The Selected Poems of Tomas Tranströmer

Name: Tomas Tranströmer

Year Won: 2011

Read: The Selected Poems of Tomas Tranströmer

Original Language: Swedish

Reason: "because, through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality"

About: It's a book of poems. I'm not sure what else to say.

What I liked: I suppose they were pretty and there were some interesting images? I'm not really sure how to describe poems.

What I Disliked: These poems didn't particularly gel for me. I can't really say why, they just didn't.

Should it have won a Nobel: I find it almost impossible to describe whether poetry is good or not even in English, far less in translation. For me, these poems didn't particularly work. But they might work better in Swedish, or resonate for someone else. So...who knows?

Next Up: "Frog" by Mo Yan

Aunt Julia and the Script Writer by Mario Vargas Llosa

Name: Mario Vargas Llosa

Year Won: 2010

Read: Aunt Julia and the Script Writer

Original Language: Spanish

Reason: "for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt, and defeat"

About: Aunt Julia and the Script Writer is a rather peculiar novel in which a young radio station worker has an affair with his somewhat older (13 years?) and fairly wild aunt. It's all written in a rather satrical tone, which I didn't personally find tremendously funny (it might be cultural. Or not. Humor is very subjective).

What I liked: Wonderful descriptions of contemporary Peru. A lively voice. It reminded me a bit of Carl Hiassen's mysteries.

What I Disliked: I really didn't get the humor. I do get that it's all subjective, but it just didn't work for me, which made the book feel like it was trying too hard.

Should it have won a Nobel: I've given up trying to understand this. Honestly, this didn't feel like a tremendously substantial book to me, but I also feel very much like I Just Didn't Get It. So...who knows?

Next Up: "The Selected Poems of Tomas Tranströmer"