With preface by Jon Fosse, winner of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Since 2010, this anthology has been an essential resource for readers, critics, and publishers interested in contemporary European literature. In this, the seventh installment of the series, Best European Fiction 2016 continues its commitment to uncovering the best prose writing happening on the continent—from Azerbaijan to Denmark, from Portugal to the Ukraine—featuring work by established authors such as Josef Winkler, Christian Gailly, and João de Melo, as well as up-and-coming writers like Krisztina Tóth, Justyna Bargielska, Veronika Simoniti, and Bessora
The volume is also a forum for the best translators working today, featuring new translations by Lawrence Venuti, Vera Rich, Amaia Gabantxo, Adrian Nathan West, and many more. Also featuring a provocative prefatory essay written by John Fosse, Best European Fiction 2016 is another essential report on the state of global literature in the twenty-first century.
Austria: Josef Winkler, “The Word Flew Away”
Azerbaijan: Nijat Mamedov, “Streaming”
Belarus: Alhierd Bacharevic, “The Art of Being a Stutterer”
Belgium, French: Michel Lambert, “Long Night”
Bulgaria: Vladimir Poleganov, “The Birds”
Denmark: Claus Beck-Nielsen, “The Author Himself”
Estonia: Ilmar Taska, “Apartment for Rent”
France: Christian Gailly, “The Wheel”
Georgia: Tsotne Tskhvediani, “The Golden Town”
Hungary: Krisztina Tóth, "From Pixel"
Ireland: Rob Doyle, “John-Paul Finnegan, Paltry Realist”
Latvia: Māra Zālīte, “The Major and the Candy”
Liechtenstein: Armin Öhri, “The Interrogation”
Lithuania: Paulina Pukytė, From "A Loser and a Do-Gooder"
Luxembourg: Nico Helminger, From "Luxembourg Lions"
Macedonia: Rumena Bužarovska, “Waves”
Moldova: Ion Buzu, “Another Piss in Nisporeni”
Montenegro: Ilija Đurović, “The Five Widows”
Poland: Justyna Bargielska, From "Born Sleeping"
Portugal: João de Melo, “Strange and Magnificent Powers”
Romania: Marius Daniel Popescu, From "La Symphonie du loup"
Serbia: Srđan V. Tešin, “Where Is Grandma, Where Do You Think She’s Hiding?”
Slovenia Veronika Simoniti, “A House of Paper”
Spain, Basque: Harkaitz Cano & Andoni Aduriz, From "Mugaritz: B.S.O."
Spain, Catalan: Edgar Cantero, “Aesop’s Urinal”
Switzerland, French: Bessora, “Voyage Under Narcosis”
Switzerland, German: Michael Fehr, “The Apparent Fisherman and Real Drunkard”
Ukraine: Artem Chapeye, “Son, Please”
United Kingdom, Wales: Huw Lawrence, “Restocking”
Jon Fosse was born in 1959 on the west coast of Norway and has written over thirty books and twenty-eight plays that have been translated into over 40 languages. His first novel, Red, Black, was published in 1983, and was followed by such works as Melancholia I & II, Aliss at the Fire, and Morning and Evening, which are available in translation from Dalkey Archive Press. He is one of the world’s most produced living playwrights. In 2007, Fosse became a chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite of France, and he was awarded the International Ibsen Award in 2010. In 2011, he moved into Grotten, an honorary residence for artists on the grounds of the Royal Palace in Oslo. He was awarded the European Prize for Literature in 2014 and the Nordic Council Literature Prize in 2015.
Nathaniel Davis is an assistant editor at Dalkey Archive Press. He is also a translator and holds a PhD in comparative literature from the University of Pennsylvania.