New review: James Bailey on "The Nine Lives of Muriel Spark", in 𝐿𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝐶𝑎𝑡 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑎 𝐵𝑖𝑟𝑑 www.complete-review.com/reviews/spar...

"Les seuls moments où je ne doute pas de mon existence sont ceux où je lis." (Amélie Nothomb in 𝐿'𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑟 www.complete-review.com/reviews/noth... )

New review: Amélie Nothomb's (briefly-)back-to-Japan novel, 𝐿'𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑟 www.complete-review.com/reviews/noth...

A few thoughts on twelve years of blogging Roughghosts is twelve years old today. I debated whether or not I would officially mark this day with a post as I typically do, but have decided as the day nears an end, to say a few words anyhow. My immediate thought was to comment on the ongoing…

Proud owner of both rare volumes of William Wheeler's SF International! Will send PDFs of both to you later today. #scifi #sciencefiction #magazines

Hoping that the resuscitation of the Bräunerhof [ www.gaultmillau.at/news/der-for... ], Thomas Bernhard's favored hangout works out and that it doesn't entirely lose all its atmosphere. Looks like they're close to done with the new look.

Cover of German edition of Ben Lerner's 𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 is certainly ... colorful www.suhrkamp.de/buch/ben-ler...

New review: 𝑆𝑝𝑦 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 by Len Deighton www.complete-review.com/reviews/thri...

In the mail: first arrival since my arrival: Egon Bondy's 𝑈𝑛𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑆𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠, from now nearby @karolinumpress.cuni.cz karolinum.cz/en/books/bon...

New review: 𝑆𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 - 𝑜𝑟, 𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑡𝑜 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑦 𝑎 𝐺𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑅𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠, by Joanna Kavenna www.complete-review.com/reviews/popg...

"While I quickly lost my belief in the characters (much less my ability to tell them apart), the novel did feel like an ideal way of being told things." Michael Hofmann reviews Gabriele Tergit's 𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑠 (𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑠 in the UK ...) @lrb.co.uk www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

To-the-point URL-wording summary for this @slate.com article slate.com/news-and-pol...

"The FT’s test required no specialist hardware, used freely available tools, took four lines of code and was completed in less than 10 minutes." Perhaps slightly more worrisome than whether or not AI-generated slop is being submitted to (and winning) literary prizes etc.

Fascinating bit from Parul Sehgal Q & A with Vivek Shanbhag excerpted @scroll.in scroll.in/article/1093...

New review: Samantha Harvey's Booker Prize-winning 𝑂𝑟𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙 www.complete-review.com/reviews/popg...

First, semi-appropriate (?) book purchase in Vienna. www.livredepoche.com/livre/limpos... (It's a holiday weekend (sigh), so book-buying opportunities are limited, but: Nothomb; true pocket-book sized; Nothomb, so, despite the cover, couldn't resist.)

On my way out of here ..... Leaving the US after some five decades living here more on than off.

Excellent stuff. Camus was robbed!

New review: Stig Sæterbakken's 𝑆𝑒𝑙𝑓-𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙 www.complete-review.com/reviews/norg...

In the mail: @drjamesbailey.bsky.social on "The Nine Lives of Muriel Spark", in 𝐿𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝐶𝑎𝑡 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑎 𝐵𝑖𝑟𝑑, coming from @princetonupress.bsky.social press.princeton.edu/books/hardco... Admirably comes in at a lean 240 pp.

Another rolodex find.

Ein schöner Kultroman zu Eisheiligen: der niederländische Kultklassiker „Das Büro“, Roman von J.J. Voskuil (übersetzt von Gerd Busse) - über Arbeit, Menschlichlichkeit und Erschöpfung. Mehr über „Das Büro“: www.verbrecherverlag.de/shop/das-bue...

Kind of impressed that a publisher would think this is the way to grab my attention in my E-mail inbox.

Helen & Kurt Wolff Translator's Prize has been awarded to the English translation of Schattenfroh! Congratulations to Max Lawton, @nordicnovellas.bsky.social and @deepvellum.bsky.social! www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/ku...

All three volumes of Ibn Khaldûn's The Muqaddimah, the classic Islamic history of the world, are now available in fully unabridged editions for a new generation of readers. Find them here: press.princeton.edu/collections/... #Bollingen #ReadUP #IbnKhaldûn #History

Finally some more from @arnonyy.bsky.social coming out in English translation ! 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑎𝑛 𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝐼𝑙𝑙𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠, coming from @openletterbooks.bsky.social in ... 2/2027 www.openletterbooks.org/products/the...

