Three Percent Picks Best Translated Books

Last night at the Melville House offices, two titles were named the Best Translated Books of 2008. Tranquility (Archipelago Books) by Attila Bartis, translated from the Hungarian by Imre Goldstein won for fiction; For the Fighting Spirit of the Walnut (New Directions) by Takashi Hiraide, translated from the Japanese by Sawako Nakayasu, won for poetry.

The event was organized by Three Percent at the University of Rochester. The translation long list included literary superstars like Roberto Bolano (nominated for both 2666 and Nazi Literature in the Americas) as well as quieter releases like Victor Serge’s Unforgiving Years.

Here’s more from organizer Chad Post: ““There were a number of titles that the panelists felt could win. In particular, 2666 by Roberto Bolano and Senselessness by Horacio Castellanos Moya were two fantastic works of fiction that deserve special recognition. And in terms of poetry, You Are the Business by Caroline Dubois, Essential Poems and Writings of Robert Desnos, and As it Turned Out by Dmitry Golynko were all loved by the panelists as well.”

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