Upcoming Event: K.E. Semmel, translator of The Caller and The Absent One at One More Page

On Thursday, August 23, writer and translator K.E. Semmel — who’s had the U.S. editions of two of his translations debut over this last week — will be speaking about Scandinavian crime fiction and the art of translation at One More Page Books in Arlington, VA. And each of those books has already earned high praise from the critics. This weekend, the New York Times review of Karin Fossum‘s The Caller called the novel “one of the darkest, most disturbing crime stories you’re likely to read this year” and praised Semmel in particular for rendering the suppleness of Fossum’s style. And Publisher’s Weekly put Semmel’s translation of Jussi Adler-Olsen‘s The Absent One at the top of its “PW Picks” list of the best books of the week. Semmel will read a sample from his translations, and then I’m pleased to be moderating a quick q&a about his work. Hope to see some friendly faces in the crowd! — Art Taylor

Review: Ariel S. Winter’s The Twenty-Year Death in the Washington Post

Today, the Washington Post published my review of Ariel S. Winter’s three-novel debut, the all-in-one-volume trilogy The Twenty-Year Death, which models each of its books, in succession, on the works of one of three true legends of mystery and suspense writing. Here’s the opening paragraph of the review:

If imitation is truly the sincerest form of flattery, then crime fiction maestros Georges Simenon, Raymond Chandler and Jim Thompson are feeling the love these days. Baltimore writer Ariel S. Winter has summoned up the stylistic spirits of each legendary novelist for his own debut, a massive and marvelous trilogy called The Twenty-Year Death.

My impressions of the novel(s) weren’t exclusively positive (as you’ll see), but really, with a book this bold — and such fun to read — it’s tough to find too much fault. Check out the full review here. — Art Taylor