congratulations to the winner.

[Mirabell]

Originally Posted by kpjayan

An outsider from all those lists ? Was his name ever crop up in any of our discussion ? Anyway, we can now start discussing about one person until next year..

I haven't read any of his books; could any of our members can throw some light on him and suggest any read ?

Before I end, my congratulations to the winner.

he was THE major favorite. every analysis of the nobel chances suggested him as THE major candidate/favorite.

we here just don't like him particularly so we left him out.

[Mirabell]

oh and may I add:

meh.

[adaorardor]

Originally Posted by Mirabell

he was THE major favorite. every analysis of the nobel chances suggested him as THE major candidate/favorite.

we here just don't like him particularly so we left him out.

He was the particular favorite because the Swedish press had clearly got wind of something. Interesting. There must have been a leak of some kind. Two years ago, Pamuk was the media front-runner, but that was not necessarily a leak, I thought, because he was v. high profile due to the legal issues. In this case, I think someone must have talked.

[Mirabell]

maybe they wanted to create an expectation which they could 'fulfill', y'know, no surprise but on their terms.

[saliotthomas]

My mum told me LeCleziot would win two weeks ago.Mum's are alway right...

[Stewart]

I've been looking on Amazon but it doesn't look like he's readily available in English. A couple of novels, all going second hand with that dreaded description: "Used - Good".

Interestingly, on the Literary Saloon, the guy says this:

Though his name will elicit more than a few shrugs, he's fairly well-represented in English translation, and we'll try to help you sort through some of that later in the day.

I'll be interested to see what he comes up with. The output in English must be limited to smaller university presses, or something.

[Mirabell]

Originally Posted by Stewart

I've been looking on Amazon but it doesn't look like he's readily available in English. A couple of novels, all going second hand with that dreaded description: "Used - Good".

Interestingly, on the Literary Saloon, the guy says this:[indent]Though his name will elicit more than a few shrugs, he's fairly well-represented in English translation, and we'll try to help you sort through some of that later in the day.

I'll be interested to see what he comes up with. The output in English must be limited to smaller university presses, or something.[/quote]

in german possibly less translated, if the CR is right.

The spiegel sez:

Ob die Literatur Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézios weltoffener und vielseitiger ist, muss hierzulande wohl noch geklärt werden, in deutschen Buchhandlungen wurden seine Texte bislang jedenfalls mit Zurückhaltung präsentiert.

Ausgezeichnet: J.M.G. Le Clézio erhält Nobelpreis für Literatur - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten - Kultur

[Eric]

I first heard his name decades ago, but I've never read anything by him, nor have I got any real idea about what kind of novels he writes. He's a blank to me.

The Wikipedia article in English has a great number of stub entries for his works for which no one has, in effect, written a description. (Those are the entries in red.)

I think he's well enough known in French circles, but it would be interesting to know how many of his works have been translated into English already - and widely read - before the Nobel hype kicks in. So far, I've spotted the names of translators Carol Marks, Barbara Bray, Teresa Lavender, and Alison Anderson. Which means that at least four books must have appeared in English. Probably a lot more.

One article on translating him at:

Translating J. M. G. Le Clézio

[adaorardor]

Haven't read Le Clezio's work yet. Would like to. Not expecting to be Nobel-level blown away though.

Remember that when Engdahl was interviewed last yr and asked which recently deceased writers were "Nobelisable" he listed Sebald, Kapuscinski -- and Derrida. I wish they'd given it to Derrida and (even more) Foucault. I think of the major French writing of recent years as taking place in the areas of philosophy, lit theory, social science (including Barthes and Levi-Strauss here) more than in fiction and poetry (though Claude Simon was a great Nobel pick).

If they had to choose a French novelist, I'd have hoped for Tournier instead.

[saliotthomas]

Originally Posted by adaorardor

Haven't read Le Clezio's work yet. Would like to. Not expecting to be Nobel-level blown away though.


