The growth of European crime writing from outside Scandinavia continues and on June 11 four crime writers from the other corners (and center, actually) of Europe will be in London at the London Review Bookshop to talk about their work and, of course, crime. The event is titled “More Bloody Foreigners: Criminally Good Books From […]
“May 27, 1939 was the day the incessant wandering that had led Joseph Roth through a change of names, religions, political allegiances and literary styles would finally come to an end at Necker Hospital in Paris after four days of delirium tremens in which he never regained consciousness. He had been drinking himself to death […]
From the time I read “The Sorrows of Idiot Augustus” in Best European Fiction 2012 by Janusz Rudnicki, translated from the Polish by Jennifer Croft, I was on the lookout for anything by this fantastic writer that would breakthrough the sea of mediocrity of what gets published in English-language fiction. This turned out to be […]
European Literature Night takes place May 14 in cities throughout Europe, with readings, performances, panel discussions and more. Prague’s Literature Night will take place in Žižkov and includes work from writers near and far, as well as a former classmate of mine from university who I’m willing to bet large amounts of money doesn’t remember […]
“Upon passing the door to the master bathroom you make out a black reflection in the tub. You distract yourself by putting a bibelot face down in the children’s bedroom. Whispering death threats in the dolls’ ears in the playroom. You wind up climbing the stairs. Thirteen steps you’ve counted now, thirteen, that lead you […]
The great Tadeusz Różewicz passed away on April 24, 2014, the last of a great generation of Polish poets to experience the country’s turbulent 20th century from the Second World War through communism and its aftermath. Today, B O D Y publishes his poem “Wishing Well” in a translation by Kasia Pilat. There have also […]
“I sat down on the edge of the couch. The Radiotechnika radiola was playing music, something non-Russian. Vova poured the rest of the wine into the glasses – there turned out to be just a bit left — and they drank up. I was sorry Igor had interfered, and that they didn’t give me any […]
Literature is filled with requests for cigarettes, but I doubt there are many that resemble the one found in Ondrej Štefánik’s “To Sacrifice Yourself For Someone Else”: “Do you have a smoke?” I hear a squeaky voice from somewhere. It’s not the voice in my head. I shiver. I look around. Not a soul. “So? […]
The 25 nominees for the Best Translated Book Award will be whittled down to a shortlist in a few days and with each book getting a pitch for why it should win here is mine on Alex Zucker’s translation of The Devil’s Workshop. “Reading The Devil’s Workshop you come up against a remarkable and frightening […]
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