The Complete Review Guide
to Contemporary World Fiction

Author:
M. A. Orthofer
Publisher:
Columbia University Press
Release date:
April 2016
Pages:
483
ISBN:
978–0231146753
available also as ebook
Genre:

European Literature – Fiction and Literature – Reference – Literary Theory and Criticism – Middle East Studies: Literature and Culture – Literary Studies – World Literature – Asian Literature – U.S. Literature

Goodreads

MY THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS BOOK

You visit this blog, it means you are serious at reading. Then you definitely have to go and get The Complete Review Guide to Contemporary World Fiction, an absolutely necessary reference book for all fiction lovers. I had been following Orthofer’s website for a while, the famous Complete Review, and its Literary Saloon. So when another blogger said the author had put together a book based on his thousands of reviews, and that it was available on Netgalley, I rushed there. After reading a few pages, I actually bought the book on print.

His site presents over 3,000 books. The advantage of this work book format is to give a more general “overview of various nations’ literatures”, organizing them by major geographical areas (Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, etc) and then by country.
The focus is mostly on fiction written after 1945, though the author does mention some of the major classics of each country.

Orthofer has a vast knowledge of what’s out there, in so many countries, including some works not yet available in English, which allows the reader to get a good general view of the literary landscape of a country.
There are more in depths presentations of some authors and some of their titles, plus some shorter mentions, in boxes entitled “Keep in mind”. Authors’ names and book titles appear in bold, which makes the reading clearer and easier. Each title has its year of publication in its country of origin and in the US, with its adapted title or titles, as several works have known more than one translation into English.

Orthofer manages to capture some authors’ characteristics in just a few words. About Pascal Garnier for instance, he says his “chilling novels… shift from the calm to the shocking in their resolutions” (p.49).

His opinions can be sometimes a bit harsh. I noticed for instance some not too tender comments about French modern literature in some particular instances.
To say the least, the author does not mince his words. He speaks about “writing which has often been willfully experimental, passive, and stolid” (p.28), and about  “the intellectual pretension of much modern French fiction”… with their “endless stream of introspective autofictions”. I do not always disagree, but it felt both refreshing and un-diplomatic to have things called by their names.
I notice Orthofer does not seem to appreciate too much “le nouveau roman”, no longer “nouveau” in 2016 for sure. He sees it for instance as “lengthy mulling over of the same thoughts”, though I believe le nouveau roman has enough diversity not to deserve this harsh presentation.
I guess the more you develop your critical thinking on a specific topic, the more you can allow yourself to criticize some elements. As long as your opinion is based on real informed knowledge, I assume this is acceptable, and actually not unlike many French (readers) who do tend to be hyper critical about everything.

Orthofer’s knowledge is extensive.
However, I noticed a surprising oversight. Nowhere is there any mention of Pierre Lemaitre, although Lemaitre is a major representative of crime fiction and noir, alongside Pascal Garnier and Fred Vargas. He also managed to win Le Goncourt on his first try with historical fiction in 2013, with his superb work on WW1, where his writing characteristics are not unlike the ones displayed in his thrillers.

The introduction of the book is fabulous, highlighting the unique aspect of the US, as a country where foreign literature is so little represented, compared to most other countries. Orthofer also shows hopeful signs, as more presses do tend these days to focus on literature in translation.

His presentation of the status of world literature nowadays is fascinating.
His thorough panorama is complemented by a long Appendix listing supplemental resources, both online and in print. And of course, there’s an alphabetical list of the authors mentioned.

So even though you may encounter some very strong statements that might gain to be revised through your own reading of some works cited here, it is definitely a major reference book, which should be part of your library, if you consider yourself a serious lover of world fiction, and fiction in general.

VERDICT: Thorough presentation of the status of world fiction since 1945. A necessary book for all fiction lovers, to help you have a better idea of what’s published beyond your own borders.