If they had to choose a French novelist, I'd have hoped for Tournier instead.

You might be surprised by A page-turner-hedge-of-the-seat-mind-blower-ect for all you know.

I never like Tournier much.

[fausto]

Originally Posted by adaorardor

He was the particular favorite because the Swedish press had clearly got wind of something. Interesting. There must have been a leak of some kind.

He was already leading the pack of early specualtions in French-speaking press weeks ago, so I don't think he was among the favorites because of some leak. In fact, I remember his name being brought in France over the last few years already.

[Aiculik]

This is for the first time in several years that there already are some of the winner's books in Slovak. Yaaaay!

There are many books in English, too:
The Interrogation, tr. Daphne Woodward
Fever, tr. Daphne Woodward
The Flood, tr. Peter Green
Terra Amata, tr. Barbara Bray
The Book of Flights, tr. Simon Watson Taylor
The Giants, tr. Simon Watson Taylor
The Round & Other Cold Hard Facts, tr. C. Dickson
The Prospector, tr. Carol Marks
Mexican Dream, tr. Teresa Lavender Fagan
Onitsha, tr. by Alison Anderson
Wandering Star, tr. C. Dickson

[Daniel del Real]

Once again I'm disappointed. However this is not news to me, it seems that you have to be an European Novelist to be able to get the prize. It's truly unbeliveable that the Prize has not been in America, and I mean the continent, for 15 years! Latinamerican and United States literature is growing strong but it seems not to exist in the eyes of the Swedish Academy. I haven't read Le Clezio and of course I'm willing to read it, but still I don't think is Nobel material.

[Stewart]

Originally Posted by Daniel del Real

However this is not news to me, it seems that you have to be an European Novelist to be able to get the prize. It's truly unbeliveable that the Prize has not been in America, and I mean the continent, for 15 years!

Without knowing the distribution of formal requests sent out by the Academy, I'd guess that the number of institutions in Europe, each with their resident academics, far outweighs other areas of the world, so when it comes to pestering them for nominations, the greater percentage of returns will include a European writer. From there, where the Academy actively get involved in narrowing the field, yes, they could do better.

[obooki]

I have Onitsha and Wandering Star, and maybe I'll get around to reading them sometime. I bought them a year or so ago on Amazon for next to nothing (1p), both in perfect condition. Both American editions: one by University of Nebraska Press, one by Curbstone Press (never heard of the latter). BBC says OneWorld Classics owns at least one copyright - though since they inherited it from Calder, maybe they'll find out they don't.

[miercuri]

I haven't read any of his novels, however I did read a few years ago a non-fictional biography of Frida Khalo written by him. And this is where my knowledge of le Clezio ends.
I'll check with the library for Romanian translations of his works, if there are any I'm sure they're not exactly recent. Anyway, one of the bigger publishing houses here will have half his oeuvre (re)translated by the end of January.

[titania7]

Thomas,
Of course, mums are always right. That's why I live with mine. And naturally, she gives me continuous advice. I don't always heed it, though I notice the consequences of not listening to her are usually negative, and sometimes disastrous. It helps that we have literally the same taste in everything--clothes, food, books, movies, art, music, et cetera. So, ultimately, we rarely disagree (though, as in every relationship, there are moments of contention).

My mum didn't have a Nobel Prize pick; but, if she had, she would probably have chosen correctly.

Titania

"Is not our life simply the daily transformation of the warm
and fluid present into a collection of frozen memories, like
butterflies crucified on their pins in a dusty glass case?"
~Andrei Makine, Dreams of My Russian Summers

[titania7]

Miercuri,
Thanks for mentioning Le Clezio's biography of Frida Kahlo. I love Frida Kahlo's art and am fascinated by her life; so, I will definitely look into this.

Titania

"In plucking the fruit of memory one runs the risk
of spoiling its bloom."
~Joseph Conrad