The Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Romanian-born German writer Herta M
uller for her depiction of "the landscape of the dispossessed" over the course of 19 books. Muller, who emigrated to Germany in 1987, has written widely about dictatorship in her native country and life as an exile. The Dover Public Library has just one of her books, The Appointment, published in 2001, but many of her works have not yet been translated into English. I have to confess that I'd not heard of Muller...my knowledge of international authors is woefully inadequate and I must confess to saying "Who?" a few times after several of the Nobel announcement over the years.
uller for her depiction of "the landscape of the dispossessed" over the course of 19 books. Muller, who emigrated to Germany in 1987, has written widely about dictatorship in her native country and life as an exile. The Dover Public Library has just one of her books, The Appointment, published in 2001, but many of her works have not yet been translated into English. I have to confess that I'd not heard of Muller...my knowledge of international authors is woefully inadequate and I must confess to saying "Who?" a few times after several of the Nobel announcement over the years. The Man Booker Prize (awarded for best fiction in English by a citizen of the British 
Commonwealth) was given to Hilary Mantel for her new book, Wolf Hall (to be published October 13 in the U.S. and available on that date here at the DPL.) Amazon's reviewer says: "No character in the canon has been writ larger than Henry VIII, but that didn't stop Hilary Mantel. She strides through centuries, past acres of novels, histories, biographies, and plays--even past Henry himself--confident in the knowledge that to recast history's most mercurial sovereign, it's not the King she needs to see, but one of the King's most mysterious agents. Enter Thomas Cromwell, a self-made man and remarkable polymath who ascends to the King's right hand. Rigorously pragmatic and forward-thinking, Cromwell has little interest in what motivates his Majesty, and although he makes way for Henry's marriage to the infamous Anne Boleyn, it's the future of a free England that he honors above all else and hopes to secure. Mantel plots with a sleight of hand, making full use of her masterful grasp on the facts without weighing down her prose. The opening cast of characters and family trees may give initial pause to some readers, but persevere: the witty, whip-smart lines volleying the action forward may convince you a short stay in the Tower of London might not be so bad... provided you could bring a copy of Wolf Hall along."
Commonwealth) was given to Hilary Mantel for her new book, Wolf Hall (to be published October 13 in the U.S. and available on that date here at the DPL.) Amazon's reviewer says: "No character in the canon has been writ larger than Henry VIII, but that didn't stop Hilary Mantel. She strides through centuries, past acres of novels, histories, biographies, and plays--even past Henry himself--confident in the knowledge that to recast history's most mercurial sovereign, it's not the King she needs to see, but one of the King's most mysterious agents. Enter Thomas Cromwell, a self-made man and remarkable polymath who ascends to the King's right hand. Rigorously pragmatic and forward-thinking, Cromwell has little interest in what motivates his Majesty, and although he makes way for Henry's marriage to the infamous Anne Boleyn, it's the future of a free England that he honors above all else and hopes to secure. Mantel plots with a sleight of hand, making full use of her masterful grasp on the facts without weighing down her prose. The opening cast of characters and family trees may give initial pause to some readers, but persevere: the witty, whip-smart lines volleying the action forward may convince you a short stay in the Tower of London might not be so bad... provided you could bring a copy of Wolf Hall along." 
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