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Or, Bro…
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Reader,
A new term just dropped: brodernism. In a recent Los Angeles Review of Books piece reviewing Herscht 07769 by László Krasznahorkai (translated by Ottilie Mulzet) written by Federico Perelmuter; the author introduces us to the term as he explores the US’s relationship with “difficult books”, among them books in translation.
This was such an interesting read for me because of the way it situates the US as the centre of the literary imagination (that hegemony, again!) while somehow eliding the existence of billions of people around the world who live in non-Anglo countries and/ or are not men. This framing leads to a situation where Perelmuter lists book after book by men (referencing that man’s man, David Foster Wallace, as comparison) while stating that the appeal of these books is that they’re regarded as “difficult” by their intended English-reading audience (considered here, solely, as based in the US which…that’s a choice!) as opposed to possessing some literary value.
I have a relationship that is not friction-free with the need that is felt by publishing houses to make work “accessible” for US audiences. Think here of the introductions by American scholars of these foreign literatures when books are released into the US market. Sometimes these are books in English so the issue isn’t one of translation; as one of the innate unknowability of not-the US (I’m thinking here of books set in Africa) that spills into the way books in translation are discussed and marketed.
This piece made me think, again, of how hegemonic the US is on the literary front if one reads solely, or mostly, in English. As a person with access to North American libraries1, for instance, almost all the books I borrow are intended for the US audience (edited into US English, for instance, or translated by someone who is a resident of the US) and I‘m keenly aware of the way that colours my reading. I think often about how books that are bestsellers in their original languages are transformed into “fresh voices” in translation. Fresh, yes, but to whom? It’s not uncommon for books to be translated years after they are first published — is it so hard for US-based literary tastemakers to consider they are late to the party? To shed this tendency to viewing what is new to them through the lens of (shudder) discoverers? There’s a lack of curiosity, even humility, that comes through in the brodernism piece that’s really just a distillation of how literature of the rest of the world is regarded.
I could go on forever but I fear that even giving this conversation this much air reinforces the ideas at its heart and, Your Honour, I am tired. Read whatever you like, read whatever draws you to it (even if it’s not “difficult”), read books in translation and from countries you’ve never been to; none of these things need to take on the grandness this piece alludes to. And that’s fine, actually!
Quick news/ things that may be of interest:
Subscribe to my WhatsApp channel for texts I find while I spend time online
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If you’re in the Global North and would be open to engaging in the North-South solidarity that is sharing a library card, please email or message me so we can figure things out. Thank you!
Software resources for audiobook management. Especially Audible-centric, including organization and removing DRM from Audible files
A thread for folks looking to support Usikimye’s work
The Queer Liberation Library 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️, which is free to join here
Digital Library of Korean Literature, which is free to join here
How to Write Alt Text and Image Descriptions for the visually impaired
Links to Reading Lists, Free Books, Book Recs, Book-related Items in this document (most recent links at the top)
Since Elon seems to want (some of) us gone, I’m trying to post more often on Bluesky. Follow me there if you’re on it!
You can send me books, postcards, letters, and assorted items via PO Box 102439, Jamia Posta 00101, Nairobi, Kenya
I have finished five books since I last wrote to you (reviews up on Fable, still on Goodreads and Storygraph): a hybrid read of The Art of Showing Up: How to Be There for Yourself and Your People by Rachel Wilkerson Miller (e-book & audiobook; narrated by Robin Eller), a hybrid read of The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart by Astra Taylor (e-book & audiobook; narrated by Rebecca Mitchell), the e-book edition of The House of My Mother: A Daughter's Quest for Freedom by Shari Franke, a hybrid read of In the Company of Men by Véronique Tadjo; translated from French by Tadjo with John Cullen, original title ‘En compagnie des hommes’ (e-book & audiobook; narrated by Je Nie Fleming), and a hybrid read of Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield (e-book & audiobook; narrated by Annabel Baldwin and Robyn Holdaway)
As ever, please write back to me and tell me what books you’re reading or looking forward to reading — it’s always a great time talking about books.
Thank you for reading 🙂
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Enjoy the week ahead and have a lovely time reading. Talk to you soon!