It's been a good year for getting review copies at the complete review -- well over 500, so far, the most ever -- and I've covered a lot of books -- over 230 reviews and counting, the most in a decade -- with probably a good two-thirds of those of books first published (at least in English translation, in the US) in 2012.
Yet as I see best-book-of-the-year list after list I can't help but wonder: what alternate literary world am I living, reading, and working in ?
The most recent example -- useful because it collects, together and separately, quite a few critics' top ten lists -- is the What To Read Awards: The Salon Book Critics' Poll.
Of their aggregated Top 10 Books of 2012 I've reviewed none, received none, and borrowed one from the library.
I figured with these often independent critics there would be a decent chance of some overlap, but I don't seem to have reviewed more that one of the titles any of them has chosen -- and I'm barely seeing any of the books they're talking about.
The biggest overlap seems to be with Carolyn Kellogg, of The Los Angeles Times/Jacket Copy: one book I've reviewed (HHhH by Laurent Binet), and two more that I have. Then it's National Book Critics Circle-President Eric Banks, who also selected HHhH, and who also named another book I actually have (the Marina Warner, which I will be getting to).
Beyond that ? There's yet another HHhH-nod (seriously, people ?), from M. Rebekah Otto of The Rumpus, and two nods for Geoff Dyer's Zona (from Matthew Specktor and Parul Sehgal), but beyond that ... zip. (And by the way: both HHhH and Zona didn't come to me as review copies; I borrowed both from the library.)
And I'm not just talking about having read or reviewed these books: I haven't seen them; only one more -- from David Gutowski's list -- made it to me, and that required some outside prodding. But the lists of Jason Diamond, C. Max Magee, Michael Schaub, as well as, more predictably, Lev Grossman and Laura Miller ... -- I haven't seen a one of these books.
I know the local focus is still-deeply-unpopular fiction-in-translation (is Kellogg the only one to list more than one on her list ? is the YA book HHhH really the best the rest can do or find ?), but still .....
(Also: seriously, people ? No My Struggle ? (Good for James Wood hailing it (elsewhere) in his Books of the Year-post; I thought he was exaggerating in writing: "I felt that the book didn't get the attention it deserved" (it got reviewed -- by him -- in The New Yorker, for god's sake ...), but I guess it did fall through quite some cracks.) No Satantango ? No Maidenhair ? No The Colonel ?)
Given this general critical (and book-of-the-year-list) neglect of books in translation I'll start pushing an early 2013 favorite already: Tirza, folks, that's the ticket. I want to see that on your 2013 lists ..... (Okay, that's a bit premature; maybe there'll be ten better works -- I haven't seen much yet, so I can't truly judge -- but I assure you: one to keep in mind.)
The most recent example -- useful because it collects, together and separately, quite a few critics' top ten lists -- is the What To Read Awards: The Salon Book Critics' Poll.
Of their aggregated Top 10 Books of 2012 I've reviewed none, received none, and borrowed one from the library.
I figured with these often independent critics there would be a decent chance of some overlap, but I don't seem to have reviewed more that one of the titles any of them has chosen -- and I'm barely seeing any of the books they're talking about.
The biggest overlap seems to be with Carolyn Kellogg, of The Los Angeles Times/Jacket Copy: one book I've reviewed (HHhH by Laurent Binet), and two more that I have. Then it's National Book Critics Circle-President Eric Banks, who also selected HHhH, and who also named another book I actually have (the Marina Warner, which I will be getting to).
Beyond that ? There's yet another HHhH-nod (seriously, people ?), from M. Rebekah Otto of The Rumpus, and two nods for Geoff Dyer's Zona (from Matthew Specktor and Parul Sehgal), but beyond that ... zip. (And by the way: both HHhH and Zona didn't come to me as review copies; I borrowed both from the library.)
And I'm not just talking about having read or reviewed these books: I haven't seen them; only one more -- from David Gutowski's list -- made it to me, and that required some outside prodding. But the lists of Jason Diamond, C. Max Magee, Michael Schaub, as well as, more predictably, Lev Grossman and Laura Miller ... -- I haven't seen a one of these books.
I know the local focus is still-deeply-unpopular fiction-in-translation (is Kellogg the only one to list more than one on her list ? is the YA book HHhH really the best the rest can do or find ?), but still .....
(Also: seriously, people ? No My Struggle ? (Good for James Wood hailing it (elsewhere) in his Books of the Year-post; I thought he was exaggerating in writing: "I felt that the book didn't get the attention it deserved" (it got reviewed -- by him -- in The New Yorker, for god's sake ...), but I guess it did fall through quite some cracks.) No Satantango ? No Maidenhair ? No The Colonel ?)
Given this general critical (and book-of-the-year-list) neglect of books in translation I'll start pushing an early 2013 favorite already: Tirza, folks, that's the ticket. I want to see that on your 2013 lists ..... (Okay, that's a bit premature; maybe there'll be ten better works -- I haven't seen much yet, so I can't truly judge -- but I assure you: one to keep in mind.)