The Song of Everlasting Sorrow: Reading the World 2008

The Song of Everlasting Sorrow, Wang AnyiWe have not had time to post about this yet but we are very excited to announce that The Song of Everlasting Sorrow: A Novel of Shanghai, by Wang Anyi, translated from the Chinese by Michael Berry and Susan Chan Egan has been selected as one of the twenty-five titles for Reading the World 2008. This selection was made by a panel of independent booksellers.

Now in its fifth year, Reading the World consists of publishers and independent bookstores and is dedicated to promoting works of fiction in translation. Throughout the month of June approximately 250 independent booksellers will display The Song of Everlasting Sorrow and other works of international fiction. There will also be promotional activities leading up to June, so stay tuned for more details.

While there is a lot of justifiable hand-wringing about the relative lack of foreign literature available in the U.S. as well as Americans’ unwillingness to read fiction from other countries, one should not overlook the excellent works that are available. While our Asian fiction list could certainly keep one busy for a while, if you are interested in finding out more about international fiction, may we suggest: Complete Review, Context, Three Percent, Words without Borders, The Quarterly Conversation, and Paper Republic. These are all excellent resources for reviews, news, excerpts, and finding out more about interesting works of fiction from around the world.

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