Nobel Prize in Literature 2012 Speculation

[Liam]

OK, I have now opened separate threads on these German-language worthies, so if you know any of them and care to leave a comment, drop right in:

Günter de Bruyn
Martin Walser
Siegfried Lenz
Friederike Mayröcker

[Stiffelio]

I'll nominate Spanish author António Lobo Antunes (Act of the Damned, Exhortation to the Crocodiles, The Inquisitors' Manual, Fado Alexandrino).

Spanish? Lobo Antunes is Portuguese.

[Stiffelio]

Seriously, scholars, what is the difference between "maidenhair" and "pubic hair"? Definitions please! If you have named yourself Maidenhair, new reader, maybe it's a synonym, maybe something completely different.

As far as I recall maidenhair is a type of fern.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adiantum

[Stiffelio]

^No, it's not. Just read it in Russian, Stiffy, and stop wasting our time, .

What about this then?

http://catalog.openletterbooks.org/authors/36

Apparently it's available for pre-orders and you can even read an excerpt in Englsih.

[Liam]

Yeah, but it's not on Amazon. Check out my Ibrahim al-Koni thread, I had the weirdest experience trying to get a hold of that book. Amazon has taken it off its webpage and now I can't even preorder it (it was supposed to be published in June).

I hope you can get your hands on a translated copy then, in one of the languages that you read, if you can't read the original.

In regards to what you said above, I think the title is a kind of pun, with stories-within-stories branching in and out of each other like the fronds of a beautiful fern, but the book is also quite sexy!

[Liam]

Lobo Antunes is Portuguese.

I heard he writes doorstops?

[kpjayan]

I think its time again to remember Nestor Amarilla. That's going to me my name !

[Daniel del Real]

I think its time again to remember Nestor Amarilla. That's going to me my name !

LOL. Where's that girl that used to promote him a lot in these dates

[Caodang]

I did try to pre-order an English copy (for the publishing house I'm working for, not for myself) on The Book Depository, but it's not available there at this moment. Wait a little, guys, be patient

[maidenhair]

The nobel prize should go to Paulo Coelho for not trying to impress other writers but instead making the difficult seem easy and thereby communicate with the whole world.

[Eric]

Yes, I agree with those that think that Néstor Amarilla should win this year. He's much more sophisticated that Mikhail Shishkin.

I remember when Néstor came to Stockholm, basking in the sunshine of the warm summer of 2010 to launch several Swedish versions of his works. Those of you who have met him will agree that he is a charismatic fellow.

I think that the Swede promoting him of yore was in fact a bloke, by the way.

Anyway, I just wanted to say that I've read everything that Néstor has written.

[kpjayan]

I did try to pre-order an English copy (for the publishing house I'm working for, not for myself) on The Book Depository, but it's not available there at this moment. Wait a little, guys, be patient

Ah, that explains.. My attempt to find a book here gave me some obscure name as below :-)


The Age of Dinosaurs in Russia and Mongolia

by Michael J. Benton, Mikhail A. Shishkin, David M. Unwin, Evgenii N. Kurochkin

[Liam]

The Age of Dinosaurs in Russia and Mongolia

OMG, you HAVE to read this masterpiece, dude, you HAVE to.

[Eric]

What about A S Byatt. She's not quite as good as Néstor Amarilla, but she could beat him at the last post. Whether the worthies of Stockholm have already chosen Amarilla I do not know.

[Liam]

Personally, I do like Antonia. I read Possession several times, and had to recently buy a brand new ppb of it, since my old one was so tattered and torn. But will she win the Nobel? Something tells me she's not political enough for the Swedish establishment's tastes.

[Daniel del Real]

On September and early October I will be reading a series of authors that could be accessing the Nobel this year. Not all of them top names that always heads betting lists but all of them with international recognition and the most important, alive, two very important conditions if you want the prize. So, names like Mircea Cartarescu, Cormac McCarthy, David Grossman, Mia Couto, Arto Paasilinna, Juan Goytisolo & Tahar Ben Jelloun will join my literary parade for Nobel days. From this bunch, who do you think has more chances to get the Nobel this year?

[Daniel del Real]

OK, I have now opened separate threads on these German-language worthies, so if you know any of them and care to leave a comment, drop right in:

Günter de Bruyn
Martin Walser
Siegfried Lenz
Friederike Mayröcker

Hadn't had time to read about these three German dudes and the Austrian lady. The common point on all of them is that they're very old. The German writers were born in 1926 or 1927; haven't read any of them or even listen to their names before, but basing myself on the award given to Grass as a representative of that German generation I see no chances for any of them. That doesn't mean they're not worthy authors to look for and read. After all, the Nobel is not everything in life right?

[Liam]

After all, the Nobel is not everything in life right?

What was it that Saul Bellow said when they told him he won the prize? "I'm glad I got it, but I could live without it..."

[Stiffelio]

Oh please, Daniel, I beg you: stop including Mia Couto in your Nobel worthy lists. That guy is a non-entity as a writer and therefore an insult to the others in your list.

[Stiffelio]

Anyway, I just wanted to say that I've read everything that Néstor has written.

Ok, so please tell us a little more about this genius. Would you?