Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay

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Elena Ferrante reveals the before and after of writing her novels

StoryofLostChildElena Ferrante is notoriously private. Despite the staggering international success of what are known as the Neapolitan Novels –  My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name and Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay  – she has never given an interview and never does public appearances. Even her name is a nom de plume.  In September, The Story of the Lost Child, the long-awaited fourth in the series, is to be published and this month she talked to The Paris Review,  about the art of fiction including how she starts a new book.

FERRANTE:  I don’t think anyone really knows how a story takes shape. When it’s done you try to explain how it happened, but every effort, at least in my case, is insufficient. There is a before, made up of fragments of memory, and an after, when the story begins. But before and after, I have to admit, are useful only in answering your question now in an intelligible way.

Longlist for 2015 Best Translated Fiction Book Award announced

France and Argentina dominate the Long list for the 2015 Best Translated 
Fiction Book Award which has just been announced with four nominations each.  Spain has three and the Czech Republic and China two each. In all, 14 countries including Rwanda, Brazil and Angola are included. The shortlist will be announced on 5 May with the winner being revealed on 27 May.

The full list is:

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