"Vienna aims to reduce the share of journeys in private cars within the city from 25% to 15% by the end of the decade" www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Hey, those of you wondering if/when Vollmann's *A Table for Fortune* will finally be released, it's August 25th until it gets pushed back again www.skyhorsepublishing.com/arcade-publi...

I'm Lead Judge of the James Tait Black Prize for Fiction, awarded at University of Edinburgh since 1919 and due to be announced this month. But the university is currently withholding 100% of my pay for participating in a marking and assessment boycott. So, at present, there will be no prize.

New review: Laura B. McGrath on "Literary Agents and the Making of American Fiction", in 𝑀𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛 www.complete-review.com/reviews/publ...

I feel this should read "Indexing, Career In"

There’s much to lament about the reduction in book review coverage generally, but as we celebrate our 100th year, we’re still here with 32 reviews in the March issue + a steady stream of new reviews online. Looking for book reviews? We’ve got them! worldliteraturetoday.org/book-review/...

In the mail: good to see some more Marie Darrieussecq coming to the US, with 2x ARCs, 𝑂𝑢𝑟 𝐿𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡 www.transitbooks.org/books/ourlif... and 𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑡𝑜 𝑀𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑊𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛 www.transitbooks.org/books/howtom... Both 9/2026, from @transitbooks.bsky.social

In the mail: great to see Dazai Osamu's 𝐽𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎 𝑆𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒, coming from Tuttle. tuttlepublishing.com/japan/justic... Apparently the first translation of 正義と微笑 (1942); looks very promising.

Aus der Druckerei und ab Ende April lieferbar: „Text fur Aliens. Anomie und Isonomie“ von Ann Cotten. Herausgegeben von Laura Beck, Saskia Fischer, Kathrin Dittmer, Matthias N. Lorenz, zweiter Band der Reihe Poetikdozentur NEUE DEUTSCHE LITERATUR. Mehr: www.verbrecherverlag.de/shop/text-fu...

New review: Gwendoline Riley's latest, 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑎𝑙𝑚 𝐻𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒 www.complete-review.com/reviews/popg...

In the mail: only one title, but it's good to see ARC of Andrea Bajani's Premio Strega-winning 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐴𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑎𝑟𝑦, coming from Other Press 8/2026 otherpress.com/product/the-...

In the mail: very pleased to see the new @reinraud.bsky.social 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑢𝑛 𝑆𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑝𝑡, from @norvikpress.bsky.social norvikpress.com/product/the-... Estonian fiction ! (Two of his books are already under review at the CR.)

New review: Caroline Bicks on "My Year of Fear with Stephen King", in 𝑀𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐴𝑟𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 www.complete-review.com/reviews/book...

Admirable and enviable, from Hans Ulrich Obrist: "I have a ritual where I buy a book every day" www.culturedmag.com/article/2026...

Good to see it reviewed in the NYTBR, and, sure, I don't think it's actually spelled out (i.e. mentioned) in this volume of the series, but come on @nytimes.com that's not how the narrator's last name is spelled www.nytimes.com/2026/04/14/b...

New review: the latest in Solvej Balle's planned septology, 𝑂𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐶𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 (𝐵𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝐼𝑉) www.complete-review.com/reviews/dans... (Out today !)

FFS www.theguardian.com/books/2026/a...

In the mail: never a great fan of middlemen in any capacity, but can't deny their influence, especially in this area, so very pleased to see @lbmcgrath.bsky.social on "Literary Agents and the Making of American Fiction", in 𝑀𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛; @princetonupress.bsky.social press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...

Nice to see an article on Lu Xun @nytimes.com — even if it is to report that: "The Chinese Communist Party has turned Lu Xun, a Mao-era hero who excoriated the establishment, into a bland, Disney-style character" www.nytimes.com/2026/04/11/w... [$]

Don't think I could bring myself to read a Yann Martel book, but appreciate that some continue to get published, just for the reviews. E.g now David Sexton's of his latest, concluding: www.standard.co.uk/culture/book...

New review: Daniel Hahn on "The Unlikely Art of Shakespeare in Translation", in 𝐼𝑓 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝐵𝑒 𝑀𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑐 www.complete-review.com/reviews/tran...

Next week, Apr 15 at 5:30pm EDT, head to Eastern Michigan University to hear from Brian Bruya, co-translator of the Dialogues of Confucius! This work is the first complete English translation of the Dialogues, a rediscovered companion to the Analects This is a free, in-person event: buff.ly/psuiwVu