So, over the next five days I’m going to highlight some of them. That said, looking over the complete list of fiction titles, there are a few books that I thought for sure would be on there, but aren’t. My hope-which seems to have worked-was to diversify the group of finalists a bit, allowing books that didn’t get quite as much play to get some attention. In contrast to years past, this time I recommended that the nine judges agree on 16 titles, then each pick one “wild card”-a book that they personally love, but that didn’t make the list selected by the group. This year’s judges-click here for the complete list-did a spectacular job selecting the 25 best works of fiction in translation published last year. Readers will enjoy this taste of Hilst's talent, but many will find themselves still hungry.Next Tuesday, March 5th, at 10 am(ish), we will be unveiling this year’s BTBA Fiction Longlist. A section on polyhedrons is clever, as is a couplet about Keres being a "doctor of numbers but starved of letters." There is even an amusing debate about a man about to be hanged wanting to catch some zzz's. Written in a stream of consciousness style where word associations create rhythms and suggest meanings, Hilst's lyrical little book ebbs and flows with vivid imagery, from "a surface of ice anchored to laughter" to a certain smile described by the "little crease on the side of a face." The experimental narrative is interrupted throughout with diverting short stories, haikus, and poetic digressions. Here she addresses "the nexus she believed existed between genius and madness, poetry and mathematics." The thin narrative concerns Amos Keres, a professor asked to take a leave of absence in part for pausing 15 minutes between sentences in class.
Translator Adam Morris's fine introduction provides the necessary context to appreciate Hilst, an author, poet, and playwright noted for having her love of dogs. This first English-language edition of Hilda Hilst's (The Obscene Madame D) tart 1986 novella aims to introduce the cult Brazilian writer to a wider audience.
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