"Seven Houses in France", a finalist for the TLS translation prizes

Last week the Times Literary Supplement announced the works that received translation prizes, in recognition of the year's best literary translations. The award goes to both the translator and the translation itself.

One of the finalists in the category of works translated from Spanish was Atxaga's Seven Houses in France, which was translated by Margaret Jull Costa and which received the following praise from the jury:

The novel the judges commended is set in a garrison town on the River Congo, which represents a new theme for the acclaimed Basque writer Bernardo Atxaga. Its jungle setting is dramatic and its historical detail of the immorality of colonialism depressingly impressive. Margaret Jull Costa – who previously won the Premio Valle Inclán in 2009 with her translation of Atxaga's The Accordionist's Son – respects the text of Seven Houses in France, judiciously borrowing proper nouns and culture-specific items to render the historical setting, while at the same time achieving an idiomatic translation that stands on its own as a strong and creative work of literature. A wonderful translation.

The main prize went to Peter Bush, translator of Juan Goytisolo’s Exiled from Almost Everywhere.

More positive reviews

The novel continues to be well received in specialist blogs and magazines. The latest comes from www.newpages.com

Bernardo Atxaga has written the perfect book for deep winter reading. (...) This conglomeration of characters is as diverse and as exotic as in any Shakespeare play. Their interactions are the meat of this novel. (...) Atxaga paces his story in such a way that you can’t help but wonder what his characters will do next. There are cinematic moments that I could imagine being filmed by Herzog or Coppola. When the story was all said and done, I was sad to leave this word behind and return to my world of winter. As flawed as some of the characters were, I was drawn to them, perhaps because of their humanity. I suggest you visit Seven Houses in France if you are in need of a gratifying vacation.

Picture: Margaret Jull Costa.