The Eighth Life is named winner of the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation 2020
“Charlotte Collins and Ruth Martin have done a superb job, maintaining the lightness of narrative touch and moving between the many voices of the different generation”.
Judge Amanda Hopkinson
Already a best-seller in numerous translations, The Eighth Life (for Brilka), first published in German in 2014 and the novelist’s third book, is an epic tale of six generations of one family as written down by the fifth of those generations, Nina Jashi, for her niece Brilka. It follows the characters from Tbilisi, the capital city of Georgia, to St Petersburg, Prague, Vienna, London and Berlin, during which the reader learns how the family’s history is entwined with that of their Georgian homeland.
Judge Susan Bassnett describes it as a “terrific book”, which “may look daunting at first, but as soon as you begin to read, Nino Haratischvili’s story-telling skills draw you in to the multifaceted narrative.” She goes on to say: “This is a ‘Red Century’ of family history, from the Russian Empire to the Soviet Union; circling western European capitals and returning to Tbilisi. The opening recipe for an Elysian drinking chocolate, passed on through the generations, is symbolic of temptations, excesses and secrets to come. Finely, impressively co-translated by Charlotte Collins and Ruth Martin, this volume is heavy to lift but becomes impossible to put down!”
Both the winner and runner-up were chosen from a diverse shortlist of seven titles that included translations from Arabic, Chinese, Hungarian, Italian and Norwegian. The 2020 competition received a record 132 eligible entries, a significant increase on 2019. The fifth year of the Prize will be celebrated within the framework of Coventry City of Culture 2021.
“Translating other people’s letters is never easy, particularly when the letters cover so many years and were written by someone as unusual as Tove Jansson, whose style changes depending on the person to whom she is writing. Sarah Death has done justice to Tove Jansson’s life and writing in this fine collection.”
Judge Susan Bassnett
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FURTHER READING
The Eighth Life – Nino Haratischvili (Reprise) – Lizzy’s Literary Life
The Eighth Life (For Brilka) by Nino Haratischvili (Review – IBP 2020, Number Five) – Tony’s Reading List
The Eighth Life (for Brilka), by Nino Haratischvili, translated by Charlotte Collins and Ruth Martin – ANZ LitLovers LitBlog
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