Off the Cuff / My Other Journal

2009 Nobel Prize for Literature

Herta Müller, a German/Romanian writer won the Nobel prize for literature today.

I haven't read anything of hers except for a short story in Granta, a long time ago. They say her fiction is akin to prose-poems. Not many of her works are translated to English...yet.

To tell the truth, I was sort of ticked off when I read about this. Nobel prizes tend to go more to Europe, and also, this stirred up a prejudice of mine against Müller, since one of her parents was with the German SS. On the other hand, this writer is said to be the voice of the oppressed inside Romania while that country was ruled by one of its worst dictators. Also, I thought, I should not hold children responsible for their parents' sins.

What I could find inside the Amazon's site are these works by Herta Müller, if still available. Nothing of hers has been translated of late. If one can read and understand German, there are a few more.

Nadirs - stories, 1982 (Niederungen, translated by Sieglinde Lug (1999); University of Nebraska publicity page;Amazon: US, UK, Deutschland)
Drückender Tango - stories, 1984
The Passport - novel, 1986 (Der Mensch ist ein großer Fasan auf der Welt, translated by Martin Chalmers (1989); Hanser publicity page; Amazon: US, UK, Deutschland)
Traveling on One Leg - novel, 1989 (Reisende auf einem Bein, translated by Valentina Glajar and Andre Lefevere (1998); Northwestern University Press publicity page; Amazon: US, UK)
The Land of Green Plums - novel, 1994 (Herztier, translated by Michael Hofmann (1996); International IMPAC DUBLIN Literary Award (1998); Northwestern University Press publicity page, Metropolitan Books publicity page, Hanser publicity page; Amazon: US, UK, Deutschland)
The Appointment - novel, 1997 (Heute wär ich mir lieber nicht begegnet, translated by Michael Hulse and Philip Boehm (2001); Metropolitan publicity page; Amazon: US, UK, Deutschland)

Will be an interesting read, I think, when I can get hold of a book of hers.