In spite of the glorious fact that these days the European Literature Network also creates occasional country-focus print editions of The Riveter, I am nonetheless secretly delighted when we return to our regular online #RivetingReviews – as we do this month. Who would believe that producing a magazine would take so much effort and money?! (Well, effort! Money we have not.) If you haven’t read our Russian Riveter from August read it here. It’s free and fabulous – thanks to your great reviews and to the dedication of my fellow riveters, Anna Blasiak and West Camel. Watch out for our even more resplendent Nordic Riveter on October 18th, both in print and online. It’s a beauty, if I say so myself, with lots of ‘famous names’, Nordic sweaters, flags, reviews and extracts. Made possible thanks to generous grants and sponsors across the Nordic world.
But here and now, we have for you a riveting selection of reviews of new books from Portugal, France, German, the Netherlands, Italy, Poland and, er, Europe. (You’ll see what I mean.) Apologies for the fact that three of the seven books featured are reviewed by me but there are obviously good reasons for that: you were all on holiday and have possibly given up on this great opportunity to review your favourite books in translation (we created this forum for you to vent your views on the books you are reading!) but also because I simply had to shout from the rooftops about the latest Jenny Erpenbeck novel and point you in the direction of the first Elena Varvello in English, and of the upcoming UK visit of Portugal’s first literary lady, Dulce Maria Cardoso, who I will be interviewing at the Birmingham Literature Festival on 7th October. Our next #RivetingReviews will be our Nordic Riveter (submissions now closed) and then, in November, December and January, we’d like more of your general reviews of European Literature in translation – like this one. So please keep reviewing and reading – and enjoy September’s #RivetingReviews.
By Rosie Goldsmith