Nobel Prize

French Extrait de La Pianiste (Page 1–3 und 104–105) Erika Kohut, professeur de piano, entre en trombe dans l’appartement qu’elle partage avec sa mère. La mère aime appeler Erika son petit ouragan, l’enfant, en effet, se déplace parfois avec une vélocité extrême. Elle cherche à échapper à sa mère. Erika approche de la quarantaine. La…

Swedish Utdrag ur Pianolärarinnan (Sid. 7–8 och 108–110) Pianolärarinnan Erika Kohut rusar som en virvelvind in i lägenheten som hon delar med sin mor. Modern tycker om att kalla Erika sin lilla virvelvind, för barnet rör sig ibland extremt snabbt. Hon försöker undkomma sin mor. Erika är på väg mot de fyrtio. Modern skulle vad…

Excerpt from Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz Courtesy: Norstedts English Chapter One Many things combine to show that Midaq Alley is one of the gems of times gone by and that it once shone forth like a flashing star in the history of Cairo. Which Cairo do I mean? That of the Fatimids, the Mamlukes…

Swedish Utdrag ur Midaqq-gränden I Mycket vittnar om att Midaqq-gränden är en ädelsten från gångna tider och att den en gång lyst som en strålande stjärna i Kairos ärofulla historia. Vilket Kairo menar jag? Fatimidernas? Mamluckernas? Sultanernas? Det vet endast Allah och arkeologerna men Gränden är i vilket fall ett monument och ett dyrbart sådant.…

Arabic Excerpt from Midaq Alley (Zuqaq al-Midaq) Excerpt from Zuqaq al-Midaq Copyright © 1947 by Naguib Mahfouz Reprinted by arrangement with the American University in Cairo Press.

Excerpt from Aké. The Years of Childhood (Pages 25-28) Mr Olagbaju’s bachelor house behind the school became a second lunch-hour home. His favourite food appeared to be the pounded yam, iyan, at which I soon became his keen accomplice. Through the same iyan, I made my first close school friend, Osiki, simply by discovering that…

German Auszug von Ansichten eines Clowns I Es war schon dunkel, als ich in Bonn ankam, ich zwang mich, meine Ankunft nicht mit der Automatik ablaufen zu lassen, die sich in fünfjährigem Unterwegssein herausgebildet hat: Bahnsteigtreppe runter, Bahnsteigtreppe rauf, Reisetasche abstellen, Fahrkarte aus der Manteltasche nehmen, Reisetasche aufnehmen, Fahrkarte abgeben, zum Zeitungsstand, Abendzeitungen kaufen, nach…

English Excerpt from The Clown I It was dark by the time I reached Bonn, and I forced myself not to succumb to the series of mechanical actions which had taken hold of me in five years of traveling back and forth: down the station steps, up the station steps, put down my suitcase, take…

English Excerpt from The Storyteller (El Hablador) I FIRST became acquainted with the Amazon jungle halfway through 1958, thanks to my friend Rosita Corpancho. Her function at the University of San Marcos was vague; her power unlimited. She prowled among the professors without being one of them, and they all did whatever…

Read the excerpts from Fatelessness