In the New York Times, Suzanne Joinson writes:
At a time when the tensions that will produce World War I are simmering but have not yet exploded, Samuel, a Lebanese man who “speaks Arabic but looks like an Englishman,†is asked by an eccentric British colonial administrator to intervene in various tribal battles in the North African desert. During these escapades, he becomes embroiled in a scheme to transplant an entire palace, brick by brick, from Tripoli into the Sahara, in hopes of selling it (or pieces of it) to the region’s rich princes. Thus begins a Middle Eastern heart-of-darkness tale that flows like a dream, occasionally turning nightmarish, but is always rendered with a hypnotic quality beautifully captured in Edward Gauvin’s elegant translation.
Serge Brussolo’s The Deep Sea Diver’s Syndrome from Melville House has been nominated in the translation category for the 36th annual Northern California Book Awards! Winners will be announced at the ceremony on Tuesday, June 27, 2017, in Koret Auditorium at the San Francisco Main Library, 100 Larkin, at Grove, at 5:30 p.m. Immediately following the awards, a brief public reception with book sales and signing for all of the nominated books will begin in the Library.
The Northern California Book Awards ceremony is free and open to the public. We look forward to celebrating all of the nominated books and authors, and publicize the nominee list as a guide for recommended reading.
The Northern California Book Awards were established by the Northern California Book Reviewers (formerly BABRA) in 1981 to honor the work of writers and recognize exceptional service in the field of literature in northern California.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA BOOK REVIEWERS (NCBR), a volunteer group of book reviewers, book review editors, and book media hosts who read passionately and write about reading, have met regularly since 1981 to recommend and celebrate books by presenting the awards, which recognize excellence in Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translation, and Children’s Literature. In addition to the book awards, the Fred Cody Award is presented annually for lifetime achievement. This year, poet, activist, and cultural theorist Judy Grahn will be honored.The awards ceremony and reception are presented by the Northern California Book Reviewers andÂ
Poetry Flash, co-sponsored by PEN West, Mechanics’ Institute Library and Chess Room (
www.milibrary.org), Women’s National Book Association-SF Chapter (
wnba-sfchapter.org), San Francisco Public Library, and Friends of the San Francisco Public Library (
www.friendssfpl.org).
