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ReadySteadyBlog

One of the Guardian Unlimited Books' top 10 literary blogs: "A home-grown treasure ... smart, serious analysis"

Wednesday 25 February 2009

2009 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize longlist

Last Monday, Linda Grant, Kate Griffin, Fiona Sampson, Boyd Tonkin and I chose the 2009 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize longlist. After hours of discussion, we came down to a list of sixteen:


Posted by Mark Thwaite
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Reader Comments

Wednesday 25 February 2009

Logophile says...

Very interesting list! I'm happy to see How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone on here as recently finished and found it utterly compelling.

Thursday 26 February 2009

John Self says...

Great list, Mark. I had better get to Novel 11, Book 18 very soon then.

Thursday 26 February 2009

Stewart says...

It's certainly giving me the push to read books that have been in my will-I-get-them, won't-I periphery for some time. Namely The Informers, The Blue Fox, The Director, and Night Work.

Friday 27 February 2009

Stephen Mitchelmore says...

I've read three of them (Vasquez, Solstad and Glavinic) and each was outstanding.

Sunday 01 March 2009

Reggie says...

How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone was truly amazing, I also loved The White King and I'm very glad to see Sjón on the list. Solstad I had to give up after maybe 80 pages; found the images not well chosen at all, the metaphors often completely out of "order" without any actual purpose, like wanting to be as original as possible at any price.

Monday 02 March 2009

John Self says...

Glad to hear the Vasquez is worth it as it's on its way to me. Reading the Ullmann, which I am slightly surprised to be enjoying quite a lot.

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The Quarrel

The word I spoke in anger
weighs less than a parsley seed,
but a road runs through it
that leads to my grave,
that bought-and-paid-for lot
on a salt-sprayed hill in Truro
where the scrub pines
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Liebchen,
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-- Stanley Kunitz
The Collected Poems (W.W.Norton)

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