The Dutch edition of Backlight by Pirkko Saisio is among the 12 nominees for the European Literature Prize in the Netherlands.
The Dutch edition of The Backlight by Pirkko Saisio, out with De Geus in translation by Annemarie Raas has been longlisted for the European Literature Prize in the Netherlands.
The prize has been awarded for 15 years and rewards the best foreign book in Dutch translation published in the past year. The 12 nominees on the longlist have been selected by booksellers in the Netherlands. A jury led by Niña Weijers will select a shortlist in June, and the winner will be announced on September 3rd. The prize amounts to 10,000 euros for the author and the translator, and was awarded last year to Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk and translator Karol Lesman for the novel The Empusion.
The European Literature Prize is an initiative of the Dutch Foundation for Literature, Academic-Cultural Centre SPUI25 , weekly magazine De Groene Amsterdammer and Athenaeum | Scheltema, with financial contribution by the Dutch Foundation for Literature. This year’s other nominees are:
– Memorial, 29 June by Tine Hoegh
– The Angel of Disappearance by Slobodan Šnajder
– There Are Rivers In The Sky by Elif Shafak
– Clear by Carys Davies
– I Gave You Eyes and You Looked Toward Darkness by Irene Solà
– Orbital, Samantha Harvey
– The Director by Daniel Kehlmann
– Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
– Judge on Trial by Ivan Klima
– Bad Habit by Alana S. Portero
– Watching Over Her by Jean-Baptiste Andrea
The Backlight is the second volume in Pirkko Saisio‘s world-famous Helsinki Trilogy, and it follows the protagonist during her adolescence. The book starts out in June 1968, a moment of turmoil for youth and students throughout Europe. A journey to Switzerland is a first taste of European life outside of Finland, but the protagonist is also faced with disappointments and increasing tensions between her leftist upbringing, Christianity, and her budding sexuality. Memories shape the present and the boundary between fact and fiction becomes fluid. At the same time, the work is a breath-takingly beautiful description of a young woman’s discovery of her true self.
Warm congratulations to the author, the publishers, and the translator – fingers crossed!