The Independent Foreign Fiction Prize

• Blooms of Darkness by Aharon Appelfeld / Jeffrey M. Green, translator (Hebrew)
• Alice by Judith Hermann / Margot Bettauer Dembo, translator (German)
• From the Mouth of the Whale by Sjón / Victoria Cribb, translator (Icelandic)
• The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco / Richard Dixon, translator (Italian)
• New Finnish Grammar by Diego Marani / Judith Landry, translator (Italian)
• Dream of Ding Village by Yan Lianke / Cindy Carter, translator (Chinese)

The Best Translated Book Award (Fiction)

• Lightning by Jean Echenoz / Linda Coverdale, translator (French)
• Upstaged by Jacques Jouet / Leland de la Durantaye, translator (French)
• Kornél Esti by Dezső Kosztolányi / Bernard Adams, translator (Hungarian)
• I Am A Japanese Writer by Dany Laferrière / David Homel, translator (French)
• New Finnish Grammar by Diego Marani / Judith Landry, translator (Italian)
• Stone Upon Stone by Wiesław Myśliwski / Bill Johnston, translator (Polish)
• Scars by by Juan José Saer / Steve Dolph, translator (Spanish)

What’s the verdict, readers?  Pleased? Disappointed? Just confused?  I wish I could speak to these lists more, but all I can say is that I’m glad to see that both Umberto Eco and Sjón moved on to the next round of the Foreign Fiction Prize.  SO…

I have a proposition:  If you’ve read any of the books shortlisted for either prize, tell us what you think in the comments below.  If you’re a blogger and have a review up for one of the finalists, leave the link.  Or, if you’re in that kind of mood, feel free to bitch about your favorite book being overlooked.