Marian Schwartz » publications

Vsevolod Benigsen’s “Movsar and the Terrorists”

mbs — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 21:40:21 +0000

The fine literary journal Subtropics has accepted my translation of Vsevolod Benigsen’s “Movsar and the Terrorists,” for publication. The story appeared in Benigsen’s 2011 collection, Pzkhfchshch!

Literalab reviews “Thirst”

mbs — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 16:37:49 +0000

Literalab, a blog about “Central European literary life,” has done a smart review of my translation of Andrei Gelasimov’s “Thirst,” the first to point out that this is a book about the making of an artist:

In Thirst Gelasimov manages to get at the essence of making art and what it means to see the world with fresh eyes through an impressive subtlety that belies the novel’s harsh and darkly comic subject matter. Art seems to hold no place in the chaotic lives of Kostya and his hard-drinking army buddies, nor in that of the estranged, womanizing father he comes back into contact with.

Read the full review here.

“Thirst” as Audio Book

mbs — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:53:09 +0000

AmazonCrossing is releasing an audio book of my translation of Andrei Gelasimov’s novel Thirst, unabridged and narrated by Luke Daniels. Look for it here.

Russian BookWorld: Dystopia for Our Times: “2017″ by Olga Slavnikova

mbs — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:02:31 +0000

Konstantin Boulich reports on my translation of Olga Slavnikova’s novel 2017 for Voice of Russia:

Thanks to a superb translation by Marian Schwartz, Olga Slavnikova’s dystopian novel “2017”, arguably the writer’s most important work today is now available in English. I talk to Marian Schwartz about the joys and challenges of translating Slavnikova’s rich and poetic language. A London based literary critic Phoebe Taplin tells us what makes this genre-defying novel special and Olga Slavnikova reveals her thoughts on the cyclical nature of Russian history, human role in disclosing natural beauty and the act of writing as a tool for envisioning the future.

To hear the complete podcast, click here.

“Luminous”

mbs — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:09:18 +0000

Phoebe Taplin has given Olga Slavnikova’s 2017 (now published in the UK as well, by Duckworth) a wonderful review in the January 5, 2012, “Russia Now” supplement to the London Telegraph, calling it “an ambitious, postmodern contribution to a revered literary tradition” and the translation “luminous.” Read the rest here.

High Praise for Andrei Gelasimov’s “Thirst”!

mbs — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:16:00 +0000

Fr. Grant Barber has written an insightful review for the Three Percent blog of my translation of Andrei Gelasimov’s short novel Thirst (published by AmazonCrossing):

Gelasimov embraces the “show, don’t tell” dictum effectively throughout this short novel from the unique start. The first person narrator, later identified as Constantine or Kostya, has just returned to his home and is trying to fit a lot of bottles of vodka into his refrigerator, and on the window sill, on the floor, in the bathroom and clothes hamper. He’s planning a bender after having done some sort of work, work he’d completed to buy vodka. . . .

To read the full review, click here.

Andrei Gelasimov’s “The Lying Year”

mbs — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 22:50:59 +0000

In 2012, AmazonCrossing will be publishing my second translation of a novel by Andrei Gelasimov, “The Lying Year,” a story told from two points of view—Mikhail, whose boss has asked him to spy on his son Sergei, and Sergei, the son. In this turbulent parody, lying is the default mode.

2017 Translation Wins 2011 Heldt Prize

mbs — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:39:45 +0000

The Association of Women in Slavic Studies has awarded me the prize for 2011 Best Translation in Slavic/Eastern European/Eurasian Women’s Studies for my translation of Olga Slavnikova, 2017 (Overlook/Duckworth, 2010).

The prize will be celebrated at the AWSS annual meeting and luncheon convention at the Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies convention in Washington, DC, on Saturday, November 19, 2011, at its annual awards luncheon.

Europa Challenge Blog: 12 Who Don’t Agree

mbs — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:07:55 +0000

A review of a book I translated recently. I agree: if you’re interested in current Russian politics, this will tell you stories you haven’t heard elsewhere and give you a much fuller picture of opposition politics.

Advance publicity for Andrei Gelasimov’s “Thirst”

mbs — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 15:24:29 +0000

AmazonCrossing will be publishing my translation of Andrei Gelasimov’s Thirst in November, and to whet the public’s appetite they’re offering an excerpt from the novel, which you can download here.