Best European Fiction 2011 (Mandarin Edition)

By Aleksandar Hemon

《最佳欧洲小说（2011）》

The launch of Dalkey’s Best European Fiction series was nothing short of phenomenal. For 2011, Aleksandar Hemon is back as editor, along with a new preface by Colum McCann, and with a whole new cast of authors and stories, including work from countries not included in Best European Fiction 2010.
 
“最佳欧洲小说”是欧洲文学出版社甄选出的欧洲当年或近年最佳欧洲小说作品，相当于欧洲小说的年鉴，体现欧洲文学前沿的高度。长期以来，由于小语种语言的限制，国内读者对欧洲文学的了解大多是源自西欧文学，而这本书却给读者以领略整个欧洲文学精神风貌的机会，甄选作品的国度达到四十个，无论是英国、德国这样的老牌文学强国，还是拉脱维亚、爱沙尼亚、立陶宛、波黑、克罗地亚、马其顿这样的文学小户；既有声名煊赫的作家也有新发掘的潜力新人，其中包括今年曼布克奖得主希拉里·曼特尔，他们代表了欧洲文学整体的趋势和走向。多样化的地域文学特点和多样性的文风，使得本书宛若流动着的“欧洲当代文学” 文学地图。中国读者可从中领略广博多姿的欧洲多元文化，这也是国内出版界首次如此细致并成规模译介欧洲当代文学新作。本书由著名译者李文俊老师领衔，结集国内外优秀译者，译本权威。

• Language: 中文
• Publisher: Yilin
• Release date: Feb 25, 2014
• ISBN: 9787894000699

Aleksandar Hemon

Aleksandar Hemon was born in Sarajevo and lives in Chicago. He is the author of The Question of Bruno, Nowhere Man, Love and Obstacles, and The Lazarus Project, which was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. His work also appears regularly in the New Yorker and Granta, among other publications.

Book preview

Reviews for Best European Fiction 2011 (Mandarin Edition)

[andrewblackman · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a very interesting collection of short stories from around Europe. There's one piece from each country, so it really felt like a broad and varied collection rather than being weighted toward particular countries. One thing I didn't like is that some of them were extracts from longer pieces, which I don't think works very well. A short story is crafted specifically to fit that length; an extract from a novel, no matter how well-written, often feels dissatisfying to me because I feel as if I'm missing things by not reading the rest of it. Also I found it strange that, despite the 2010 in the title, the stories themselves were written between 2006 and 2009. I suppose it doesn't really matter, but I like the idea of surveying the best things written in one particular year. The 2010 just means that this is the inaugural edition of what will be an annual collection.The stories gave me some really interesting ideas. They were so varied in style and subject matter, and even the ones I didn't like at least had a fresh and interesting style. Nothing was boring or predictable - I didn't enjoy all of the stories, but never because it felt too similar to something I'd read before. Some of my favourites were:Bulbjerg by Naja Marie Aidt (Denmark): an idyllic family walk in the countryside that quickly becomes nightmarish - they get lost, the boy falls off his bike and is seriously injured, the husband confesses to an affair with the wife's sister...Resistance by Stephan Enter (Netherlands): reminiscence about a childhood chess teacher, which really captured well the dynamics of boyhood, the difficulty of escaping from the group mentality, the ease of going along with the crowd rather than standing up for a teacher who is different, better, but easy to mock.Friedmann Space by Victor Pelevin (Russia): clever satire of the greed, chaos and corruption of post-Soviet Russia, in which the phrase "money attracts money" is taken literally and a character goes around Moscow carrying thousands of dollars of cash and ends up finding a lot more. I liked how the writer used the language of science to add a faux seriousness to a comic tale.I also appreciated the useful information at the back of the book: very full author bios/personal statements, translator bios, and a list of online resources for literature in each of the European countries featured in the collection. I can't recommend all the stories in the collection, but the book overall was worth reading. I will definitely be reading the 2011 edition.

[revslick_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As with most thick anthologies there are some clunkers as well as some beauties. What makes this so distinct is the way our European brethren are able to define and redefine writing. There are a few authors that totally reinvent the wheel, and I applaud both their ingenuity and the refreshing water. If you like to explore this is for you. Authors represent from Albania to the Ukraine. Good stuff!