A rundown of foreign writers that many readers may not have heard of but put out impressive work, like Roberto Bolaño, Lyudmila Ulitskaya and J.M.G. Le Clézio.

1. 19
spring/summer2010
engage
the best
writers you
never
heard of
we miss out on the
work of most of the
world’s writers.
here are three ways
to catch up.
BY abel delgado
The world is full of great writers, but you probably
never heard of most of them. That’s because of
all the books published in the United States each
year, only three percent are translations from
foreign languages. Here are three masterful authors
from the three percent whose work is well worth
considering.
J.M.G. LE CLÉZIO. Winner of the Nobel Prize in
Literature in 2008, Le Clézio favors a clear prose
style that lushly celebrates nature and details
colonialism’s injustices.
Top picks: Wandering Star, which unfolds twin stories of two
refugees during and after World War II, one Jewish and one
Palestinian; Desert, about a Moroccan girl who emigrates to France
during the early 20th century and the challenges she faces in trying
to survive; The Prospector, which focuses on a man seeking
treasure in the remote islands of the Indian Ocean
LYUDMILA ULITSKAYA. Her elegant prose furthers Russian
literature’s realist tradition, with compelling characters that suffer
through both family problems and the oppressive regime of the
former Soviet Union. She’s a master of crisp dialogue and colorfully
drawn descriptions of her characters’ worlds.
Top picks: The Funeral, a poignantly funny story about a Russian
immigrant in New York City who is juggling complex relationships
with his wife, his lovers and a girl who’s possibly his daughter, all
from his deathbed; Medea and Her Children, a multigenerational
saga about the matriarch of a Crimean family that offers fascinating
glimpses into life before and after the Soviet era
t
ROBERTO BOLAÑO. This Chilean poet-turned-novelist
is known for wild novels that defy conventional structure,
interrupting the plot’s progress to suddenly switch to oral
histories or abruptly changing focus to the perspectives of
new characters seemingly unrelated to previous ones. Bolaño’s
works explore youth, literature, the role of art in our lives and
violence, all within the framework of Latin American culture.
Top picks: The Savage Detectives, a riotous, sprawling work
about two young writers searching for an obscure poetry icon;
2666, a five-part novel that integrates literary obsession and
pretensions with the murders of young women in the fictional
town of Santa Teresa; The Skating Rink, in which Bolaño twists
the conventions of the crime novel to reveal a deep emotional
core rarely seen in the genre