Translator's Choice 2020 1
27 Translator’s choice Why does this book deserve
to be translated? This debut novel is far from loud, obtrusive or monumental. Instead, in her depiction of the young farmer Ava’s dramatic life, the author uses a quiet tone, one that reverberates within the reader. In a short space of time she loses both her child and her husband and faces a future that is seemingly without hope. Her struggle with depression and unbearable grief is brutally, yet carefully, described. It is rendered with such talent for language that it becomes almost physically present for the reader. The story is also carried along by its lyrical descriptions of nature, which evoke dark, but soft images. Ava’s expectations of life clash with reality, but somehow she still manages to summon up the courage to try and try again. It is a deeply touching book that, regardless of the tragic events it describes, is incredibly beautiful and most importantly manages to console. In This Short Moment Lena de Veen tackles her own maternal grandmother’s fate – a fate that became both the motivation and the inspiration for her own literary writing. “rendered with such talent for language that it becomes almost physically present for the reader” Justus Carl Justus Carl translates into German, lives in Heppenheim, Germany. Justus is currently starting his career as a literary translator. His first translation from Swedish was Mark Johnson’s novel Det blinda spelet, 2019 Das blinde Spiel, Rowohlt, 2020 Swedish publisher: Norstedts Rights: Norstedts Agency